Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 2, Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0
Saturday, August 23, 2014
MLS Regular Season
StubHub Center – Carson, Calif.
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the team’s performance:
“I think we had a very good collective effort tonight. Players worked on both sides of the ball. It was a very good performance. Our backline played well but the six players in front of them did a really good job as well.”
On the missed opportunities:
“I think it’s a very good win for our team. Thought it was a great team effort collectively on both sides of the ball. We could have gotten more goals but that is all part of the game. We are really pleased with the three points.”
On getting goals early in the game:
“Good start to the game. Playing at home with a lead, we are generally a good team. It was obviously a great start to the game.”
On the backline’s performance:
“They played well. They had a couple of chances at the end but I thought in general they played well. A couple of crosses in the second half were dangerous. Our guys did a good job clearing the ball and Jaime [Penedo] made a couple of good saves. Overall it was an improved performance.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER LANDON DONVOAN:
On the defensive turnaround:
“It’s just the mentality, and sometimes we have a tendency to be a little lackadaisical and turn off. And when we do that, not surprisingly we give up goals; we have bounces go against us and when we do things the right way, the bounces go for us. So to some extent, there is karma involved and there is doing things the right way. And when you do that, you get rewarded.”
On the game’s first goal:
“We put a lot of emphasis this week on starting the right way, and not conceding early on. Scoring that early is an added benefit, but we just wanted to make sure that we started well and we played well. I thought we did that for the most part. And then getting the second goal was also very important, and I thought from that point on we were very good.”
On Keane’s assist:
“I think he was probably shooting it towards the far post. I don’t know, sometimes you hit it hard at the far post and you see what happens. Either way you put it in a good spot and good things happen.”
On his two game-winning goals in the past two games:
“I’m trying to score whenever I can and trying to put us in a position to win. The other day was a little different, coming late and scoring late. Tonight we wanted to start fast, and I wanted to put myself in good positions to be effective. On that play I was in the right place and the ball fell to me.”
On carrying over confidence from the Colorado match:
“Probably, we were probably confident and feeling good about how we finished the game. But all the emphasis this week was on starting the right way. And it would’ve been fine to start right and play well, just not concede before halftime and go in comfortable, but then to get the two goals on top of that really helped. The only fault was not getting the third or the fourth, but other than that I thought we played very well.”
On passing ball to Keane when he had an open shot:
“I’m often at fault for being a little too unselfish, but you know, at the end of the day, if that is a zero-zero game I’m probably shooting it. But I like to get Robbie [Keane] involved. He does a good job of getting everyone else involved, so I want to reward him when we can. It’s one of those games. It happens sometimes, but he did so many things well for us and he is dangerous whether he is scoring or not. He puts so much pressure on defenses; I would certainly hate to play against him.”
On being Supporters’ Shield contenders:
“It’s taken a long time, but we have a real chance now. We play Dallas twice more, we play Seattle twice more, so really, it’s in our hands. Obviously big game with big implications on Wednesday, because even if we don’t finish top of the West, if we get through the West, all of these games are important. So very important game Wednesday and we have to make sure we’re ready.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD ROBBIE KEANE:
On the team’s performance
“Thankfully we got that early goal and from then on, we never really let them get on their feet. In the last 20 minutes of the first half and the way we kept possession of the ball, I thought that was fantastic. We had a little spell after the goal of 10 minutes… they didn’t cause too many problems for us. Overall, I thought it was a convincing win and a good team performance.”
On getting goals early in the game
“I think we needed a bit of luck as well and we certainly got lucky on the second goal, and I’ll still take the assist. It was a bit of a mis-kick obviously… I completely shanked it, but thankfully we got the second goal and from then on we were very comfortable.”
On the team responding to an up and down week
“I think we showed the character of the team and the belief we had in ourselves as a squad. We know we have quality in the team and if we concentrate from the first minute to the 90th minute, most likely we’re going to beat most teams because I think the quality that we have is probably a little better than everyone else. I think if we can concentrate for long periods of the game and can focus, I think we have a chance of competing in every game.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER MARCELO SARVAS:
On bouncing back from giving up 7 goals in the last two games:
“I think we proved that we have a good team. Even good teams need to play soccer with heart and soul. We showed today that when we go out on the field and do our job this a very good team.”
On his goal tonight:
“[Robbie] Keane tried to shoot towards goal but the ball came to me. I am not used to having the ball in that position but I was blessed to score today and help the team.”
On limiting Vancouver’s chances:
“We kept our shape. Even with the game being 2-0 we didn’t step back. During the game you start pressing higher in the midfield or you push everyone behind the ball but every time they had the ball we had one guy pressing and the other one supporting so I think that was the key.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER OMAR GONZALEZ:
On tonight’s performance:
“It’s just something we wanted to get back to. Obviously this road trip that we just went on, we went through some troubles there and we weren’t playing as a unit, people were playing as individuals. For tonight’s game we just wanted to get back to putting together a good team effort; getting behind the ball, starting in good positions. And tonight we did that and we were able to get around the ball, get to the ball, get some tackles, and get fouls. All in all in the night, it just looked great from everyone out there and made our jobs easier. With the front guys able to get around the ball so quickly, it made it really predictable and Vancouver wasn’t’ able to get much out of us.”
On the team’s scoring goal:
“The past three or four games we were conceding first. Tonight we got the first goal and when we do get the first goal, we most likely will win that game. Getting the goal tonight was crucial, and then everything that just went from there was great. We had a lot of possession, we kept the ball good, and Vancouver didn’t really have much.”
On the remainder of the season:
“I think we can move on, and we have to move on because we have another game coming up quickly on Wednesday. This month has been crazy, but we’re moving along good, and hopefully we can keep on getting more wins. Tonight we can go home and be happy with what we did tonight, and just look to Wednesday.”
On adversity:
“Adversity is definitely something that can help build a team going through rough times. You don’t like going through it, but at the end of it, hopefully you can come out of it and say, ‘alright, we learned and we’re going to be better from it.’ So coming out of tonight’s game, we can look back and say ‘alright, that’s behind us, now we can continue forward just continue with the way we did tonight.’”
On Vancouver’s chances:
“We had a lot of possession in their attacking third. So we just wanted to get around their forwards, their only outlets and just make sure that they never had a good first touch. And if they did, guys were right there to stop them.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS HEAD COACH CARL ROBINSON:
On tonight’s game:
“Very good team, very experienced team in LA. A very youthful team in Vancouver, who tried to play the right way, but probably weren’t quite good enough today to compete. But we will get there.”
On the players who made their first appearance for the team:
“I thought Mauro [Rosales] was excellent for 45 minutes. He showed what he brings and what he’s about. He brought some creativity in our second half performance, which was excellent. Created few chances in the second half, but couldn’t quite get the goal. Kendall [Watson] came in and caused some problems up front and created different options for us. We had couple of chances, but he had to go back to center back with Johnny Leveron being sent off.”
On the importance of the next match against Portland:
“We have a massive challenge ahead next Saturday against Portland. We’ll meet them head on. I’m sure they will do the same with us. But we are in contention, and that’s all we ask at this stage of the season—to be around the playoffs and competing for them. We did have a free swing against them [LA Galaxy] tonight, unfortunately we weren’t quite good enough to win. They probably deserved to win. They sure showed the experience when we tried to kill the game. But we’ll get there, whether we will get there overnight is a different question, but we know that we need to be better as a group, and for me as a coach. And we certainly learned something tonight.”
On both teams’ performance:
“They were excellent. They really were an excellent team. That is the reason why they win the conference title and championships. We’ve got a long way to go, but there are some encouraging signs in there. When you look at the youthfulness of the squad and the additions we’ve made, it’s exciting for us ahead. It’s not going to happen at night, as I’ve kept saying all along, but we came here and made couple of very good chances, we just haven’t been able to take those chances, and the top teams are able to take them. We are not quite a top team at the moment.”
On Mauro Rosales’ first appearance:
“I thought he was excellent. I thought he brought a level of calmness, creativity to us. Position wise, I think he is good. He links up with Pedro [Morales] really well. He brings something different to the table. I’m excited to see him next week.”
On Rosales helping the team’s finishing:
“It is something that we need to work on as a group. Gone through ups and downs…we couldn’t score a goal today, but we had chances. So we will get back to boardroom on Tuesday and focus on the Saturday’s game. If we feel like he is right to add, we will. If not, we will continue moving forward with the group, because I’m delighted with every one of them in there.”
On the absence of Greshon Koffie and Matias Laba:
“I thought Mehdi [Ballouchy] was fantastic for 45 minutes. Breaking up the play, I thought Russell [Teibert] did really well. We miss them. If I said we didn’t, we will be lying. I think they’ve been arguably two of our best players this season. The strengths that they bring to the table were thoroughly missed. And I thought Juninho and Marcelo Sarvas are two top players in the league. If we want to get to where we want to get, I am excited to see them two against our two in playoff match if we reach our end goal.”
On the possibility of playing Kendall Waston as a striker:
“I don’t think that is going to be a regular occurrence, but you might [see that]. It gives us a good option. He caused Omar [Gonzalez] few problems. I saw Omar [Gonzalez] shouting out at the referee and not being happy because he got into a physical battle. It is a good option for us to have.”
On Kendall Watson’s first appearance
“He was good. I wanted to give him some time because he has trained really well. I look forward to seeing him play.”
On Kendall Watson’s integration to the team:
“Brilliant. Excellent. The boys have made him feel really welcomed. It’s a very happy locker room in there. Obviously, disappointing today, because we didn’t win the game, but we’ve got a good spirit in there, which is something that you can’t buy. You have to build that, and the guys inside are building that.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS DEFENDER KENDALL WASTON:
On playing as a striker:
“It wasn’t a different thing for me because back home in Costa Rica when we were losing and we needed to win, the coach always tried to put me in as a forward. Over there, I scored some goals so it’s not anything strange.”
On battling with Omar Gonzalez:
“We got to battle a lot, because he wanted to defend and I wanted to attack. So, it was a good battle. But I think in the second half, we tried our best to tie the game. Unfortunately, we didn’t get it.”
On getting his first appearance with the team:
“I want to play with my teammates. I am very excited to be on the pitch with my team and help them to win. Today, thank god I got few minutes on the pitch with my teammates. Now, Portland is going to be an awesome game at home, so hopefully, I can be there.”
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS MIDFIELDER MAURO ROSALES:
His thoughts on the game:
“I thought we did a very good second half; in the first half we probably didn’t come out with the right mentality to face this game. We were playing against one of the top teams, you always have to be aware of everything; full concentration. If you just miss one play because of concentration, then you are going to get punished and that’s what happened in the first half. Second half we looked forward, we looked much better, more organized as a team. I saw the team very well and we had many positive things and we are looking forward for the next game. We can’t do anything right now about the game, just learn from that and move forward knowing that we have a good opportunity in the next game against Portland. Everyone has to believe in what we have as a team. In just two days here with the team I can see the willingness to win and the willingness to get better every day and this is something that is really good for a team.”
On having little time to prepare for his first game:
“I’m happy, I’m happy just to be part of the team. Right now I just spent 45 minutes with the team just playing. Obviously, we need to learn from each other. We need to know each other much better. Obviously, when you are in the league you need to learn how to play with the team that you have already faced in the past. It is easy for me to adapt quickly to the team, and I’m sure that we can do it.”
