Real Salt Lake 2 vs. Colorado Rapids 2_
July 9, 2022; Rio Tinto Stadium, Sandy, Utah
Real Salt Lake (8-5-6, 30 points); Colorado Rapids (5-8-5, 20 points)_
Head Coach Pablo Mastroeni
On what the team can take away and learn from this game:
“We played really well tonight. We were dangerous and we created some really nice chances. We, for the most part, did a good job at defensively managing a lot of their direct play. The takeaway is to continue building on what we’ve been able to achieve. And again, the game of football, for me, is not about halves, it’s not about 15-minute periods–it’s about moments. And there’s a lot of moments in a soccer game and you just never know when they’re going to come. Especially that last goal they scored, things that we go over in training, things that we talk about before the game, the emphasis to really lock down and stay mentally clear and set pieces against a team that really thrives on set pieces. Again, it’s a long season, we have to learn from this, and we have to move forward.”
On where the chippiness, frustration, and physicality of the game stemmed from:
“You heard the fans out there. It’s the frustration, it’s all of it. It’s giving up some soft goals against your biggest rivals and you want to get a result and you’re up 2-0. There’s no reason why you don’t come away with three points after the performance we put forth. But again, the game doesn’t owe you anything. You have to go out and get everything.”
On playing Jefferson Savarino higher up:
“I thought he would look really bright, he helped us link and really connect the midfield and front line. He found some really good gaps. Sava’s dangerous when he’s in front of the goal, and the goal he scored–it was a play that he had in his mind as he was receiving the ball, so putting him in a position to be dangerous is good. Obviously, he’s comfortable on the right, but this position for him could be a good one.”
On if RSL’s form is in a tough spot right now:
“Our form isn’t in a tough spot, the results have been tough. There’s times you don’t play well and you get results you don’t like, and there’s times you do play well. That’s just football. We have to keep on keeping on, keep doing what we’re doing. It’s being able to manage games a little bit better. The Vancouver game, for example, we managed the last couple minutes well; this game, we didn’t. Part of it was fatigue, part of it was players coming in and out of the lineup, and the lack of chemistry with that. But those are things as a team and as a collective that we have to do better with.”
Midfielder Justin Meram
On the team’s success so far despite the draw:
“That’s why we love this club. We love the locker room and the coaching staff because we are altogether without and have no egos. We are just a bunch of average joes with a little bit of flair that wants to work each day for each other. The result sucks. Everyone feels it, especially the fans, but the one positive is we don’t have to wait until next Saturday or Sunday to play. We have the chance to play on Wednesday and it’s going to be nice for me to be able to see some old friends.”
On what they will fix going into the next game:
“Next game we are winning. You know what they say in soccer that a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous lead to have and it sure as hell showed it tonight. We just have to be better in all aspects. You saw that we got too cute making our passes trying to score a third or fourth goal but there was no need. We needed to just keep the ball and die out there. We had the ball in their half and we just needed to find the right moment and punish them but it became too much of a transition game. When the game flipped like that and they added Michael [Barrios] in, they added some pace and all of the sudden it kind of suited them better at the end.”
On his goal in the 51st minute:
“I’ll give an assist to Pablo [Mastroeni]. He shouted that I needed to crash the box on that set piece and what the coach asks, I better do. Pablo [Ruiz] made an unbelievable shot and it was one of those balls where it was bouncing way too hard to get a foot on it. I don’t score very many headers but I’ll take that one.”
