SANDY, Utah— LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena spoke to reporters after the Galaxy’s 1-0 loss in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal to Real Salt Lake.
(On his thoughts on goal keeper Brian Rowe's performance...)
ARENA: "Closely played match. I think both keepers did a very good job keeping their team in the game. Atinella did a very good save on Lletget in the first half, a couple saves in the second half. Good one on Gerrard. Rowe made some good saves. Obviously we got a little tired at the end with the altitude and all. The game could have gone either way. Give them credit and hope they finish it off."
(On his thoughts on Steven Gerard's 45 minutes…)
ARENA: "He did fine. He's going to be a good player for us, but it's going to take some time though.”
(On the quick turnaround to face San Jose on Friday…)
ARENA: “We knew that it was happening so we’ll just get ready for it.”
(On if it was disappointing to see the tournament run end…)
ARENA: “It’s a competition. We wanted to win. That’s what we were here for.”
(On if he was surprised by Salt Lake’s performance…)
ARENA: “No. That’s that way that they play at home. Altitude is a factor, the field is hard, and it’s difficult for teams to have good control of the ball on this field. It’s a difficult situation but nothing we saw tonight surprised us.”
