CARSON, Calif. – Following LA Galaxy II’s 1-1 draw with Sacramento Republic FC on Saturday, Galaxy II head coach Curt Onalfo spoke to LA Galaxy Insider about the match.
Onalfo’s thoughts on the draw are below.
ONALFO: “We knew going in that they were going to disrupt our rhythm and they did. Every time that we moved forward, there was a foul and they had a great defensive shape which made it really hard on us. In games like that you have to play a bit quicker and play a few negative and square passes to take advantage, but we played too direct. It was a choppy and sloppy game where we lacked sharpness. It was a game where you need to roll up your sleeves and fight, and credit to our guys, that’s what we did. We got a goal and equalized. It wasn’t a great performance, but one that you learn from in a league like this.”
(On whether he expects more physical game plans from opponents like the one Sacramento played on Saturday…)
ONALFO: “I would think so, it’s all part of it. We have to solve how to deal with these situations better. When I tell the guys to make the game fast, it doesn’t mean to make it hectic, it means that we need to play quickly and make quicker decisions. Those are all easy season things to work through, so it could have been worse. We could have lost the game, but we found a way to get a point and we need to use that as a springboard to learn from and move forward as a group.”
(On the play of Chandler Hoffman…)
ONALFO: “Chandler is a great player. He’s a goal scorer and that’s exactly what he did tonight.”
(On Raul Mendiola’s role in setting up Hoffman’s goal…)
ONALFO: “Raul is a dangerous player. He makes things happen. I’m really pleased with what he’s doing.”
(On Sacramento Republic playing their inaugural match…)
ONALFO: “They’re well-coached. I have a lot of respect for Preki who obviously knows how to do things. They tried to play good soccer and defended very, very well. They competed hard tonight and they’re a good team.”
