Quote Sheet
Real Salt Lake 1-0 Sporting Kansas City
Children’s Mercy Park; Kansas City, Kansas
Sunday, November 7, 2021
Interim Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
On how the team rebounded from back-to-back losses at home:
“Every time this year where our backs have been against the wall there has been a fantastic response. We really fell back upon those moments throughout the year. Dami [Kreilach] and Albert [Rusnák] have been fantastic leaders for this group. They really took it upon themselves to get the guys in the right headspace. It was a complete effort from everyone, but the key word is belief. The moment you lose that, nothing else matters. Not formation, not style of play, none of it. I knew there was a ton of belief on the field because they kept going and kept going like in our last away game against Dallas. A team that doesn’t believe throws their hands up and hangs their heads. These guys have been warriors all year long, so credit goes to the guys for believing in themselves, believing in the project, believing in the work and reaping this wonderful moment.”
On the difficulty of changing formations midweek:
“It was reasonably simple. I had a lot of conversations with the guys throughout the week. When you concede seven goals in two games, obviously we created a bunch of opportunities and the guys were enjoying their football going forward, but we weren’t scoring enough goals and we were conceding a lot. After quite a few conversations with the guys, we decided that this is the best thing for the group. We’re going to Kansas City so we have to shore up the back line, make sure that people are in positions where they feel extremely comfortable defensively and we know that we have the quality of players up front that can find goals in any moment. The guys did a great job tonight of creating some really good chances and believing and staying in there until the end and then Dami [Kreilach] finds the winner for the group.”
On staying patient throughout the match:
“Before the game, we talked about the different changes that we would be making throughout the course of the game given different situations. When you have those in front of you before the game starts, it takes out the emotion. Doing a lot of the work ahead of time provides a backdrop to where there’s less emotional attachment to the game. The guys are feeling the ups and downs of every play, so the onus is on us as coaches to make sure that we are steadfast in our belief and our decisions. The guys couldn’t have performed at a more professional level, it was a surreal professional performance. They knew the time was coming and made sure to not give up anything in the back and stay in the game. [David] Ochoa had a fantastic game, the guys in the back, Marcelo [Silva] and [Justen] Glad, Aaron [Herrera] and [Andrew] Brody were great, as well as the guys in the midfield. There was a lot of confidence and belief that we were going to get it done. When you stay the course, do the right things and don’t get too emotional, good things will come.”
On how the team kept its balance throughout the match:
“It’s not an easy situation for the guys on the field. We’ve talked about that. We’ve looked at the video from the San Jose and Portland games and in those two games we felt like in situations when we are down a goal, we threw caution to the wind as a group. People vacated their positions, not in a bad way, but because they wanted it too bad. Discipline was the key. Tonight, there was a great balance to the group. Aaron [Herrera] did a great job of holding his position defensively at times, but also releasing from the position. [Andrew] Brody did a great job as well. With those two players balancing out the back line, it makes it a lot easier for one pivot to be holding versus the two. As a collective, they did a great job of feeling out the moments and playing accordingly.”
On Damir Kreilach’s growth as a player:
“It’s almost ironic because he is one of the biggest team players. In my conversation with him earlier this week he said, ‘Pablo, wherever you need me. If you need me at centerback, I’ve played there before. If you need me at the six, I’ve played six before.’ He is so unselfish in his commitment to the group. It’s only fitting that all of the accolades are being showered on him at the moment with all of the goals that he scores. It’s interesting because goals are such a grand experience, knowing you scored the goal. But like I said, he is willing to do whatever it takes for the group. When you have guys like Dami [Kreilach] and Albert [Rusnák], another player who said he’d play wherever I needed him. When you talk about a team, when you talk about guys who give themselves for the betterment of the group – these two guys are the best leaders that any manager could ever want. They are unbelievable athletes, unbelievable soccer players, but more importantly they are selfless individuals who have really been the leaders of this group.”
On the locker room atmosphere after the exciting finish:
“As you can imagine it was pandemonium in there. There are a lot of adult beverages being thrown about and sprayed. It’s the culmination of a really interesting year, an exciting year at times with a lot of ups and down. What was never lost throughout the year was the belief that we could achieve something as a group. As the interim Head Coach in this situation, I couldn’t have been on the sidelines leading a better group of men that have overcome a lot of obstacles this season. To come into the locker room and see what sport brings, team sports are amazing. Especially when it’s experienced in these types of moments where the only people believing with 10 seconds left were the guys on the sidelines and the guys on the field. You can imagine the relief, the joy and what all of that means after a tough season. Now we’re looking forward to a great playoff run.”
Midfielder Damir Kreilach
On scoring the game-winner:
“I will say just one word – team. We followed the plan, we did what we wanted to do today. It would be great to go into halftime one or two up, but we knew who we were playing. KC is a great team, especially at home with a lot of ball possession. We were so disciplined, we were responsible as a unit defensively and offensively at the end too. This is how we view ourselves. There are so many people that didn’t believe in us, but a big thank you to those who did. It was a huge win tonight and as I said before, thanks to everyone.”
On the chances created in the match:
“This game was a great example of how we have to play in the playoffs and also how we used to play games away. We fought for every inch, every single one. The most important thing was that we believed. The last 10 to 15 minutes we were in their half creating chances and at the end of the day, we scored. Now it’s time to relax for a couple of days and then get ready for Seattle.”
On how the team created so many chances in the match:
“It’s the quality we had in the team. At the end of the day, between us and as we showed during the season, the individual and collective quality that we have, that quality came out tonight. The guys on the bench, I know it is not easy to sit on the bench, but they were supportive every single second. The guys that came in gave another input to the game and they changed the game, from Justin Meram and [Anderson] Julio to Bobby [Wood]. Well done to everyone and as I said before, it’s the team’s success and this is how we have to play moving forward.”
On the mentality of the group after back-to-back losses at home:
“The saying around here is third time is the charm and we did it. It wasn’t especially easy to play in this game because we knew it was the last chance, but the most important thing is that we believed and if you believe, you can reach everything. It wasn’t easy, especially because we lost to San Jose at home by conceding four goals and then we lost to Portland as well and conceded three goals. We just came together as a group. We knew what we had to do, we followed our plan and we got a win tonight and a playoff spot.”
On the game-winning goal:
“It was a great assist from Justin [Meram]. I don’t know if he wanted to shoot or not, but at the end of the day it couldn’t be better. I thought I might be in an offside position, but I looked to the ref and didn’t see the flag up so I just went to celebrate with my teammates and then I crossed my fingers that they wouldn’t check VAR and call offsides. At the end of the day it was perfect, it was a great moment.”
On continuing to fight in stoppage time:
“There wasn’t pressure at all because the guys on the back line did a fantastic job. They kept it at zero. It was exactly what we wanted to do, from [David] Ochoa to the front players. We fought as a team, we defended as a team and at the end of the day, we had a plan to go all-in in the final 15 minutes and we did. Because of our belief and courage, we were rewarded at the end of the day.”
On continuing to believe after losing back-to-back at home:
“The last two weeks weren’t easy at all, we played five games in two weeks. The good thing about that is that you can’t think about what happened in the games too much. After Portland the frustration was there. We were frustrated, but all of the negative frustration that happened with Portland, we changed to a positive tonight. This is how we showed a great performance tonight. On Thursday when we started our re-gen, we said to each other that we’ve got to believe - it's the only way to get a playoff spot and we did it. So many times during this year we have come in front of the wall and broke it. It says how much mentality and quality that this team has. At this point I have to mention all of these guys that are working for us from the media staff, to the technical staff, to the medical staff, the performance coaches and the coaching staff and then at the end of the day our fans and the team. This is the synergy that we need going into Seattle and the most important thing is that we’ve got to believe.”
