Real Salt Lake 0 vs. Columbus Crew 0
June 25, 2022; Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Real Salt Lake (8-4-5, 29 points); Columbus Crew (4-5-7, 18 points)
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
On the momentum shift:
“I thought after about five minutes we worked our way into the game. We were moving the ball well and quickly with tempo and purpose. As the half wore on, I felt like we were really lethargic with our decision making. Taking extra touches, moving the ball slower, allowing a Columbus team that was missing a few players to really sit back behind the ball and be comfortable with it. We weren’t incisive enough and in the middle of the field. We weren’t trying to create the tempo with our movement that’s been really good in games of late. It was just letting [Justen] Glad come up the field and make decisions for us where it’s really about the pivots on the ball, the rotations, the movement after the pass. The movement after the pass was not there tonight, and that always creates space or it creates options. We were a bit cumbersome in that regard, and they did a good job of coming in and making the game slow. From a defensive standpoint, two things. One, we weren’t able to get enough pressure higher up the field, and we weren’t able to win enough balls in midfield. Those two things will force you back a little bit more. In past games we were pressing, making it unpredictable, winning balls in midfield, and that triggers momentum on your side. I don’t think we did that enough until the latter parts of the game where time’s up and we’re going for it.”
On forward Bobby Wood’s absence:
“They are different types of players. I think Bobby [Wood] really relies on his power and his strength and his running behind. Rubio [Rubin] did a really good job in the first half of the game getting behind a couple times as well. Again, Rubio’s just coming into form. It’s going to take a little bit of time, but his effort was tremendous tonight. Relationships with players are really important as well. Bobby and Serg [Sergio Cordova] have been going at it for quite some time and that understanding, it’s almost second nature. So Rubio’s coming in and it’s going to take some time with him and Serg to get on the same page.”
On the point picked up and looking forward:
“You have to take the silver lining in everything. At least I do. And that is a really important thing. For as much as we didn’t create tonight, I thought we defended well. We gave up too many silly freekicks in and around our area, but we defended them well. There are some positives. When you’re not winning, keeping momentum going is really really important for a lot of different reasons. But more so, the guys keep driving and keep wanting to get better. While it wasn’t a great performance, it was a good performance to get a point and really move forward as a group.
Goalkeeper Zac MacMath
On how the momentum of the game fell away:
“We just were flat and stopped the ball too much, didn’t keep the ball rolling, didn’t make simple passes, which led to other guys not moving off the ball, which led to some bad turnovers. We just couldn’t find that rhythm that we had in the first 10-15 minutes. We were decent at the start of the game and then we just fell flat and couldn’t regain that energy that we started with.”
On RSL’s strong defense:
“It’s not just Marcelo [Silva] and Justen [Glad], it starts at the front with the forwards and the message from Pablo [Mastroeni] to the whole team about defending as a unit. We’re a very difficult team to break down. As you can see, tonight, for the second home game, they get half-chances. It’s really just defending as a team and guys putting their bodies on the line to make sure they don’t get anything in the goal.”
On the possibility of being an MLS All-Star:
“That would be awesome. You want to be considered an All-Star every year, and the fact that the team’s having a good year, so I think we deserve to have a few All-Stars.”
Defender Aaron Herrera
On the lack of space on the right wing tonight:
“I didn’t feel like we got the ball around quick enough and by the time it got to me the whole team had already shifted. It made it very hard to get a clean cross off. Fatigue also plays a factor because it can be very difficult to have a change of pace and beat guys in their own end as well. We just need to move the ball quicker and more concisely.”
On missing out on first place without a win tonight:
“We talked about it before the game. We knew the implications that this game held and had the chance to go to bed tonight at the top of the table but that didn’t happen tonight. I don’t know when the last time we were in first place, but it sucks that we weren't able to do it tonight in front of the home crowd.”
On his chemistry with Justen Glad and Andrew Brody:
“It’s awesome to play with guys that you are close with. Especially a guy like [Andrew] Brody because he’s overcome so much. I’ve talked about it before; he had to wait some time to get a chance with the first team and he almost ended up quitting soccer. Thankfully, he stuck with it and it’s awesome to see because he is such a smart player who is always in the right spots. He’s just solid back there all the time. Having Justen [Glad] right by my side is great. Anytime I make a mistake he is always there to cover for me and hopefully that’s vice versa. It’s just awesome to be by those guys.”
