REAL SALT LAKE 1, 0 HOUSTON DYNAMO
RICE-ECCLES STADIUM - SALT LAKE CITY, UT
RSL HEAD COACH JASON KREIS
On the feelings in the locker room after the game:
"(We are) very, very happy. Like I said yesterday, probably nobody outside our locker room believed we could win that game, but we had a locker room full of guys and a staff full of coaches and probably an office full of Real Salt Lake workers that believed and it was nice to see it come true."
On the play of FW Robbie Findley:
"He was absolutely unbelievable the entire game and the goal really just capped off all of the hard work that he put into that match. That just blew my mind the amount of work he was putting in, the lost causes he was chasing down in the first half, making sliding tackles to keep the ball in play and into the box. For me, man of the match, no question.
On Findley's goal:
"He likes that spot where he got that goal. I think his first two goals were from about that same spot, so we'll try and get him in that spot a few more times."
On the effort of the entire team:
"I have to tip my hat to ever single player that stepped out on the field for us, whether it us for 10 minutes, 80 minutes or even 90 minutes. I really felt that the entire team gave it everything they had tonight and they should be very proud of themselves."
On the play of the Sturgis-Talley-Beckerman midfield combo:
"It's really amazing to us, as a staff, how quickly those guys clicked, have just hit it off, and it's because all three players are similar players. All are intelligent, keep themselves in the right spot a lot of the time, and make good decisions whether it's with the ball or without it."
RSL CAPTAIN EDDIE POPE
On building on tonight's win:
"Now the key is to stay on track. We wish there was another game right away so we could build momentum, but we've just got to stay sharp over the next several days and go into the next game."
On the key to stymieing the Dynamo attack:
"Tonight I think we were able to possess the ball very well, which has been an Achilles heel for us; just poor turnovers, losing the ball cheaply. Tonight we just took care of the ball, and we know when we do that we're very, very good."
On having a late-game break go RSL's way:
"We've talked about just deserving it, and playing so many games through the 75th or 80th minute and playing so hard and having something happen to us. The amount of work we've put in over the weeks; the fans don't realize it, it's been just absolutely incredible how hard we've worked."
RSL FW ROBBIE FINDLEY
On defeating a red-hot Dynamo squad:
"We've been working hard in practice, have gone through a few changes in the past couple weeks with some players. We played hard last week and definitely knew we had it in us and we just played 90 minutes and it turned out well."
On his game-winning goal:
"I think it came off of [Houston DF Wade] Barrett's toe and it went right into my direction. I saw we were 2-v-1 and the defender was split and me and I think it was Atiba [Harris] were up there. I was open and decided to take the shot and just struck it."
On scoring the game-winner on his 22nd birthday:
"Yeah, it couldn't be better. A win's always good"
On RSL's two wins in 2007 coming against teams with lengthy undefeated streaks:
"It just shows that our team can play with the best. Any team can beat any team on any given day. You just have to put in the hard work during practice. Whatever you put into practice usually pays off during the game."
RSL GK NICK RIMANDO
On whether his pouncing on a loose ball at the end of the game brought joy or relief:
"Joy, for sure, because you want to catch every ball clean as much as you can. But they were throwing guys forward. They have some big guys, and when they throw those big guys forward they get in front of the ball and it's tough to see that hole. But luckily the ball bounced so well today and I was able to get that ball."
On having a break go RSL's way late in the match:
"Yeah, it's definitely relieving because that hasn't happened for a while, something always seems to happen in the later part of the game. But today we concentrated the whole 90 minutes. Everybody fought and to get a win tonight against one of the best teams in the league shows that we can play with the best. And when we do play good soccer and we concentrate, we can win games."
On what tonight's win does for RSL:
"Until we start winning [tonight's] just one game, and I think right now in the second half, it's one game at a time and that's what we have to keep on concentrating on. We're not looking to the playoffs, we're looking to the next game against Chicago. Hopefully we'll be in the right mentality, the same mentality as tonight against them, and we can keep on moving."
On the play of RSL's defense:
"They played great. I can't even count the number of times we went forward with our right and left back. I mean [Ritchie] Kotschau, Jean-Martial [Kipre], everybody. [Chris] Lancos when he came in did superb, and that's what we need from backs. Eddie [Pope] organized; everybody was in sync. They all showed a lot and I think that was the key for tonight's win."
HOUSTON HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
Thoughts on the game:
"I just think our guys are dead. We ran out of gas probably 20 minutes in, just kind of broke forward every once in a while and tried to defend. A little mix-up in the back lets them through and that's the game. The guys tried, but there wasn't much energy out there."
On Real Salt Lake's play:
"They did ok. They took advantage of as at a very vulnerable time. I thought we defended okay; they had a couple of looks. They were sensing that they could get forward. I thought we did okay keeping them away. I didn't think they were all over us; they had possession at times and so did we."
HOUSTON MF RICARDO CLARK
On the game:
"Obviously not our best game, but I think the good thing is we still created chances. We had one breakdown that kind of killed us. A little disappointed, because I think we could have come out of there with a tie. It's frustrating, but there's nothing we can do but look forward, look to the next game and try to get a win."
On playing five games in 13 days:
"It is a lot of games, a lot of legs. I'm sure people are a little leggy right now, but we don't really want to make excuses because there are other teams in that situation also. I think the next couple games are a week apart, so we should get some rest and get our legs back. All we can do is look forward from now."
HOUSTON FW BRIAN CHING
On the game's only goal:
"(It was) just a mistake, nobody talking, just a mix-up and they were through. I guess things like that are bound to happen; they were happening in the beginning of the season for us. I think if we have fresh legs it's a whole different game. I think the field really killed us tonight. It made it slow and it made it a little easier for them to stop us from playing our game, really."
On RSL DF Eddie Pope:
"He's one of the best players that ever came out of the U.S. He's still got it; he had a good game tonight. He anchored their defense, got a shut out and did well against me and Joe [Ngwenya]. It was fun to play against him and I respect him tremendously. I want to thank him for the amount that he has done for soccer in the U.S. He's definitely a Hall-of-Famer in everyone's eyes."
