Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 1, Real Salt Lake 0
Wednesday, May 27, 2015 – 7:30 p.m. PT
MLS Regular Season
StubHub Center – Carson, California
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On playing yet another different lineup this game:
“It’s been difficult. This has been a very difficult start of the season. The injuries, the schedule, the untimely suspensions with it as well, it’s been patchwork since game one. It hasn’t been easy. I give our guys a lot of credit.”
On Real Salt Lake’s performance:
“They are a good team. Generally, teams that are down a goal and have some minutes to go in a game are going to get aggressive and put players in forward positions. They did a pretty good job. They put us under pressure at times; however, on the night they didn’t get that many great chances. I think [Joao] Plata had that one at the end and Omar [Gonzalez] made a terrific plan cutting off his cross. For the most part, we defended well. The chances we got, we were a little bit sloppy on. We might have snuck in another goal there, but we weren’t good in front of the goal. Gyasi’s [Zardes] header was pretty good. [Ignacio] Maganto could have done a little bit better with his chance. For the most part, it’s the kind of game that you have to hang on and win. The other two games in the league tonight were 1-0. Our league, right now, with teams so even and so much pressure on teams—games are looking a lot like the games tonight.”
On Ignacio Maganto’s performance:
“He had a very good game I thought. The original plan was that he was going to come out at halftime, but I thought his first have he played very well. I decided to change it. We were going to play Robbie [Keane] at the start of the half regardless. He was going to come in. Our players knew that obviously someone was coming out at halftime. When we sized everything up, I think Jose [Villarreal] was the best choice because Maganto was playing very well. I wanted to keep him in.”
On Baggio Husidic playing left back:
“He did a good job. He’s played two games in his life as a left back. He did a good job managing. He did a good job. We are just lacking players in the backline and there is nothing we can do about it. Baggio is such a smart player, such a good team player, that you can position him anywhere on the field and he’ll get the job done.”
On the team’s overall performance:
“They are going to turn a little bit better as we get to the end of July and August. Once June comes around, we deal with all these national team call ups and that’s all a mess. It’s very awkward and difficult for us .We’ll lose some players on a date that’s not an international fixture date, and that will be difficult—the Vancouver game. Then we have to deal with the Gold Cup, World Cup qualifiers with a bunch of players and we have to decide where they are going and when. June’s going to be hectic and July’s not going to get any easier. It’s going to be difficult couple of months. When we get to August, we’ll finally have our team together, and then the Champions League comes in and all that. It’s going to be a pretty challenging year.”
On Robbie Keane:
“It’s great to have him back. As you can see, he’s going to need some time. He’s worked really hard to get to this point. Now we just have to be a little bit patient and let him get his minutes in and let him get his touch back and his confidence. I would think in a matter of weeks Robbie’s going to be back in pretty good form.”
On Juninho’s penalty kick:
“I think it was great. As long as he wanted that ball, I was okay. I just wanted to make sure he was good for that. The other option we had on PKs when Robbie Keane’s not in is Gyasi. But, Juninho grabbed the ball and he wanted it. I would have bet Nick was going to go to his right this time, and he went back to his left and that surprised me there. I think Juninho did well.”
On the Galaxy’s shutout:
“It’s good. I think right now where we are at with the patchwork with the backline a little bit and the whole team to get a couple of shutouts against teams in our conference is important.”
On the Galaxy’s leadership:
“Omar [Gonzalez] is beginning to understand his responsibility as a leader. He’s done a good job. Alan Gordon and Dan Gargan, in the absence of Robbie [Keane] in the last few months, have been excellent leaders. A.J. [DeLaGarza] has always been there in the group. [Jaime] Penedo has stepped up big time. I think Jaime’s last couple of months has been good. He’s done well. We’ve had a bunch of guys that have stepped up and dealt with all the issues we’ve had. It’s not easy every game playing with someone different. Our young guys, [Ignacio] Maganto tonight, I think he did terrific job. Everyone did a good job. Jose’s coming back. We got Edson back on the field. We’ll get a couple of other players back on the game on Sunday and the following the week. Hopefully, we can hang in there and keep our head above water.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD ROBBIE KEANE
On playing a full half:
“It’s nice. It’s always going to take a bit of time to certainly get to 100 percent, but these minutes certainly do help. It was nice to get another win, that’s the most important thing. I okay, like I said, I’ll just get stronger and stronger. I literally just started training on Tuesday, the 14 th. Just eight days so I’ve got in nearly 90 minutes in a week, after being out for seven weeks so I’m going to get stronger. I just continue to progress and keep working hard off the field, and on the training field, and getting the minutes in.”
On creating chances:
“We did well; we kind of stopped playing well the second half compared to the first 25 minutes in the second half. In the second half, we stopped playing like the first half. The first 25 minutes we played well, and when we got the goal, we kind let them get their game. They were pushing as you’d expect, getting a few attacking players up really without kind of causing too much problems.
On Ignacio Maganto:
“He did very well. The kid has got a certain quality, he is skillful. When players are skillful that can go left or right, it’s very difficult for defenders to make sure where he is going to go. So I thought he was very, very good and he is only going to get better the more games that he plays, and the more experience that he gets. He will understand how we play and what he has to do to stay in this team.”
On LA picking up momentum:
“I think I said it three weeks ago, I see this team kicking on. Still have players to come in, and still players that aren’t fully fit either. So we are going in the right direction.”
On tonight’s shutout:
“I said it before the game, don’t concede and we will win the game. We defend well and we win tonight, and we did.”
On the Galaxy’s resilience:
“I think we showed it tonight, and we showed it the last game as well. The players who haven’t been playing, and the players who stepped up. Look at Baggio, I thought Baggio was fantastic tonight. Playing left back, I think that’s twice he has played there in his career and he was brilliant tonight. No one got past him; he is very, very good. His distribution was very good on the ball, defensive. So I thought everybody dug in tonight. Dan Gargan did very well, he was sick, he was struggling yesterday.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER JUNINHO
On taking the penalty kick:
“It felt so good afterwards. I knew I had to score this time against [Nick] Rimando. This time I hit it hard and low and could help my teammates get a win tonight.”
On whether he wanted to take it:
“I’m the taker [for penalties]. The guys know how important it is to me to get a goal again, especially against Salt Lake. It was very special for me to come back and score the goal.”
On whether he thought Nick Rimando would dive to his left:
“In my mind, I said I’m going to change it this time. Last time I hit it a ball low on the right side and he caught it and this time I hit it to the left and he couldn’t save it.”
On his thoughts on Ignacio Maganto:
“He did well. To start off the game, he missed a couple of balls, but that’s normal especially in these kind of games when we play against Real Salt Lake, a big rival. [Ignacio] did a good job and he needs to keep it up.”
On his partnership with Mika Vayrynen:
“We’re still building game by game. We haven’t repeated the same lineup for a long time and I hope we can continue as a team and continue to win as a team.”
On getting a goal in the first 10 minutes:
“We play at home and have to be aggressive and go at them to try to get a goal at the beginning of the game. We were happy because we got a penalty at the beginning. You have to score that goal and open up the game.”
On having possession during the match:
“That’s our style of game. When you keep the ball, pass side to side and have a lot of possession, it’s good. It’s very helpful to have Alan Gordon and Jose Villarreal up top because they hold the ball and pass side to side and that helps us in the back a lot.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER OMAR GONZALEZ
On team defending:
“We’re feeling good. Obviously there are always different changes back there, but we seem to be dealing with it great. We have a good understanding of everyone who is back there. I feel like we help each other by communication, and they few chances Jaime [Penedo] is getting, he is doing very well with. I don’t want to get too far ahead of myself, but I love getting shutouts so that’s a good thing.”
On pressure from RSL:
“I thought we dropped off at the end of both halves. At the end of the first half, we allowed them to have a bit of the ball. Then when Javier Morales and [Joao] Plata came in the game, we dropped off a little bit and weren’t able to get up as tight on them as we’d like. But when they had the ball, we stayed compact in the back; we dropped at the right times and didn’t give them much, so it was good.”
On defensive leadership role:
“Like I said before, I’m the so-called leader back there, but everyone is doing their part in making sure we’re keeping guys aware of what’s on their blindside, keeping them aware of guys making runs in behind and the right time to drop. So I think we’ve just been working good as a unit and have just got to keep it going. We’re playing well, but there is a lot more soccer to be played. So we just have to make sure we keep our heads down, keep on working hard, keep on putting the effort there and everything else should take care of itself.”
On Baggio Husidic playing left back:
“It just speaks volumes about the kind of player he is. Wherever a spot is open, and the coach needs someone to be, Baggio [Husidic] is proving himself that he can be that guy that can step in and play wherever the coach needs him to.”
On congested traveling schedule:
“Well we knew going into the month of May that it was going to be a very tough month. Seven games in one month isn’t easy, especially going to the east coast twice. But I think the medical staff, the coaching staff, everyone has done a great job making sure at making sure that they provide everything for us to recover properly. And everyone here is a great professional, and they are making sure to take care of their bodies. That’s why it’s great playing for the Galaxy as well. They make sure they provide all those things so we can be at our best every single day. So we knew that it was going to be a busy schedule, we’re still going and we want to finish off the month strong.”
REAL SALT LAKE HEAD COACH JEFF CASSAR
On his thoughts of the game:
"I think we lost the game in the first 10 minutes, anytime you are giving away a penalty kick, it is a goal that is really not earned, it is kind of given to them. We gifted them one, after that I thought we settled down, applied pressure, and it was a game that if our final balls were just a hare better, or we are receiving the final balls just a hare better it could be a different night because I thought we put ourselves in some decent spots to get opportunities, it just didn't have it tonight."
On giving up a penalty kick in four of the last five games:
"It gets frustrating for me; it gets frustrating for the players, for the fans. It’s difficult, but we have to be better at that, again I sure don't want to put the decisions of the referees in their hands and if we stay on our feet, if we do this, or get better in certain areas, then we don't rely on referees decisions. That penalty really came off of a giveaway, from I believe Jamison in the middle and then it was one, two passes, and they didn't break us down, they didn't do anything, but we gave them one."
On heading to Vancouver:
"Anytime you are playing against west opponents, it is critical to get a result, get three points, get a tie, so there are not any gaps between anybody, and then you make your moves at home. We have a capable team of going in there and getting three points, obviously we want to get a shutout on the road, but guys are getting healthier, getting fitter, but it is clear that we have to get fitter too."
REAL SALT LAKE GOALKEEPER NICK RIMANDO:
On giving up the early penalty kick:
"It's frustrating for sure, yea. You never want penalty kicks called against you, especially in the beginning of the game because now you are chasing it, but we got to deal with it, we have been dealing with it all year. It is frustrating but you got to move forward and I thought we did quite well; we put that behind us in the second half and got quite a few chances. I don't want to keep talking about the penalty kicks, it is what it is, we lost 1-0 and we got a short time to get things right and focus on Vancouver."
On Juninho taking the penalty:
"I wouldn't tell you if he did give me a different look than last time, he put it in this time, I saved it last time. It is just instinct, you just go with it and I don't think too much on who is taking it, for me it is about saving the ball and don't let it hit the back of the net."
On getting a result in Vancouver:
"I think every game we want to win, we thought we did enough to get a result here, every game right now is important to us, we need to get three points. Right now it is about finding our identity and really grinding out these points, if it is ugly it’s ugly, because right now they are not coming so I would rather have three ugly points than no points at all."
REAL SALT LAKE DEFENDER TONY BELTRAN
On the penalty kick call:
“It’s a combination of a lot of things. I need to re-watch the play. From what I saw, it was pretty unlucky. From what I saw he makes a good play and the ball bounces up and hits his hands. Eventually those kind of plays are going to go your way sometimes as well over the course of the season and when that happens next game you have to tune in a little bit more mentally in those areas of the field and try to get a little sharper.”
On building momentum with the upcoming long home stretch:
“Yea, I mean, a little bit. We came into this game today and we said before the match let’s string two wins together and let’s get another result here, let’s get something out of this game and so it’s disappointing from that aspect because we all thought we were in the game for the entirety of the 90 minutes. Vancouver it’s the same mindset, we’ll go there and try to defend well and get the zero. Give ourselves the best opportunity to get some points.”
