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MLS Cup Winning Coach Jason Kreis: "We Deserved To Win"
Real Salt Lake used the lottery of penalties to win the MLS Cup, but the staff and players claimed the trophy that is rightfully theirs.
Nov 23, 2009 2:54:35 AM
SEATTLE -- An overjoyed quartet of Real Salt Lake members spoke with the media after the squad's surprising victory over the favored Los Angeles Galaxy in the 2009 MLS Cup.
"My honest opinion was that we deserved to win that game," coach Jason Kreis, who became the youngest coach to win the MLS Cup, said.
The match, which ended when Robbie Russell scored in the seventh round of the shootout after Cup MVP Nick Rimando saved Edson Buddle's attempt, featured an opening 45 minutes during which the Galaxy enjoyed the run of play.
Kreis wasn't surprised.
"I thought the first half was almost exactly like I was hoping it wouldn't be but thought chances were that it would. LA sat back a lot, looked to counterattack a lot, but very direct," he said. "They made it difficult for us and we didn't settle down as nicely as I would have liked. We didn't possess the ball as nicely as I would have liked us to."
In the 41st minute, the Galaxy capitalized on a counterattack as David Beckham found a streaking Landon Donovan, who proceeded to loft a cross to a waiting Mike Magee. The midfielder didn't miss from a couple yards out.
Robbie Findley, who scored the winner's only non-shootout goal, credited his team for not panicking despite falling behind.
"We went down 1-0 in the first, [but] our heads were up," he said. "Nothing really mattered. We had plenty of time to get one back."
After halftime, RSL took control of the match and Kyle Beckerman thought his team's fitness helped.
"You could see a bunch of them starting to cramp up and I think it just wears on you when you're playing defense a lot," the team captain said. "Your counterattack is at such a high pace so you go from defending, defending, defending to now a sprint. It starts to take on your legs a bit. I don't think all of them were out of gas but they had quite a few players that were gassed at the end."
After Findley equalized on 64 minutes, neither team could mange to find the back of the net and the match was destined for penalty kicks. Rimando, who saved three Chicago Fire PKs during last week's Eastern Conference championship, knew his team felt strongly about their ability to win, but believed a shootout could have been avoided.
"I think me and all the guys knew that if it came down to penalty kicks that we were confident, but I really think we could have won this in regulation," he said. "We were that good in the second half. We really kept possession and played some good soccer and were unfortunate not to get a goal."
The RSL netminder, who remains the only MLS goalie to save a penalty by Donovan, also mentioned the Galaxy captain's miss.
"I was fortunate that he went over because he usually buries those," he said. "But I'm two-for-two, right?"
For Kreis, the second coach in the club's five-year history, the result at Qwest Field was the reward for enduring a grueling two-year building process.
"It started off with a dream and an idea about what this team could look like," the coach said.
On a chilly night in Seattle, the dream came true in historic fashion.
Noah Davis, Goal.com
For more on the Major League Soccer playoffs, visit Goal.com's MLS page
"My honest opinion was that we deserved to win that game," coach Jason Kreis, who became the youngest coach to win the MLS Cup, said.
The match, which ended when Robbie Russell scored in the seventh round of the shootout after Cup MVP Nick Rimando saved Edson Buddle's attempt, featured an opening 45 minutes during which the Galaxy enjoyed the run of play.
Kreis wasn't surprised.
"I thought the first half was almost exactly like I was hoping it wouldn't be but thought chances were that it would. LA sat back a lot, looked to counterattack a lot, but very direct," he said. "They made it difficult for us and we didn't settle down as nicely as I would have liked. We didn't possess the ball as nicely as I would have liked us to."
In the 41st minute, the Galaxy capitalized on a counterattack as David Beckham found a streaking Landon Donovan, who proceeded to loft a cross to a waiting Mike Magee. The midfielder didn't miss from a couple yards out.
Robbie Findley, who scored the winner's only non-shootout goal, credited his team for not panicking despite falling behind.
"We went down 1-0 in the first, [but] our heads were up," he said. "Nothing really mattered. We had plenty of time to get one back."
After halftime, RSL took control of the match and Kyle Beckerman thought his team's fitness helped.
"You could see a bunch of them starting to cramp up and I think it just wears on you when you're playing defense a lot," the team captain said. "Your counterattack is at such a high pace so you go from defending, defending, defending to now a sprint. It starts to take on your legs a bit. I don't think all of them were out of gas but they had quite a few players that were gassed at the end."
After Findley equalized on 64 minutes, neither team could mange to find the back of the net and the match was destined for penalty kicks. Rimando, who saved three Chicago Fire PKs during last week's Eastern Conference championship, knew his team felt strongly about their ability to win, but believed a shootout could have been avoided.
"I think me and all the guys knew that if it came down to penalty kicks that we were confident, but I really think we could have won this in regulation," he said. "We were that good in the second half. We really kept possession and played some good soccer and were unfortunate not to get a goal."
The RSL netminder, who remains the only MLS goalie to save a penalty by Donovan, also mentioned the Galaxy captain's miss.
"I was fortunate that he went over because he usually buries those," he said. "But I'm two-for-two, right?"
For Kreis, the second coach in the club's five-year history, the result at Qwest Field was the reward for enduring a grueling two-year building process.
"It started off with a dream and an idea about what this team could look like," the coach said.
On a chilly night in Seattle, the dream came true in historic fashion.
Noah Davis, Goal.com
For more on the Major League Soccer playoffs, visit Goal.com's MLS page
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