CARSON, Calif. -- Ahead of Saturday's clash against Real Salt Lake, reporters caught up with Galaxy defender Todd Dunivant.
Dunivant touched on a number of topics including RSL's attack, playing without A.J. DeLaGarza and LA's vital month of October.
Dunivant's thoughts are below...
(On Espindola…)
“He’s tough to keep track of because he’s moving sometimes to the wing, sometimes up high and sometimes underneath and that’s when he’s at his best when he’s dribbling and making plays and being a distributor as well as a finisher. It causes a lot of headaches for defenses that’s for sure.”
(On RSL being a team of unsung heroes…)
DUNIVANT: “They’re a good team all around. Over the years, they’ve been very good defensively and part of that is just the way that they keep the ball and limiting the chances. Their midfield is the key to that. Will Johnson, Ned Grabavoy, Beckerman all those guys and Morales, it’s a very good midfield and it’s certainly key to their team.”
(On the role of Javier Morales to RSL’s midfield…)
DUNIVANT: “He can make the special play and he’s a wildcard because at any point, he can change the game. In playoffs in crucial times, those are the types of plays and players that you need and he’s been able to do that throughout the years. You’ve seen it in MLS, you’ve seen it in Champions League. He steps up when it counts.”
(On heading into October…)
DUNIVANT: “We’ve only got three games left [in league play] and it’s against three teams that we’re battling with playoff position so you can’t ask for anything more than that really. When it comes down to it, we have to win to get in, we control our destiny and that’s what you want. It’s certainly not easy, but you have it no other way . The way that we made up grown this season is by beating Western Conference teams and climbing up the table that way and now we have a chance again to play teams that are right there with us. For the second, third, and fourth spot.”
(On the postseason atmosphere of the last four games…)
DUNIVANT: “Absolutely, these games are going to be playoff intensity and these games matter. These games really matter and when you get down to these last couple then you know exactly what you need to do and that’s fun.”
(On LA being happy with their place in the standings heading into the last month…)
DUNIVANT: “We’ve set ourselves up well, but we’ve got to finish it off now. Like you said, three months ago, a lot of people didn’t think we could be in this position, but we always believed and we knew that we had a good team and we’ve stuck together and the club has stuck by us and we’ve rewarded that with some good results.”
(On playing without DeLaGarza…)
DUNIVANT: “It’s tough to lose A.J. at this stage, but you have to deal with those things and it’s certainly not easy and guys are going to have to step up and the whole team is going to have to step up.”
(On the role the comeback victory to RSL played in LA’s comeback this summer…)
DUNIVANT: “That was right when we started putting results together….we needed wins and we needed them fast and we started to put those on and suddenly we were eight points out of the playoffs at that point and for 3-8-2, that’s not that bad. Suddenly we win those games and we’re two points out of the playoffs and it’s a whole different ballgame with 20 games to go.”
(On chemistry concerns among the back four without DeLaGarza…)
DUNIVANT: “We haven’t had this where A.J. has been out. He’s been real reliable for us when he’s been in there and we’ve been working this weekend in practice in getting things right so certainly , it’s not going to be easy without him, he’s a huge part of our defense so we’re going to have to not use it as an excuse and just plow forward.”
(On Meyer being a different type of defender than DeLaGarza…)
DUNIVANT: “It’s going to be on us, so only time is going to tell. We’ve got to have baptism by fire in these last three games and we have confidence in Tommy or whoever goes in there and if we continue to play well as a group and we continue to play as we have a team then we’re going to continue to get shutouts, we’re going to continue to get results. It hasn’t just been the starting four that has gotten results, it’s been the other group as well in Reserve games and Champions League games so as a team we’ve improved well defensively and we need to keep that going if we want to win the championship. “
