Report: Real Maryland 2- Wilmington 1

Notes & Quotes

Head Coach Silvino Gonzalo

On the game…

A win is important, but I’m not very happy because we did not play the soccer I want this team to play. It’s important to get three points and I am happy about that, but I am not happy with the overall performance.

On playing against a team that at times had 9 players behind the ball…

They can complicate your game. Obviously we can move the ball and we like to have possession, but we were forcing the ball and that’s not the game that Real Maryland plays.

So if you’re not happy with tonight’s match, what needs to change before the next game?

We’re not going to change anything. We’re going to keep working the same way we’ve been working. The only thing is that we have to work on our movement and use of space. That’s what I want our players to improve.

Daryl Ferguson

On the game…

We gave up an early goal again [just like last week versus Cleveland], but we came back and fought. They were down a man and we had so much space. You could see at the beginning that we didn’t know what to do, but we figured it out at the end and started taking shots and creating chances.

On playing against a team that at times had 9 players behind the ball…

They were packing it in and it was hard for us to finish off moves. We were moving the ball around, but all they were giving us was outside shots. We figured if they were going to give them to us then we were going to take them. We got a lot of corner kicks from them and that’ how we penetrated them. Their weakness was, I think, their center backs and when Cerritos got that penalty kick I think we had the game pretty much locked up then.

On the importance of winning at home, especially when the next game is away…

It is really important to win at home. It’s hard to win games on the road. You try to at least get a point, but if you win all your games at home you know you will be contending for a playoff spot at the end of the season.

Marcos Chantal

On playing his first game with his new team…

It was my first game with Real Maryland and it was fun because it was my first victory.

On the game…

In the first half the team looked a little disorganized on the field, but at the beginning of the second half we looked much better. They had so many players behind the ball but we still managed to get a goal. It was a good game. The team looks good.

Stephen Basso

On the game…

We came out a little bit better than we have in past games. We weren’t as slow. We got the man advantage and then once they got the red card we kind of sat back a little bit and then they got that goal. And that was another wake up call. We started playing our style. We came at them a little bit more. We had a lot of space. A lot of time and we played well. We got the tying goal before half-time. We dominated the whole second half. I mean, possession was probably like 75% to 25% and we just killed them. We didn’t have any good chances to score, but eventually we got that penalty kick and put it away.  

On playing against a team that at times had 9 players behind the ball…

It’s incredibly hard to score against them! I know that! We worked the ball around, we could have switched it a little bit more, but what we had to do was make our moves quicker and create chances. You know, they had one forward and everyone else was behind the ball and it’s really hard. You get that one chance to get past them and you’ve got to score. That’s it.

William Brindley

On the game…

It was tough because they were packed in the box. I felt like I couldn’t get open, but we got the win and that’s what matters. Hopefully we can keep it up.

On how to play against a physical team such as Wilmington…

You just keep playing. What can you do? Hopefully the ref takes care of you, but just try and keep your head up and do what you can.

On the importance of winning at home, especially when the next game is away…

It’s important to get three points every week, but definitely since were going on the road. We haven’t gotten a win on the road yet, but hopefully we can do it this week [against Harrisburg].

On the crowd…

It was a good crowd. They were good. Hopefully we will keep winning and the crowds will continue to grow.

Ronald Cerritos

On the game and seeing limited action…

Obviously I am a little bit injured. The doctor told me yesterday that I couldn’t play tonight, but I felt that I had to play.

The way that we played tonight, you could tell that everybody wants to win. I mean, Wilmington were playing a 5-4-1. Everybody was almost with the goalie, but sometimes you can feel it.

I know the doctor told me I couldn’t play, but I wanted to play and hopefully we did something effective and in the end we won.

On his play while he was out there…

I am very happy. I saw Dennis [Alas] was about to shoot for the far post and I was screaming for the ball and he saw, me gave me the ball, I took the shot on goal and the defender put his hand out. It was a penalty kick for Nilson [Perez] and in the end everybody is happy.

On whether or not he was ok with coming out right after winning the penalty…

After that, I didn’t want to be more in trouble with this injury because it’s really hard to come back from it. But in the end I am happy that we won and got the three points.

On whether or not the team is going in the right direction…

We are going in the right direction because when you win you have more confidence. You can work with more confidence, but we still have things to work on. We need to learn because we are still conceding goals. We have to learn how to start from the beginning of a match. We have good quality in this room so I hope next week we start from the beginning with high pressure and in the end everyone will be happy in the locker room like they are tonight.

On the importance of winning at home …

Like I said, its all about confidence. Everybody in this room wants to win at home because our opponents have to respect this field. Like I said last week, the fans were great again tonight. They were very loud and we need that. So next week we have to go on the road and try to win. Let’s try to win because now we have a lot of confidence as well as a lot of quality.  

Dennis Alas

On the game…

It was a game we had to win. Tying or losing was not an option. Thanks G-d we got the win. In the end, we got the result we wanted.

Muner Hassen

On the game…

It was a good game. We just got to eliminate that slow start that we’ve been having. We keep waking up after they score that first goal. Once we work on that, then it will truly be Real Maryland style.

On playing against a team that at times had 9 players behind the ball…

It’s very hard, very hard. They were packing it in in their 18 and defending for their lives. We needed to figure out how to break through it and we did that. We won the PK and picked up all three points.

On the crowd…

Once again, we feed off their vibe. They motivate us. Like I’ve said before, we don’t want to disappoint at home. This is our home and our territory.

On the importance of winning at home, especially when the next game is away…

It’s very important. It’s a big confidence booster and things are looking good.

SPONSORS & PARTNERS: