Real Salt Lake Head Coach Mike Petke
On the tempo of the game...
"Listen I said before this game, I was asked a number of times before this game about Kansas City, I was asked a number of times about the players they had out, and I said the same thing every time, and I don’t lie, I speak my mind. They had players out tonight but they play in a system that, that Peter Vermes has worked on for years and he has perfected, and it doesn’t matter who is in and who is out. They are the top team, if not the top two teams in the league to me. I don’t lie when I say that, they have done a very good job. Some of their players were out so you combine that our players seem a little bit sluggish and like I said it is not on the players, it's on the last two performances and on how hard and long I have worked them for the last ten days before the break ended. You put those two things together and I give credit to Peter and the system he has created over the last three, four, five years. I think we created enough to win tonight but we hit a number of posts, we got in behind the defense a number of times, I think we did enough. But I cannot blame my players tonight based on the last couple performances and how hard they have worked.”
On the offense creating chances...
“We’re at home. Guys believe. I say it enough, it’s not about the goals we scored the last three league games, it’s how we created those goals. These guys understand they’re a good team. Post ejection, I couldn’t tell you.”
On the defense...
“We did very well. There were times where we didn’t do well and got away with it. There were times where we did well and didn’t get away with things. You still want to push it. Looking at the quality I think we have and you want to play the game the way you think it should be played. We did enough to win tonight and we didn’t. We got one point.”
Thoughts on taking points from the west leader...
“We have twelve games left. We need twenty-four points. If you go by the last five years, you get an average of 16 teams in. We need twenty-four points and we’ve talked about it as a team. We have goals so my point to the team about a week away when the scenario was brought was in an ideal world you win all your home games and get two or three points on the road it’s doable. If you slip up someplace you make it up on the back end. I have full confidence in this team. We have superb players. At the end of the day, if we do the things we are capable of, we’re going to get in the playoffs. We’re going to make a run.”
Story behind taking Sunny out after his yellow...
“The Sunny substitute was based off of him having a yellow card. I didn’t want to give an excuse for him to get thrown off and then were put on our heels. That excuse can be just a basic tackle or deemed as a bad tackle so I want to take that responsibility as a decision out of people’s hands and not put us behind the eight ball.”
On Marcelo’s night...
“I’m an honest person. The penalty call was justified. It didn’t look justified and I exploded a little bit because my team deserved a penalty kick. I didn’t continue with it because the call could’ve been interpreted in many different ways. The feedback I’ve been given from people I trust is yes he did get him. Aside from that, Marcelo is everything we want him to be. I dealt with as a player for thirteen years as a coach now for three years players coming over from a different league and the game is officiated differently. That’s the standard how much you can get in aggressively. It’s going to take a little while.”
Real Salt Lake defender Justen Glad
On the rivalry...
“Every game against them is a little extra fight, a little extra motivation. You saw it on the field with the cards and stuff like that.”
On Kansas City’s approach to the game...
“I thought we did alright. Obviously, there were a couple of plays where we got caught. They caught us and they countered quickly, and I thought we did the same to them. They are a team that likes to build out of the back, but we pressed and we were man on man, for goal kicks and stuff like that. So, I think both teams did a good job on that.”
On having Marcelo as his center-back partner...
“It felt good. I think as the season goes on we are going to get even more comfortable. I thought he played well tonight. He is a big strong guy, and he made his presence well.”
On the penalty...
“Yeah it was tough. Obviously, I haven’t seen it, I haven’t seen the replay. I can’t say it one way or another, but I will go home and look at it. Maybe we will talk about it in Splangish.”
On communicating with Marcelo [Silva]...
“Yeah, both of us know enough of the basics to communicate on the field. So I think as far as that goes, we are good. Soccer is soccer you know. Each of us know where each of us is supposed to be. Even if we didn’t understand the words, it is still soccer, so we can figure it out.”
Real Salt Lake Defender Marcelo Silva
On making his league debut...
“Very well! The sensation has been great. I felt very well. My teammates looked great and we have done a great job. But we’ll go with a bitter taste knowing that we could have obtained the three points but it couldn’t be done.”
On the game’s physicality...
“It was a very equal game. I think that both teams did a great job. But I’ll go with the job of my team. I think that my teammates competed great. They have done things well. At the end there was a mistake that caused us the tie. That is the reason why today we’re not leaving happy because we weren’t able to take the three.”
Real Salt Lake forward Luis Silva
On first league goal...
"It’s a good feeling I knew it was going to come eventually, I was just trying not to get frustrated because I had other chances in past games and it’s a good feeling, hopefully I can help out the team and keep scoring."
On playing in the #9 role...
"I think I’ve done a decent job, I think that my teammates help a lot with their movement and making runs in behind as well so then you get the center backs thinking if they should step with me or drop back, it’s the combination of everyone playing well."
On physicality of tonight’s game against SKC...
"It went well, we knew it was going to be physical and we didn't back down which I liked from my teammates. Obviously a lot of people talk about the refs, I don't want to talk about that, they do their job and they make mistakes as well. I think it was physical and from now on games will be like that so we're going to be ready and prepared and I think today was a good second half for us."
On facing Columbus Crew next...
"We will watch video on this game on Monday and Tuesday, look over our mistakes, things we did well, and then we will watch video on Columbus and just take it one game at a time."
Sporting Kansas City Manager Peter Vermes
On applying pressure to RSL’s back line...
“I think we did it a lot better in the second half. In the first half I thought we were organized up front to pressure the ball but I don’t think we had the kind of energy we needed in the first half and I don’t think we competed as much as we needed to. I thought in the second half it was a much different story and I think that’s one of the reasons why we got the penalty kick. We were on the front foot, winning a lot of balls, turning them over like 30-40 yards away from goal, which then led to the ball in the box and Silva, I think, came across kind of from a bad angle and, you know, the referee’s decision. Say whatever you want about it but I think we were on the front foot at that point and were turning them over so it was much better in the second half. But if I have to look at the game all-in-all I think both teams probably deserved a point from this game because there were a few chances we had, a few chances they had, and the goalkeepers made some good saves. And in the end, it ended off being a point.”
On the depth of his back line...
“I think for the most part they played very well and I think at the end of the game those guys started getting tired because they don’t play 90 minutes all the time. You get tired and you start to lose your concentration a little bit and I think we started to get a little bit unorganized. Kind of changed our formation a tad there at the last, like, 5-10 minutes but I think all-in-all those guys did a pretty good job.”
On the rivalry...
“I don’t really think the game was all that bad tonight. I actually think the referee did a pretty good job, I really do. I think he had two bad situations, one for us, one for them, meaning I don’t think he should have called the yellow card on Roger Espinoza in the first half. I think he went up for a head ball, you know, it is what it is and you know, whatever. I think he (the referee) did well tonight, I don’t think he was a problem in the game and I don’t think the game was all that chippy. I mean I always think it’s funny because it’s grown men playing a sport that - it’s tough. It’s a tough sport. There’s going to be contact and to think that there’s not going to be is kind of ridiculous.”
Sporting Kansas City midfielder Benny Feilhaber
On the result...
“They probably outplayed us this game, so I think we’ll take the draw at this point. They were putting it to us, especially in the last 15 minutes. They played well. We were sloppy in the first half. We had moments in the second, but overall it wasn’t a good enough performance from us. One point, we’ll have to take it.”
On his goal...
“We pressed them. We were trying to press them a little higher in the second half. Ilie gave me a good ball. I saw [Marcelo] Silva kind of overcommit and I just wanted to get a touch on it before he clattered into me.”
On facing Nick Rimando from the spot...
“Nick’s one of the best and the best in history at penalties in MLS. It’s tough. He's a guy that can get to either side of the goal, so you have to make sure you put it in the right corner. Thankfully, he went to one side and the ball went to the other. You have to be mentally focused when you’re going against him because he can save any penalty.”
Sporting Kansas City goalkeeper Tim Melia
On the result...
“We didn’t start the game well, that was evident just watching it. The response was important in the second half. We came out and played more of our style. We were a little more aggressive. We were putting them under pressure and making them turn over the ball. This is a really difficult place to come. To go away with a 1-1 draw after the way we started the game [that’s impressive]. It’s a fair result for both teams.”
On his form...
“These guys don’t ask me to do many things in games. We’ve been really organized defensively throughout the season, and that’s why we are where we are in the standings. This is a good team that attacks with their front three, and they have a lot of fluidity together. They attack well. They were able to open us up a couple of times.”
On going forward against Chicago...
“Games coming after a break are a little difficult. You’re shaking off a little bit of rust. We had two plus weeks without a game. We need to use this game to get our rhythm back and get back into the flow. We’ve got a home game against Chicago next week, and we have to make sure we’re prepared for that.”
