Real Salt Lake 0 vs. DC United 0
September 10, 2022; Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Real Salt Lake (11-9-10, 43 points); DC United (7-17-6, 27 points)
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
On his emotions after the draw:
“Obviously, I’m frustrated with the result. From a points perspective, those were the three points we needed. The only thing you can’t control is the performance results—you need things to go your way, you need balls to bounce, you need shots to hit the frame, you need good calls, and you need a lot of breaks to score goals. But when I think about where we were and what we went on to achieve in the game on both sides of the ball, I think we did a really, really good job. And obviously, scoring goals is the toughest thing to do in a game, and we just couldn’t find it, but we created enough solid opportunities to be able to do that. The guys in the back defended two dynamic forwards extremely well, the guys in midfield defended the ball well, the guys out wide found themselves in great positions on both sides of the ball, but we pressed better than we did in recent times. Again, it’s what I told the guys: you only judge yourself on your performance. We did everything we set out to achieve today, and that’s where I find solace.”
On if the team is at a good spot for the final four games:
“In all phases of the game, I thought we were really bright. If you don’t score you’re not going to win. The guys got themselves in great positions and it was just that final play that we lacked. Whether it was a pass or shot, or shaking somebody and finishing, we just lacked that. It wasn’t from the lack of creating those good opportunities. Defensively I thought we were strong. On transition, I thought we were good on both sides of the ball. We’ll keep looking at it and keep working, and hopefully we’ll find a goal in Austin or two because we’re capable of scoring goals. Tonight just wasn’t our night.”
On the mentality shifting to Austin:
“Like I told the guys before the LAFC game, we went to Dallas and got a result. Then we went to Seattle as well and got three points. We’re capable of doing that. It’s just about being really good in all the different moments that the game asks for. Obviously, it’s going to be a different environment away from home but if we play with the same type of mentality and we play the same type of football, we’ll find a way to get in there and put ourselves in a position to get a result.”
Goalkeeper Zac MacMath
On the performance of the defense tonight:
“We gave a pretty good effort. We knew coming into tonight's game that they would be playing with two strong forwards that like to use their height and physicality to ignite their attack and put balls on. They got through a couple of times but for the most part, Justen [Glad] and Marcello [Silva] did a pretty good job dealing with two of the bigger forwards in the league.”
On what the team needs to do to stay above the playoff line:
“We just have to do what we have been doing the entire season. Staying in games late and keeping clean sheets are very important things to do. All of the games we have played in the last few weeks have been very tight where goals have been scored late. We just have to hang in these games longer and hope that the bounce goes our way to pick up points and push into the playoffs.”
On the next matchup against Austin:
“It’s going to take a collective effort from all of the guys. We need everyone to be on the same page next game because we are going to a very loud place where it can be tough to understand each other. We need to all be on the same page and get our guys recovered to be able to steal something from a very good team.”
