Quote Sheet
Real Monarchs 0-1 Houston Dynamo 2
Zions Bank Stadium, Herriman, UT
May 25, 2022
Midfielder Christian Nydegger
On the difference between the first and second half
“It was an interesting change. We came out in the second half and we wanted to work and fight and get on top of them. Momentum shifted a little bit. We weren’t able to do that, but we had a good first half. We can build on that first performance, and we have to do that for a full 90. There’s definitely things we need to work on.”
On the gamesmanship in the second half:
“It’s a competitive game and emotions are high. We would be doing the same thing if we were in their position. That’s how the game is. There were some good sports on their team and ones that could work on it, but same with us. We have to keep our heads and do as much as we can to focus on the plays instead of emotions.”
On what the Monarchs need to do to start winning games:
“We’ve been putting chances on goal, all we need to do now is finish them and try to keep that shutout for 90 minutes. In the first half, we had about 10 or 15 corners just in the span of 20 minutes. We have to do better, and we have to work hard off the field and stay focused and put those chances away.”
Head Coach Jamison Olave
On the difference between the first and the second half:
“The first half, like you said, we played well. We weren’t clean with the ball in the first half, but we did a good job defensively. We did a good job on the counterattack in transition to attack. We created a couple of chances, but we didn’t put them on target. The second half, I think Houston came out better with the ball and had more mobility. They changed to a 4-4-2 and were playing more man-to-man, and we didn’t find a solution to that. Then we had to make an injury substitution and there was a red card. Everything changed completely in the second half.”
On how much Bobby Pierre’s ejection impacted the team:
“A red card always has an effect, especially when you are already down. A red card leaves you with a man down, but I won’t talk about the referee. There’s nothing to talk about. Everyone saw what happened. There’s no point talking about it.”
On the performance of the new players:
“Benjamin [Rodriguez] did okay in the first game that he started. He needs to find his spot. He’s more of a winger and we played him more inside today like a 10 and a false 9 because of the injuries that we have. He wasn’t good enough, but I think he has something. Golden [Mafwenta] was solid in the first half. Houston’s added mobility in the second half caused him more problems, but they’re doing ok. They’re getting better. When we have more time to train with the team, those guys are going to get better for sure.”
