SPORTING DIRECTOR AND HEAD COACH GREGG BERHALTER
On what he takes from this match…
I was really happy with the offensive output in this game. We were creating a lot of good goal scoring chances and I think that’s important. Some of the discrepancies between last year and this year have been getting shots on goal, and we had enough of them today to make a lot of goals, so I’m very pleased with that. I think that judging the defensive performance, in a way, isn’t necessarily fair with some new guys in the backline, and dealing with that, but having said that, I think we battled. To win games in this league, you have to battle, and we did that.
On holding the lead tonight…
They brought in some quality players, let’s not forget that. When you’re bringing in [Javier] Morales, [Yura] Movsisyan, and [Juan Manuel] Martinez, it was interesting what they did. They have that much firepower ready to come in the game. We knew it was going to be difficult, they are a very good team, but I think it was the will in this game. I think we controlled the latter part of the game and we handled it pretty well even though we only had a one goal lead.
On if he made the trade knowing about Ola Kamara’s talent…
I think you have to make an educated decision. Watching Ola in training and watching his movements, we felt very comfortable. It’s difficult as a striker when that pressure is put on you but Ola has been handling it extremely well. His hat trick was a result of the guys tonight, the positions they put him in, and he finishes it off nicely, but the team is really looking to get him in good goal scoring positions and that’s important.
On what three points does for the team’s confidence…
Everything. Three points is big. Anytime you get three points it boosts your confidence. You can tell the group we’re on the right track, keep going, keep pushing, but to really get that comfort you need to win. And I think part of it is the work you put in over the course of the weeks in training. You want to see the results. You want to see the outcome. And it’s nice to get a win.
On the shift in momentum after the penalty save…
That was huge. That was huge. You can’t really count on things like that, but Steve [Clark] came up really big. A lot of credit goes to his preparation and his execution on that play, because if [Real Salt Lake] go into halftime 2-2, they feel much better, and in a much better spot.
On closing out games…
We’re happy to have a win. We’re happy that we could’ve scored a lot of goals tonight. Obviously you’re going to look at things. You’re going to make improvements, and our goal is to just get better next game.
On taking away a positive from a good offensive performance…
I think so, and I think dealing with a desperation attack. When you leave a couple players forward you have to be smart, and you have to be able to defend sometimes against even numbers and so we’ll look at some things. It’s not like I’m going to celebrate this win for weeks but we’re going to analyze it and we’re going to look to improve on the performance.
On Justin Meram’s performance…
Justin’s been playing at a high level ever since the first four games of the season perhaps. His level has been really high, and it’s good to see him. He’s dynamic, he’s good on the ball, good defensively. You see today getting a goal from his defensive efforts, and it’s great to see him playing at such a high level.
On what he expected from Real Salt Lake…
I guess we had the lineup wrong. We would’ve predicted a couple other guys in the lineup. But they still have tricky guys. [Joao] Plata’s a very good player. [Jordan] Allen’s a very good player. We thought they would play out of a 4-2-3-1, which they did, so that wasn’t much of a surprise. But overall, when we play home games we want to put the focus more on what we do, and I think that no matter who we’re playing the focus is on us at home.
FORWARD OLA KAMARA
On getting his first goal and the hat trick
It was a weight off my shoulder, of course. I felt really good today before the game and I felt like I was going to score. Since the last game against Toronto, I have been feeling better and I felt like the chemistry is better between all the players, so I felt today was the day and I got the hat trick which is an unbelievable feeling.
On having the first Crew SC hat trick in 12 years…
The first one was a really simple goal; I just had to be there. It was an unbelievable assist from [Justin Meram]. The second one was a great cross from Waylon [Francis] and the third one was a corner from Pipa (Federico Higuain). It was a good feeling to see them go in.
On the pressure he felt following the trade…
I always want to play. In soccer you always some kind of pressure to score, the striker always does, but I can live with that and I wanted to play. Right now, it feels good to get that first goal and you can just keep going.
On what was different leading up to this game…
Especially from the first game against Colorado, now I know a little bit more about MLS and I’ve played in this stadium before. You feel like you’re at home. You feel the crowd. You feel the energy, and I feel like the chemistry with the guys is better. If I was even sharper today I could have scored maybe five, six goals. The assists I got today were unbelievable and I could’ve scored more.
On the momentum from Steve Clark’s penalty save…
It was an energy boost for the whole team. It always is, and Steve can do those things.
On celebrating a goal in front of the Nordecke and if that was something he always envisioned…
Yeah I did. That’s always a great feeling. I envisioned it before the game and it happened, so that was a good feeling.
BERHALTER: And think about all of the fans that stayed around through the weather. I was really surprised, and that’s a good thing. It shows that they’re behind the team.
MIDFIELDER WIL TRAPP
On Kamara’s hat trick…
We’re happy for him. It’s huge. Gets us off on the right foot.
On Steve Clark blocking the penalty kick…
Incredible. Incredible. When you need a guy to stand up and be counted on, it was excellent. It saved us. It’s one of those plays where it’s kind of an interesting call because you don’t know if he’s going to call it or not. But Steve [Clark] stepped up and made an excellent save.
On Steve Clark…
He’s one of the best in the League, bar none. He’s excellent when it comes to one-on-one situations. I think we ask so much of him. He really does have probably one of the most, if not the most difficult position on the field for us. There are a lot of transition moments and he has to be keen to it. I wouldn’t want anyone else back there. I think the trust amongst him, the centerbacks, us even further ahead, we trust that Steve’s going to make the save.
On Real Salt Lake’s unfamiliar lineup...
We had a lot of time to think about it, but it was fine. It’s a game. We hadn’t looked at a whole lot of film on those guys but they’re still going to try and play a similar style. But I thought we did a pretty good job of trying to isolate the wings and get the ball down in crosses in the box and that’s why we were successful.
On Real Salt Lake scoring late…
Absolutely. You’re up 4-1, and it’s just concentration. A couple plays where we’re not totally focused, it’s not ideal. But those are things it’s good to work on after you get a win. So that’s a positive thing for us to look at.
GOALKEEPER STEVE CLARK
On the penalty save…
I was hearing both Pat [Onstad] and Brad [Stuver’s] words in my head before the penalty, because we had talked about them a lot. I just went on instinct after that.
On his thoughts after the penalty…
I think it’s a big save, 2-1 at the time and right before half. I think it’s what we needed at that moment and I was happy to do that. If you can clean up from a mistake, that’s great, and that’s what I’m here for.
On the win…
It’s great. We got three points and we’re hungry to play Wednesday. I can’t wait to get back on the field. It was a disappointing 20 minutes, but at the same time we are a hungry team going into Philadelphia.
On his thoughts before the penalty…
I heard both my assistant coach and my backup goalkeeper’s words in my head and I just went with some instinct after that, so I tip my head to them.
On the crowd support and if he heard the “Steve says no” chant…
I didn’t at the time, but the fans have been great and I appreciate all of their support.
On Ola Kamara…
He’s going to score a lot of goals, so I’m really happy that [Ola] Kamara got his hat trick. He did a really good job and I think he has many more to come.
On Pat Onstad and Brad Stuver’s words…
I would just say that Brad [Stuver] does a really good job as not only pushing me and supporting me and Pat [Onstad] does a good job of being my goalkeeper coach. Brad does a lot of work that no one sees and I appreciate him and I appreciate Pat for all the work that he does too.
