LA Galaxy Quote Sheet:
LA Galaxy 1 – 1 Seattle Sounders FC
CenturyLink Field – Sunday, Oct. 27
Bruce Arena – LA Galaxy Head Coach
(On the game…) “Competitive game. Pretty even game. It was a good result for us.”
(On the missed call on the apparent goal…) “Obviously I don’t see it from where I am, but I was told it was about a yard over the line. For some reason, I think we should be able to see that one. We’re fortunate to get out of it, not using that as a major sticking point in the game.”
(On Robbie Keane’s goal…) “It was a big goal. The second half, we played better. The game slowed down a little bit and we got a little more comfortable on the surface. We’re pleased with the point.”
(On the team’s defense…) “They played well tonight. I thought it was Omar’s [Gonzalez] best game in a while. Kofi Opare has been really solid for us. He’s a good young player. We play two first-year players with Kofi and [Greg] Cochrane so I’m real pleased with those young players. And Gyasi [Zardes] as well, so we got incredible experience tonight for our young kids. I think down the stretch, our veteran players made a difference for us.”
(On the tough defending at the end…) “It was a good game in preparation for the playoffs for us. We’re pleased with that.”
(On Robbie Rogers…) “I thought Robbie held up really well physically. We have to get him a little more comfortable in the attack, but I thought his game was fairly balanced. He certainly did a good job defensively. If we can get a little more out of him in the attack, it will be a positive.”
(On facing Salt Lake…) “I don’t remember the last time we’ve seen them. We had a good series with them this year. They’re a very talented team. We look forward to the game. It will be a good series.”
(On Robbie Keane’s play…) “He had a solid game and when he gets that goal, you have to say he had a very good game. Goals are rare in this sport and Robbie seems to get them at the right time. Overall, I thought the last 10 or 15 minutes of the game, he was very influential for us in terms of leadership. He and Landon [Donovan] really stepped up and got the players organized and confident so we could walk off the field with a point.”
(On being undefeated in the black kits…) “I mean, whatever (laughs). I’m not quite sure it’s the uniforms. You put 11 bad players in that kit and I don’t think you’re going to win too many games.”
(On how this game propels them into the playoffs…) “We’ll only know once we’re done with the season. We’ve had a good run since August. We’ve done a good job and we’ll hopefully be healthy by the weekend when we play. We’ll be in a good position to be competitive and hopefully win the first series.”
(On how the team is physically…) “We had a few scrapes [tonight], but for the most part I think we held up OK.”
Robbie Keane – LA Galaxy Forward
(On the game…) “It’s always dangerous when a team goes 1-0 up and when you’re playing against the Galaxy, we know we’re quite capable of scoring at any time and that was the case. So maybe in the first half they thought the game was over, but in the second half we came back strong and looked like the team that was always going to score.”
(On his goal…) “It was a great touch for Hector [Jimenez]. I think Hector, when he came on, made a massive difference. He was getting in behind them, he was difficult for them. He was tracking in behind where it gave me time to come up and then drop it. A couple times before that he put the ball back and had a shot the goalkeeper saved. Then on the goal he touched it back to me and I knew I had to just hit it into the ground because there were bodies and with this turf I knew it was going to take off and lucky enough it did.”
Landon Donovan – LA Galaxy Forward
(On the performance…) “That was the type of performance that champions make and we got away from that a little bit in the last few weeks but I thought tonight was just a bunch of men that put it in and put in a real performance. It’s a little disappointing because we probably should have won the game but to fight back after all that and still get the goal and get the tie we needed was really important.”
(On Gonzalez’s controversial no-goal…) “I saw it very clearly. I saw it as clearly as the linesman so for me it was a no-brainer. I was looking right across waiting for him to put his flag up and signal goal but for whatever reason he didn’t. I would suggest that goal-line technology would help but that one didn’t even need goal-line technology. It was real obvious. It’s unfortunate; we’ve had a little hard luck with some linesmen this year but hopefully gets better in the playoffs.”
(On the defensive performance…) “Our back four was great. I don’t think they had too many great chances. Even the goal was really fluky. I thought they were terrific. The way we handled the end of the game was very mature and playing with two rookies on the left side of our defense so I think that says a lot about the depth we built. To come into a game like that and have those two in the back line and the back line as a whole perform that way was very good.”
Robbie Rogers – LA Galaxy Midfielder
(On the game…) “It was a great game. It was a tough game and I was surprised I lasted as long as I did. I thought I put in a pretty good shift defensively. I almost had that chance in the first half., but I’ve seen myself improve every week since I’ve come back from injury so I want to keep progressing. Obviously we’re going to the playoffs now so it’s a good time to really help our team out but the guys did so well today; such a great team performance. It really kind of made my job easy. I thought defensively as a team we were really good so it was enjoyable.”
(On improving in the final third…) “Yeah, I think a lot of it comes with fitness and game sharpness so of course it would be great to get more games but there’s no time for that now. I’ll just try to take this week and get some extra fitness, get some extra work and be ready for Sunday.”
Lamar Neagle – Sounders FC Midfielder
(On tonight’s performance…) “We can take some bright spots from it. I think definitely in the first half we had some chemistry we’ve been wanting for a few games now, so that’s a positive. We would have a result and skip this one, but it’s the playoffs now so it’s a whole new season and we’re ready.”
(On getting the first-half goal…) “That’s a few of the things we’ve done in the past—we come out really hard and end up not getting a goal and this time we ended up getting one, so that’s good. Just sustaining that pressure and keeping them in the back is what we were planning on doing.”
(On winning Sounders FC Humanitarian of the Year…) “I love giving back and I’m from the area, so I might as well give back to the places that helped me out along the way.”
Michael Gspurning – Sounders FC Goalkeeper
(On Fan Appreciation Night…) “It was time to say thank you to the fans and for their support this year. It’s a good idea to have Fan Appreciation Night. Of course we wanted to win, but now we are in the playoffs and we’ll see the fans on Wednesday. That’s the good thing—we will have great support when we need it against Colorado.”
(On preparing for the playoffs…) “It’s just looking forward now. We wanted to avoid this game [against Colorado] but now we got it. All of our minds are ready for Wednesday and that’s the most important thing.”
(On preparing for another match in a few days…) “We know how to train for a game in three days and that isn’t an issue at all. Of course everybody will need a special energy for playoffs. We know a lot of the fans that were here today are going to be in the stands on Wednesday to cheer us on. It is big that we at least have this game at home.”
Djimi Traore – Sounders FC Defender
(On tonight’s performance…) “The result is not the best for us because we tried to avoid the game on Wednesday, but it’s done and we have to move forward. It’s good for us because Colorado beat us badly last game and we would like the revenge. I think we will try to do everything to correct that.”
(On preparing for playoffs…) “It’s the same. [Colorado] played today and they lost […] We can go into the game with more confidence. It’s nice to have everyone back on the team and now the playoffs start Wednesday night and for us it’s a great opportunity.
(On the team’s confidence…) “To be honest, for us we lost four games in a row and it was important to play well and don’t lose because LA is a really good team, and I think we did very well. But unfortunately we drew, and it’s like that, and now our confidence is back. We never lost anything from the team it was only a matter of getting everybody healthy and now we can see the end of the tunnel—everybody is ready and everybody is there to play for the playoffs.”
Adam Moffat – Sounders FC Midfielder
(On if history shows that playoff seeding might not matter…) “Yeah, it doesn’t at all. You look at last year, and the Galaxy finished in fourth, I believe, and they almost lost that play-in game against Vancouver last year, but then once they got to the series games they beat San Jose and eventually ended up getting to the final. For us in Houston, we had to travel for our game and we still made it. So it doesn’t matter. You look at teams like [Real] Salt Lake, Colorado when they won, they all weren’t in the greatest positions. It really doesn’t matter. Once you get in there it’s all about producing your best, and if not then you’re probably going to lose. We need to get back the form that we had a couple of months ago and I feel like we could definitely win.”
(On the team’s overall play today…) “I think we played well. I think that we’re disappointed that we didn’t score more goals, and put more in the back of the net. That’s what you’ve got to do. It’s frustrating, but at the same time we have a home game on Wednesday and we expect to win. Hopefully we take care of business.”
DeAndre Yedlin – Sounders FC Defender
(On his play…) “I think that young people, especially now with the way the game is changing, are able to make a much bigger impact on the game just because of the athleticism. Obviously soccer is a lot bigger in the U.S. now, so just watching games in Europe and watching games in the MLS younger players are learning more and more every day. I think with each game, young players are able to come in and show that we’re the future of this league.”
(On the busy week and the team’s overall chemistry…) “We put the past away, and part of being a professional is putting things away and being able to not be distracted by outside things. We’re just staying focused, and hopefully everything goes well.”
