whether it's Troy [Perkins] making a big save or Christian [Gomez] coming up after missing a penalty, Fred injecting some light. We found a way to win and it wasn't pretty today. Whether it's a combination of us and who we played or the reffing, or whatever it doesn't matter, there is no excuse for what we did and how we came out, but we found a way to win and that's still important."
On substitutions and being tired:
"Well, you know I've been pushing these guys pretty hard and to their credit they have responded. We've had a lot of games in a short amount of time. We knew we had this break coming up and we might have actually thought we were on break today. But we need it; we need to recharge our batteries and refocus. Again, I'm still pleased we were able to get a result on a day where it wasn't good enough."
On bringing Fred in at halftime:
"We weren't holding the ball -- we were very predictable. And obviously Fred, the qualities Fred has, gives you a lot of that so it was important to get him in and hopefully change the tone of the way we were playing."
On playing through fouls:
"I think it's just the mentality -- we don't focus on the reffing, we don't focus on the fouls [being called], we focus on playing our game and playing through stuff and keeping our mouth shut. I thought today there was far too much interruption and I'd rather see a game where you don't walk away with many cards at all. Once you [the ref] start throwing them, you have to follow up and do it in a situation ... where I'm not sure how many cards there were but there were far too many. Whatever the case, you got to play with what's dealt and control what you can control."
On the eight yellow cards given:
"I think that gets to my point about sending early messages like the referee did -- he's forced to do that all game and the value of keeping guys in the game and realizing what's a bad foul and what's not. He's got to manage that out there."
On not starting Fred:
"You know he's been tired, he was a little ill the other day you know, a little head cold. You saw the other day at about 60 minutes he hit a wall and it was a good chance to let him sit for a little bit and bring him on to energize the game."
On having 10 days before the next game:
"Well, it's going to be nice for them to not have to hear from me for a little while. You know, like I said, I've driven them pretty hard and we've had a push to make sure we got through this stretch and I think it's going to be nice for everybody to get away for a few days -- including the coaching staff who has worked really hard. It will be a good opportunity now to get a full week of training in which we haven't had in a long time."
On Salt Lake's goal:
"Yeah, it was disappointing, because we addressed this before the game, you know Kyle's [Beckerman] got a shot from the outside and we failed to step and close that. We gave him a good opportunity to have a look at goal and he punished us. But its something we addressed before the game and we failed to execute."
On the penalty saves:
"The saves were good.
D.C. UNITED MIDFIELDER CHRISTIAN GOMEZ [via a translator]
On the game:
"We gained control after Luciano scored the first one. We tried to take it to them in the second half, with strong power trying to keep winning which is what we really want to do."
On the play of Fred:
"Fred is really important linking the midfield to the forwards. We are able to understand each other and where we are going to be without looking. He was very important in winning the match."
On the upcoming break:
"t was a really important win because we had been playing a lot in a few days. Now we can spend the rest of the weekend with our friends and family relaxing."
D.C. UNITED GOALKEEPER TROY PERKINS
On his penalty kick save:
"Of course, when they called the PK I knew there was only one person who was going to take it. He [Alecko Eskandarian] wanted to score so bad against us. The chance he got in Toronto was a fortunate goal for him, but I wasn't going to let it happen here."
On the result:
"It was a huge win going into a four-day break. If you lose or draw it, we would spend the whole time thinking about it."
On the team's 8-0-1 unbeaten streak:
"That streak is behind us. We are thinking in terms of hopefully going on another nine-game stretch. We have five more in the regular season and four in the playoffs."
REAL SALT LAKE HEAD COACH JASON KREIS
On the match:
"I thought it was a good match, a good game to watch. I thought both teams played well. It was really exciting. We have to look at our group and feel really, really good about what they put into that game. I though they played outstanding throughout the first half. So there's a lot of big things for us to draw on from this game. So, we feel very good about it."
On the two penalty saves:
The credit goes to the goalkeepers on those because neither one of them missed the frame. They were just saved by the goalkeepers. Obviously, Alecko [Eskandarian], it was a very emotional moment for him because I think this is his first time he's been back in D.C. United's stadium, and I know how badly he wanted to score. That can haunt you a little bit, you want it too bad. ... He wasn't rewarded for all the hard work he put into the game."
On Kyle Beckerman's goal:
"I felt like Beckerman was grinding at their back four, and they were backing into their own box almost wanting him to shoot. It was very good for him to take that shot and obviously very excellent. Again, a player that's worked extremely hard and has been very unfortunate not to score before tonight, so it was good to see that he got that tonight."
On what he needs to tell his team going into the end of the season:
"We tell our team, well, we've been telling them for a long time, that they are improving. ... Here we are competing with the two best teams in the league right down to the last minute on their field, so I think there's a lot to take away from that. We shouldn't be hanging our heads at all. Tommy Soehn might feel a little bit differently, but in our locker room we felt that we gave them a pretty good game."
REAL SALT LAKE GOALKEEPER NICK RIMANDO
On the game:
"That's all it is -- effort. It doesn't mean anything unless you get three points or a point. Today we showed we've been giving effort all year, but we seem always to lose it at the end or give up a silly goal. Today's the same thing. We give a [good] effort, you know good teams, good games. For some reason we give them away, and that's why we're at the bottom and they're at the top."
On D.C. United's two goals:
"Well, it's simple. When you're in the third, you mark up. That's all there is to it. They're dangerous. They score a lot of goals for a reason. When you give Fred the ball you give Christian [Gomez] the ball, they're going to make things happen and that's what they did. We were not composed out there and not rigid and not well marked up. They got two simple goals, and we gave them a win today."
On the oddity of having two penalties saved in a match:
"I guess so. I don't think I've seen that before. Again a credit to Troy [Perkins], he did well. He won the game for them because we didn't put ours away."
REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER KYLE BECKERMAN
On the game:
"There are definitely some positives. Yeah, I thought we were unfortunate to not get some more goals."
