Quote Sheet
Colorado Rapids 1-2 Real Salt Lake
April 15, 2017; Dick’s Sporting Goods Park
Real Salt Lake
Head Coach Mike Petke
On the last ten minutes of the match:
“Ecstatic, not just for the win but for the guys. They knew coming into halftime that it wasn’t good enough. They were already laying into each other. It still wasn’t great coming into the second half but we had a bit more urgency. They didn’t stop until they got it.”
On team’s perseverance:
“It shows they have the desire and energy, and compete until the last whistle. With a league like this, it comes down to not giving up and pushing until last minute.”
On Colorado’s game plan:
“They did a very good job being organized. They got into great positions early and that’s what we didn’t do well, we should’ve played the ball quicker. Second half was a bit better, we opened them up a little bit.”
On Brooks Lennon’s performance:
“That all came down to Brooks. I was set to bring on an offensive sub and move Brooks over to the other side and he looked at me and said: ‘I got this guy.’”
On looking ahead to next weekend:
“Four days of practice. Another opportunity to get points and improve as a team. Compared to last week, today was kind of a bit of a step backwards but we found the way to win. Time to get back on track and play the style we like to play.”
Forward Yura Movsisyan
On changes since Mike Petke took over:
“New energy, new ideas, and everybody woke up. Everybody that is on the team has done a great job.”
On the new ideas:
“Playing more aggressive, defending higher up, and going in tough environments to know we have to get a win.”
On the last ten minutes of the game:
“These are the games you wait until the 90th minute. You wait for your opportunity. It’s tough because we didn’t have our best game but we still got the win. Just believing in ourselves and believing until the last minute.”
On getting a result in Colorado:
“It’s awesome, one of the toughest places to go in and get a result. Playing as bad as we did, it was kind of nice.”
On getting the monkey off their backs:
“We knew it was going to be tough coming in, especially with the Rocky Mountain Cup, and what it means to us and our fans, so we knew it was important. We are coming back here again so it was great to get ahead in the Rocky Mountain Cup.”
Forward Brooks Lennon
On the team since the head coach switch:
“It’s been the same, just change in mentality. Practices have been more serious and on the pitch, we are getting to know each other more.”
On getting the result in the last 10 minutes:
“We kept pushing, played the style we wanted to play. Eventually got the penalty kick and the red card helped us out. Once we got that first goal, we knew the second one was coming.”
On the game-winning goal:
“Just got it on the left side, came in and saw an opening and fired it. When I looked up and saw it go in, it was the best feeling in the world.”
On the Rocky Mountain Cup rivalry:
“Obviously it’s a big rivalry, it was my first time playing in it so it felt different before the game. Definitely more serious. I was glad I had the opportunity to play in it and get the win.”
Colorado Rapids
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
On not having Tim Howard available:
“It doesn’t change anything. We had ample opportunities to put the game away and it’s a game of finishing chances. We did enough tonight to win the game, we just weren’t clinical enough in front of goal and conceded two terrible goals.”
On Zac MacMath’s performance:
“I thought it was pretty good. He didn’t have much to do today until the latter part of the game. His distribution was good and created some attacking options for us. It was a night of two silly decisions on our part and poor defending in and around the area.”
On the last ten minutes of the match:
“It’s an emotional game. We had a couple of one-on-one opportunities to finish the game. We left it for too late. We didn’t do well enough with the chances that we created. It’s a game of emotions and that’s why two goals were conceded in the last five minutes. They didn’t have anything until the last five minutes.”
Forward Kevin Doyle
On the diving header:
“We were playing well up to that stage. Marlon [Hairston] got in a great position and I was just trying to get in the box and get a good connection on it. We were upset with a few injuries and it took away the rhythm of the game. It felt like we were going to win the game, we never thought we were going to lose but it’s tough to take those last ten minutes.”
On the missed opportunities:
“Tough when you’re 1-0 up and you’re protecting [the lead]. We were sucker punched with two goals which we’re very disappointed with. Overall, we think we played well but overtime just lost concentration.”
On looking ahead to next weekend’s game:
“Our life as professional is up and down. You get to learn that as you get older, you can’t dwell on disappointments because next week we can win and everyone is happy again. We just have to analyze it, hope to get a reason out of it and be ready for next weekend.”
Defender Kortne Ford
On playing at home for the first time:
“It felt great to play in front of our fans but it was a disappointment to have lost the match – especially in those critical moments the last 5-10 minutes of the game.”
On the last ten minutes:
“We have to tune in and win our individual battles. Be smart and we can’t have guys dribbling across us. We have to get blocked shots and at the end of the day, I don’t think Zac could’ve seen it.”
On regrouping and looking ahead:
“It will be a learning experience. We have to go in, watch film and learn from our mistakes. Regroup this week because this is unacceptable and we owe it to our fans.”
