Quote Sheet
Real Monarchs 4 vs Portland Timbers 0
July 1, 2022; Zions Bank Stadium; Herriman Utah
Real Monarchs (1-11-2 5 points); Portland Timbers 2 (1-10-2 7 points)
Head Coach Jamison Olave
On how the first win feels:
“Getting the three points today feels so good. We have been doing good things and have cut down on our mistakes. You can see the ability we have and how they’ve been working so hard. I’m just really happy for this team.”
On the four goals:
“It was great. I’ve been telling all the guys that if we can move the ball more and play as a team we will find the back of the net. That ball from Chris [Garcia] to Tyrone [Mondi] showed how unselfish he is, and I love that from all of my guys. If we play like that inside the final third, we are going to score goals.”
On the success of the team in a new formation:
“I think that it was everything tonight. We did decide to change the formation because we weren’t having much success with four in the back. Things weren’t going well, so we had to find a way to switch things up. The last game in St. Louis was a good game but it wasn’t in our favor so we wanted to change things up. Actually having all of our players on the field is beautiful. Everyone was sprinting around the field and we had so many options. We brought Axel [Kei] Abokye [Bikyeombe] and so many others. All of these young guys will be able to compete at this level for sure.”
Midfielder Chris Garcia
How it felt to get the win?
“First of all, thank you guys for being here. It felt good. Finally. We’ve had some rough games, but finally, we got the win. That’s what we wanted, and we’re going to keep building from this.”
What was different from today?
“First of all, thanks to the team. Playing as a team really helped me to be a dangerous player today. One thing we definitely did a little differently today was we picked the intensity up. We just have to keep this up for the next games.”
Weight of losses and relief of the win
“It feels really good to get a W today. It’s been rough for us. It’s been a tough season for us, but we’re finally coming in together, coaches, players, everybody. We’re doing whatever we need to do to win these games.”
Forward Tyrone Mondi
How it felt to get the win:
“I feel like it’s a load that’s been lifted off our shoulders. We’ve been grinding out and the results haven’t been going our way the past few games, so it’s a relief. The things that we’ve been working on in training have been coming out in the games. The last four to five games we’ve been trying to implement them, and I think it was the right time at least at home to get the win, and for me, it can only get better.”
How new formation has impacted him and the team:
“With different personnel coming down, some of the guys from the first team coming down, I think that has helped us a lot. We’ve been trying different formations and this one has just clicked with us. Going into training we look at the details, and I think the success for us now going forward is in the details. Going out and training and working on that has been great. The group has been excellent. The work rate and the effort have been phenomenal from the guys, and it makes it a lot less complicated too with the roles that we have to do on the field and the coaches have implemented that. Every player now knows when they go out, they know what they have to do and that has helped us a lot.”
Thoughts on positioning for his goals:
“It just comes off of the movement. The stuff we have been working on in training has been working out. We know that when someone is in a different spot, maybe Chris [Garcia] or Bode [Hidalgo] is in a spot, I have to be in a different spot. We are just working off of each other and we know that. Every time we go on the training field, we work on those runs, knowing that if I make the back post-run, I might not get it nine times out of ten, but the tenth one I might get it, and I think that’s what happened today. With the first goal, I made a couple of runs, but I didn’t get the ball, but a little bit of luck with the goalkeeper just hitting it out to me and I was in the right spot at the right time. The same with the second one. I made the run, Chris came across and he was unselfish. He gave me the ball and I put it in the back of the net.”
