SPORTING KANSAS CITY MANAGER PETER VERMES
On the overall play of his team...
“We were very good in the run of play. I walk away thinking we played very well tonight and could have walked away with something more then zero points. But credit to Real Salt Lake, a good team, and I’m sure that if we keep playing the way we are, we will meet in the playoffs at some point.”
On the physicality of the game...
“The game was a battle from the first minute for both teams. Tonight it was a man’s game and I think both teams did well in that aspect.”
On the play of RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando...
“The difference in the first half was Nick (Rimando); he was excellent. He saved probably two, three very good chances, kept a clean sheet and kept them in the game in that perspective.”
SPORTING KANSAS CITY FORWARD TEAL BUNBURY
On the 1-0 result...
“It was a good test for us, and I think it was a good performance by both teams, it was very physical and give credit to Real Salt Lake, they were able to capitalize on one of their few chances.”
On playing on the road for the first time in two months...
“Obviously the home games were great for us with the atmosphere, but we have to play these games away against good opponents when it comes time for the playoffs.”
On Real Salt Lake’s home field advantage at Rio Tinto Stadium...
“It’s a good atmosphere, it’s a good field and it’s the support of the fans. It’s an exciting atmosphere and they really get their fans going and I think that gives them an edge.”
SPORTING KANSAS CITY MIDFILDER GRAHAM ZUSI
On the team’s strong first half...
“We knew coming into this game it was going to be a fist-fight throughout the whole match. Initially I thought we did a really good job in the first half by putting pressure on them and not giving them anything.”
On how the team responded to being back on the road...
“I thought we did a very good job of coming out after a long home stand, not missing a beat and putting a lot of pressure on them for the better part of the game.”
REAL SALT LAKE HEAD COACH JASON KREIS
On Real Salt Lake grinding out a three-point result...
“I believe that this team can win in multiple ways. I think it sends a message to the rest of the league that if a brawl is going to break out and it’s going to be a wrestling match, well, we can win that way too.”
On RSL’s size advantage over Sporting KC...
“We talked (Friday) and thought it would be a major advantage point for us because of the size we had out there between (Chris) Schuler, (Jamison) Olave, (Nat) Borchers, (Álvaro) Saborío and (Robbie) Russell. We felt like we could outnumber them with our size and that was the first quality service that got into the right portion in front of the goal. Credit to Kyle (Beckerman) for a great service and credit to Nat for a real composed header. It’s a numbers game. If we have five people over six feet tall and they have four, then we need to find the one that’s got a bad mark.”
On the recent playing form of RSL midfielder Andy Williams...
“It seems like this time of year is Andy Williams’ time. The amount of work that he’s putting in right now is incredible and he obviously deserves to keep playing when he does that.”
REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER KYLE BECKERMAN
On assisting on the game’s only goal...
“After I hit, it I knew that it was dangerous, that it was going to get over their defender, and then Nat’s been great (on headers). He found a way to knock it in. You just kind of try to get into a dangerous area, and once you get it in there we’ve got some big boys that go up after it and are really good at finishing with their head.”
On being suspended for Wednesday’s game at New York due to yellow card accumulation...
“I knew [I was on warning], but it was going to happen. I could use a rest, so I’ll take a rest next game and be ready [for D.C. United]. It’s not much of a rest, so I’ll just be ready for Saturday.”
On Real Salt Lake’s focus on free kicks...
“I think we’re focused on them both offensively and defensively. If there’s going to be a game that’s going to be decided with free kicks then you better be good at them and try and really focus on them because in a game like this that can be the decider of the game. Tonight it was.”
REAL SALT LAKE DEFENDER NAT BORCHERS
On the play that led to his goal...
“It was kind of funny. It was almost like Kyle and I drew it up like a play in basketball. I just made sure I curled my run, he hit the perfect ball, and Jimmy Nielsen’s in no-man’s land. It’s a pretty easy goal. Usually Javier has taken those in the past and has been fantastic, and now with Kyle, he’s putting in excellent balls, so those are easy to finish. We work on them in training every now and again, which helps.”
On matching up RSL’s big men with Sporting KC’s on free kicks...
“We actually looked at the matchups and honestly thought that (Jamison) Olave had a better matchup with (Matt) Besler on the set pieces, so we were trying to get him free. But in that situation they held a high line and then, fortunately, dropped at the right time and I timed my run perfectly.”
On the rhythm of the game...
“I think it’s tough for us, it’s tough for the fans. The refs were calling it tight tonight because they knew it was going to be a physical game. They didn’t want things to get out of hand. You want to see more flow in the games. I think it’s more fun to watch and it’s more fun to play.”
Quotes: SKC-RSL Postgame Reaction
