Quote Sheet
Real Salt Lake 0-6 New York City FC
Yankee Stadium, Bronx, New York
April 17, 2022
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
Thoughts on what went wrong in the match:
“I think everything we stand for, we didn’t bring today. I think we were too easy to play around. I think we got run down our right side the whole first half, and we just didn’t put up a good competitive battle today. We had a couple of opportunities early on, but again, even on the offensive side, we could have been more proactive. We could have been more determined to get to the goal and shoot more. We just didn’t have it. This is one of those games that you need to dust off quickly and get back on the horse.”
Thoughts on how to move on quickly but also keep players accountable:
“The guys are obviously frustrated. I think anytime you are in a game like that, where passes were a bit too long, a bit too short, we weren’t sharp. A lot of it comes down to confidence. If we start the game off the right way as we did last weekend, we’re buzzing. How do you quickly dust things off when they’re not going your way? Giving up a corner kick, something we have been stressing week in and week out, and giving up a penalty kick in the first half doesn’t put you in a good position to win the game. Credit to the guys, they stuck in there, they kept fighting for what that’s worth. We will have to look at the video, but more importantly than anything else, I was talking to the New York [City FC] staff today, and they said ‘we were expecting a real scrap today. We knew we had to match your intensity.’ And we just didn’t bring it today.”
Thoughts on how to move forward
“Last week we were flying high. This week, we obviously didn’t perform. We set the table in training this week. Obviously, we don’t have a lot of training this week because we have a midweek game, and it is important that we put our best foot forward. Again, I think the one thing that we really hung our hat on early in the season, not having a full roster of players, was everyone was willing to do more than what was required because we didn’t have that. I think we need to get back to that place where guys that are coming back to the group, they have to get back to that mentality where everyone is willing to do the extra. We can’t just rely, now that we got players back, that we can just be easy and rest on our laurels. I think that is the beauty of football, having games every week. You have another chance to do it. We got a game against Portland [Timbers] away from home, but it will be a great test for us coming off of this tough defeat.”
Thoughts on the potential for new players being added and their impact
“I think if those guys were here today, it wouldn’t have made a difference because it’s a team that plays. Individuals have to play their role and do their job for sure, but today it was more of a collective. It lacked the same type of grittiness and resolve that we’ve had in the previous seven games. The players that have always been available have always stepped up and performed wonderfully in some very difficult places to play. Obviously, the first part of the season is really loaded with away games. My job is to work with the guys that we have in the building and give 100% of our attention and focus on those guys. If other players come in the future, then we’ll acclimate them into the group and move forward.”
