NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION 2, REAL SALT LAKE 1
RICE-ECCLES STADIUM - SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH
RSL HEAD COACH JASON KREIS
On RSL's effort:
"I don't know whether it came down to effort really, they just were not sharp. I thought there were just too many easy giveaways in the first half. We still have to continue to work on our shape. I think there were times, especially in the second half, where it was easy for us to move the ball around and that is what we are going to want. In the second half we were doing a pretty decent job of that. I think that is a positive we can take from tonight."
On the foul call that led to the Larentowicz free kick goal:
"I think it would be an easy thing to sit up here and criticize the referees. That is easy; maybe too easy. What we need to do is focus on not putting ourselves in a position to be like that at the end of a game at home. I feel like we really need to just focus on how we are going to get better, and let the referees worry about themselves."
On the likely departure of Freddy Adu:
"Really what we know about it is that Freddy has received a fantastic opportunity to go overseas and play, where he has said he wanted to for a while. In my opinion I have to respect that and allow him the opportunity to do that. If we had forced him to play tonight there would be a possible injury, and that whole deal could be scrapped. What is does for us is it gives a tremendous opportunity to have money to spend and a roster spot to use to bring in another talented piece of this puzzle we are trying to create."
On Andy Williams's red card:
"It hurt us a lot. Obviously when you are down a goal and down a man it is a difficult, difficult prospect. Andy, I think, was really starting to come into the game. It took him long enough, but he was starting to come into it. I really felt like the team was really playing well in the second half, and the momentum was really running our way. We sure would have loved to had seen that not happen."
On the play of Kyle Beckerman:
"Again, another tireless effort by Kyle. He covered a lot of ground out there today. We have to be happy with what he put into it."
REAL SALT LAKE GOALKEEPER NICK RIMANDO
Thoughts on the match:
"[Tonight shows] that we can play with the good teams, that we can play with the point leaders. In the first half we could have been better, even the second half we could have been better. We can play with them, and when we don't play our best they get a goal in the last 10 minutes and they win the game. I think we are getting better and I say it every week, every game we are getting better. As much as it hurts to lose every game, to go in and have close calls, we need to bounce up and keep going because the season's not going to stop now."
REAL SALT LAKE FORWARD CHRIS BROWN
On adjusting after the red card:
"After we got the red card, things kind of go out the window and you almost have to look for a point. We did a great job to get a goal back and tie it up, and we had a couple chances after that. When they score on a free kick it's kind of a blow when you're down a man. It's one of those things where they get a free kick at the top of the box and it was a good shot. Then we're trying to press the last 15 minutes and get a goal back and your game plan goes out the window and you're trying to press and throwing guys forward."
On RSL's style of play:
"I thought we knocked the ball around pretty well. There were times when we hit the long ball a little too much I thought, but when we did knock it around I felt we did pretty well, in and out, switch from side to side, we had several good crosses. I think we just need to keep the ball on the ground more and possess it more, and I think we showed signs of it there throughout the game."
REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER CAREY TALLEY
On RSL's work rate after going a man down:
"I think it was great work by us to get back in the game being a man down with a red card I thought was a little harsh, but the call was given. We fought back; Kyle (Beckerman) did great to get in the box and got taken down, and he's part of getting us that penalty."
On the foul call that led to the Larentowicz goal:
"About the call at the end, I would rather not get fined, so I'll just leave it at that. You have to be a good defender and hold them up at the top of the box. It would be better off if the men on the field who are playing in the uniforms decided who wins the game."
On the second half of the season:
"We made a commitment to ourselves that we were going to believe. If you go down a man, come back and get a goal, that shows the belief right there that we can still win the game. Yeah, it's frustrating, but that's soccer."
On RSL's new faces:
"It's going well. I think we were a bit sluggish in the first half but we brought it back in the second, we got our legs back under us. The new faces I think have done well for us and we're playing a little bit better system and we are keeping the ball a heck of a lot more then we have in the past, so it's only going to get better for us in terms of keeping the ball in possession and figuring out how to link with our front runners."
On positives to be taken from the match:
"We had guys that came in off the bench to help make a difference, so it wasn't just the 11 guys on the field that helped contribute to what we had going. We got a bit unlucky, but we can't just look at that as the reason that we lost. There were other things that led to it, but we just got to get better."
On his confidence on taking the penalty kick:
"I wanted it. I have wanted it every time we have gotten a penalty and I wanted to be the one to put my foot down and say 'This is mine.' I want to help lead this team."
REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER KYLE BECKERMAN
On getting wins:
"[Tonight] will be a loss, but it's something for somebody else to step up and try and help us get wins here. We need wins and whoever is in the game when we do get a win I think will stay. It's just an opportunity for somebody else."
On the positives:
"Losing at home is really unacceptable. I don't know, we battled, we got it to 1-1, it felt good for a little bit but it's just not good enough. We just need to get better and work harder at it and hopefully next week we will. The fans were great. It's unacceptable to lose at home; it's not something we can get use to, it's just not good. Tonight we weren't good enough so we just need to work harder and get it done next week."
On the departure of Freddy Adu:
"You can't use it as an excuse, but yesterday he was in the starting lineup and today we found out that he wasn't. He is a dangerous player, but we went into the game knowing that he wasn't on the field, and we still felt that we could win the game."
On adjustments for next week:
"Somebody is going to have to step for Andy (Williams). We need everybody on this roster to help us out to get wins here and we need wins quick."
NEW ENGLAND REVOLUTION HEAD COACH STEVE NICOL
About getting another win on the road:
"Well I think we totally deserved it, we played all the football. We made a couple of mistakes that let them in the game and they ended up getting a goal from it, apparently. And obviously you're away from home and they get some momentum, but you know we've got some strength and character.
"It's fantastic to get a win away from home. We're coming up to a tough stretch and it's really important to get off to a good start. But you know we expected to win here. We spoke about getting three points here and that's what we got."
On the free kick game-winner by Jeff Larentowicz:
"Jeff has always had the ability to hit the ball like that. We've tried to encourage him to take more shots, to step up. And to be fair to the goalkeeper, with a shot like that, he didn't have a lot of chance."
On the combination play of Taylor Twellman and Pat Noonan:
"They combine well together, great to watch. We would certainly like to get them some better balls so they can do it more often. It's something we can work on."
NEW ENGLAND MIDFIELDER JEFF LARENTOWICZ
On his one goal, one assist effort:
"Yeah, there it is right there. I think that just says it was a good night."
On his game-winning free kick:
"Steve [Ralston] just said I could take it, simple as that. I grabbed the ball right when the foul happened and put it down the way I wanted it and Steve looked at me and said I could have it, so I hit it."
About getting the win in Salt Lake City:
"I know this is a tough place to play, all things considered, the altitude is just a piece of it. They have good fans and they can really perform on this field. It's a good win."
NEW ENGLAND FORWARD PAT NOONAN
On the result:
"It was a big win, especially when you go up a man and give up a goal and we kind of let our guard down a little bit. It was nice to come back and get the win, but we still need to build on our performances when we're getting leads because we are giving too many of them away."
On his first half goal:
"It was a great buildup. Jeff [Larentowicz] played a great ball into Taylor [Twellman], who laid it off perfectly and made it very easy. From there I just wanted to put it on the frame and was able to do that."
On getting back to form:
"I'm pretty much 100 percent. I'm feeling good out there and feeling confident, and obviously I've got a good squad around me to make it easier. I'm starting to feel in form and as long as we're winning games that's all I care about."
