Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 0, Orlando City SC 4
Sunday, May 17, 2015 – 2 p.m. PT
MLS Regular Season
Citrus Bowl Stadium – Orlando, Fla.
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On game overall:
“We were awful on the day. I had 14 players that played and I thought about three of them played in an acceptable manner. We were outplayed all over the field. Really, there’s not much you can say. In the second half, we needed to get the first goal. Certainly, what I thought was a poor call by the referee for the penalty that basically put us out of the game. Orlando played well, I give them credit. And we were pretty bad.”
On Orlando’s attack:
“Starting two young players in the attack probably didn’t help, but our passing was so poor. For us to connect on anything it was dangerous and next to impossible because of the quality of our passing. We had a majority of players that didn’t play well.”
On the defense:
“We basically helped create every one of their goals with our poor passing and dispossessing the last half of the field. To their credit, they were aggressive, they won balls, and Kaká was instrumental in certainly helping them finish off some plays.”
On the penalty:
“In my opinion, the penalty was a real poor call by the referee. The goalkeeper did an outstanding job coming out and blocking the shots.”
On injuries:
“Yeah, injuries are part of the game, what are you going to do? It’s our guys’ job to stand up for players that can’t play and we didn't get that done today.”
On going back home:
“Yeah, it will be nice to get back home. But if we play like we played today, we’re not going to get three points.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER A.J. DELAGARZA:
On performance tonight:
“As a group defensively, just not good at all. Guys could have made plays. Started off with a bad ball across the field and losing it, they came down and scored. Nothing went right. Just gotta get up and move on. We’re all professionals. We’ve all been through one of these at some points in our lives. Least experienced lineup that we’ve probably every played with. I’ve been here 7 years and probably the worst game.”
On what went wrong:
“It was our mistakes that led to 3 of their goals. My turnover, the second goal and PK questionable. That’s just how the night went. We’re definitely angry, no one likes losing especially when we are representing the Galaxy. It’s just not who we are. Look at ourselves in the mirror and move on I guess. Have to get better every week and try different things. Sometimes they don’t work, this is one of those times. We need to move on. It’s just a night where a lot of us didn’t do well. We need to look forward to Houston on Friday.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD ALAN GORDON
Thoughts on the game:
“We’re playing a lot of different guys in a lot of different spots, the flow is obviously not there, I thought we had something to do with it, but we got to look at ourselves in the mirror, and we got to have a better effort next weekend.”
On the comparison between this loss and the loss against Vancouver:
“It’s tough to say. In reality it doesn’t really matter if we lose 2-1 or 4-0. When you take a big loss like this, it hurts deep, and you got to make a real assessment of what is going on out there and change things.”
On the mentality of the group after the loss:
“We should be upset, we should be very upset. Take it personal and not let it happen again.”
On the young players in their squad today:
“You need to use that as an excuse. We got two young guys up top, international forwards. I think that there were a lot of breakdowns when we were trying to go forward, so, we got to see what we can do to mix that up next weekend.”
On the struggles of the team today:
“There was no flow in the game, and every time we started to get something going, we lost the ball. Our passing continues to struggle and we got to get guys that can hold on to the ball and help each other out.”
ORLANDO CITY SC HEAD COACH ADRIAN HEATH:
On the game:
“Delighted for everybody connected with the club, especially the supporters who been incredible. I’m really pleased for the players because they’ve been working so hard. A pleasing day for everybody, for my staff and more importantly the supporters.”
Was it just a matter of time?
“The most important thing for us is to continue to do what is right. We spoke all week about trying to play more aggressively. I thought it was a fantastic first goal.”
What does it mean?
“I’ve got a lot of belief in this group. It was a special day all around, not the least of all getting our first MLS win.”
On Cyle Larin’s performance:
“He works hard. He has all the tools to be really, really good. I said when he scored his first goal that this was the first of many. The way he’s playing at the moment nothing changes that.”
On ball all movement:
“When we were at our best was when we moved the ball quickly. I thought the movement for the first goal and the asset from Brek were absolutely fabulous.”
On Tally and Kaká’s performance:
“Great to see Tally Back. We felt it was the right time. One of the things that helped Ricky was that we moved the ball quicker. There’s not many in our group that has not played really well. I think Brek deserved the ovation he got."
On Ramos’ performance:
“If he continues to listen and work hard he has a bright future.”
On Darwin Cerén’s performance:
“I thought Darwin Cerén was the best player on the field today.”
On individual performances
“There’s not many in our group today that didn’t play really well. I think (Brek) deserved the ovation that he got.”
On overcoming persistent difficulties:
“It all bodes well for us. I think it’s been a great night of work for us.”
On how the victory feels:
“It felt better than last week and the week before. We worked hard enough to put more points on the board and I think tonight they’ve had a little bit of reward for that. I’m really pleased for the players and the supporters. Hopefully it’s the first of many.”
ORLANDO CITY SC MIDFIELDER KAKÁ:
On the win:
“It’s amazing. It’s an amazing day for us. I think the supporters needed one day like this so it’s a special day for Orlando City.”
On the result of the game:
“Yeah, we needed a game like this. When you play against the, actually, they just won the MLS five months ago, so when you can win against one team like this it’s a game for us to get more confidence for the league and for the next game. We are so happy tonight, and it’s time to celebrate and think about the next game.”
On his performance:
“I tried also in the other games but sometimes it just doesn’t happen. The things doesn’t always happen and today everything that I tried, I could get it, so I’m happy for my goal, to celebrate for Kevin Molino, my assist to Cyle, and to help the team get this first win. It’s a special day for me.”
On Kevin Molino:
“Because I think it’s a tough period for Kevin. I’ve been in this situation in the past so I know how hard it is. The team needs to be with him now. Everybody needs to be with him together because he’s going to help us a lot the next year, so this period now we need to help.”
On the growth of the team:
“Yeah, I think that every day the team is getting better. The relationship between us on the field, off the field, has been great. It’s a good group now so on the field, we’re trying to get more actions, and today everything that we tried just come off so we are so happy for that and hoping that the next game we can have the same luck.”
On the next game:
“I don’t know but today it’s our first win in our home together with our supporters so it’s a special day. It’s a day to celebrate.”
On why the team played so well:
“I don’t know, sometimes it’s hard for us to explain. We just scored the first goal in 12 minutes, so that’s easier when you get a goal in the opening minutes of the game. It’s easier for us, so we played very good so everybody was on fire so now it’s time to get to this game and reply to the other games. It’s the beginning.”
ORLANDO CITY SC GOALKEEPER TALLY HALL:
On the win:
“It’s phenomenal man. I’ve been watching this team. I’ve been seeing the fans. And I’ve been dying to get back in it. And it is something truly special to be on the field. Obviously to get a win in the fashion that we did, the way we played, it just felt great to be a part of that. It’s been, it’s cool.”
On scoring four goals:
“Definitely got a reputation for being a scoring goalkeeper. It was a fairly comfortable night for me. The team played great. It’s a 90 minute performance. When we do that it’s not going to be a surprise that we win games more often.”
On feeling nervous:
“It’s fun you know. It’s good to be nervous again. Those butterflies come and go, you’re preparing yourself and you’re thinking, ‘alright this could be it.’ It’s fun to feel that. It’s been a long time.”
On coming back into the team:
“Yeah, I don’t think I would be in if I wasn’t able to kinda do my job as a goalkeeper. The difference now is that when you take something away from eight or nine months, you either don’t want to come back or you want to come back and be way more committed. For me, that’s been the cool thing is I’ve gotten to refocus. I’ve gotten to re-concentrate on how I approach the game and that’s been really, really good for me.”
On getting an early lead:
“It’s fine, when you’re in the lead the game goes slower. So today, even though it was a comfortable lead, it feels like it’s a 120 minute game because you’re in the lead and when you’re losing the game goes quick and so the emotional roller coaster wasn’t there in the game. It was more a matter of doing the right things, and today it was put pressure on them, don’t let them gain momentum. They had a good spell in the first half where they came at us for 5 or 10 minutes. I think the guys weathered that well and then from then on I can’t really pinpoint a time when they had overwhelming, dominating possession and I think that’s because we kept going on the front foot. It’s what coach said in the beginning before the game started is we want to be on the front foot, we want to be pushing the game to them and the guys did a phenomenal job of doing that. When you do it well, it makes it very difficult for the other team to play.”
On keeping loose:
“You know what? Someone said a long time ago that Japanese outfielders, and I’m serious when I say this, they don’t get injured because they’re out there stretching doing everything like that, and that could totally correlate to me and what I do. There’s times its 20, 30, 45, 60 minutes where I’m not really involved and then when it does happen, I need to be ready so I’m back there staying warm. Trust me I’ve seen it, it looks silly. It looks stupid, but it helps me stay focused. It helps me stay ready so, if I didn’t want to look silly I wouldn’t be a goalkeeper so here I am. If I’m doing arm waves and sprints and keeping my whole body warm, it means the team is playing well.”
On winning 4-0:
“It’s a huge confidence boost. When coach sets up something for us to do further up the field and put more pressure on them defensively, playing more in their half. And obviously if you’re finishing shots then, it’s a win. It’s how we did it, it’s doing it for 90 minutes, that’s big for us.”
ORLANDO CITY SC MIDFIELDER ERIC AVILA:
On the win:
“It feels good. It feels great in the locker room. It kind of takes that off our shoulders in playing at home now. I think we have that and it just feels really good.”
On the team’s preparation:
“I think so, I think it’s one of those – there’s games that we were walking into the locker room saying much, we prepared much, we just knew exactly what we had to do, and that was it.”
On beating LA:
“They’re the defending champs, so it’s always nice beating a defending champ from last year. But for us we were just worried about ourselves and trying to play at home.”
On the team’s performance:
“Today was just more serious, more in a way that we were not getting it done. It’s hard to be calling out one another and so we did our jobs. It’s exactly what we had to do.”
On the finishing:
“I think so (that the offensive floodgates have opened). I think everyone is having more opportunities and we’re trying to finish our opportunities that we’re having, and I think there’s more to come.”
ORLANDO CITY SC FORWARD MARTIN PATERSON:
On being fit again:
“I want to thank my family for believing in me, and supporting me, you know, my three children and my wife that supported me through this time. But also, the fitness trainers, the medical staff, people from Orlando Health, and also Silas, Kaká fitness trainer, who also played a big part. I want to thank them for getting me back out there healthy.”
On his performance today:
“Unlucky for me, I got through on some angles, and you know, at some point in the next couple of weeks I will be on goal and then hopefully I’ll score. So I’ll be working very hard to remain a part of the squad so at some point I can get to the field again.”
On the team’s result:
“I did an interview a couple of days ago saying that it is only a matter of time before the team won at home. Tonight, with the fans, I thought they got what they deserved and the players got what they deserved. The next team coming here will look forward to it. I think that now is the time when we turn the tide and hopefully this a fortress that we can really put teams to the sod.”
About the combination of cultures in the squad:
“It’s great. Obviously, a small portion of the team is British, or Irish, Colombians, and Americans. I think you all have to respect each other’s cultures, and we gel together fantastically. It’s a learning process, but this is a fantastic group, and it is obviously a team, first of foremost, but it’s a family atmosphere. Within the group, there are hardly any arguments, and we stick together. “
On Cyle Larin’s performance so far this season:
“I’ve been really pleased with the way that Cyle has played. I mean, for a forward we look for young players, and you look for attributes that they have, and he works a lot for his attributes and he is getting his rewards. If he continues to work hard, he is going to be some player, and now that everyone is fit, people can push him and try to get him space, and that will bring him on again. At the end of the day, he has four goals and he should be pleased with that, and he should have in his mind that he can go and get more.”
