PHILADELPHIA – LA Galaxy rookie left back Greg Cochrane has enjoyed strong showings in each of his four appearances prior to Saturday, but the rookie was well-aware that there were going to be some bumpy moments.
The Galaxy’s defeat to Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday night—his fifth appearance of his young career— was exactly that. Now he’ll look to turn those moments into a learning experience for the future.
Cochrane struggled to handle Vancouver right midfielder Russell Teibert, who bagged a pair of goals while being matched up against the rookie defender. Following the match, Cochrane admitted that his positioning struggled as Teibert was able to separate himself from Cochrane and find the back of the net while his crossing accuracy struggled.
“I watched the video and I learned from it so you see what you’ve done wrong and then those are the games that are going to make you better after you struggle,” Cochrane told LAGalaxy.com. “I learned from it and now you just try to implement the stuff that didn’t go well and improve…I always try to improve off of every one of my games.
“On the good days and on the bad days, you try to take little steps to improve on, but I try not to dwell on it too much,” Cochrane added. “You just put it on the backburner and move on from it because you dwell on it then it may just effect your next performance.”
Whether or not, he’ll see the field against the Union is still up in the air. Cochrane started the last three matches for the Galaxy, but with Todd Dunivant approaching full fitness, head coach Bruce Arena will have a decision to make on Wednesday.
“I always train like I’m going to be a starter. If I’m not then it doesn’t really matter to me because the decision is up to [head coach Bruce Arena]. I’m always ready when I get called on, whether it’s as a starter or coming off the bench, if he wants to play me then I’m always ready
But if Cochrane makes an appearance then Pennsylvania-native will be able to play in front of “50ish” friends and family at PPL Park less than 50 miles away from his hometown of Holland, PA.
“I’m always excited to come back here and play in front of my friends and family. I haven’t been back here since the draft so it’s always good. I got to see my family yesterday,” said Cochrane. “It should be good to see a lot of familiar faces.”
