Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 2, FC Dallas 1
Saturday, August 15, 2015 – 6:00 p.m. PT
MLS Regular Season
Toyota Stadium – Frisco, Texas
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the adjustments made at halftime...
“It was a difficult game. They pressed us. When we played forward, we needed a guy a little bit stronger to battle for the ball, hold it up a bit, and Giovanni (Dos Santos) got a little more space out wide and helped create some chances.”
On playing balls in the air against FC Dallas...
“Balls in the air with Robbie Keane and Giovanni Dos Santos are certainly not going to favor us, and the ball was in the air too much in the first half. Got a little bit better in the second half. Gyasi Zardes was probably an unsung hero tonight with the work he put in to start the second half and have the presence up top, I think, made the difference in the game.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER OMAR GONZALEZ
On tonight's game...
“To be honest, we weren't happy with the first half. We came into the locker room and Bruce (Arena) had a few words with us about competing, and I thought the second half opened up a little bit. We had a little bit more time on the ball, a little more time to find people up top and getting the two quick goals were crucial for us to get this win. After that, it was all about holding on. They put a lot of pressure on us. They have a lot of speed, a lot of big guys. Just want to credit this team for holding on and getting the second win away from home.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD ROBBIE KEANE
On tonight's game...
“The way we played in the first half wasn't good enough. We couldn't keep the ball the way that we like to and, again, we conceded another goal. Going behind is always difficult, always chasing the game, but thankfully we had the break that came at a good time. We regrouped and got ourselves together and in the second half you saw a certainly different Galaxy team in the way we played, got the ball down quickly into feet. Into Stevie's feet, Gio's feet, my feet, and we caused problems getting that first goal back.”
FC DALLAS HEAD COACH OSCAR PAREJA
Opening thoughts on the match…
“It was a beautiful night in Frisco, with two teams that gave it all. I thought we put in more and unfortunately we couldn't get the result we wanted. We're obviously upset and frustrated. There's nothing I can remark today that cannot praise the players that I had today on the field. They gave it all for the jersey. They wanted to take home the three points in front of our full stadium. The work that they've put in during the week towards this game was unbelievable. Today, they deserved more. I guess that’s the game. The quality of the players that [LA Galaxy] has just showed that you cannot blink and give away two opportunities. (If you do), they'll get the points and that's what it is.”
On the difference between the two halves…
“I think (LA) had a good reaction (to being down at half). We gave up the first goal in a play that we control normally, marking with the backs and avoiding the cross… we work on it during the week. They gave a couple of inches to (Robbie) Keane and he punished us, and then the game was open. We started throwing some bodies (forward) because we wanted to win it. This team is not going to stop attacking. We have that mentality. We have gotten results like that. It gets open and then obviously, L.A. is going to have some options as well. We didn’t want to play conservative and we didn’t want to play for just one point. These guys wanted the game and they deserve all of the game, so I have to praise them.”
FC DALLAS MIDFIELDER MICHAEL BARRIOS
Did you see the player who attempted to slide-tackle the ball away from you on the goal?
“No. I didn’t see him at all. I was concentrating on finishing. Luckily, when he touched the ball, the bounce went in our favor. I’m glad I was able to grab the ball and score.”
On scoring four goals in his last six MLS games…
“More than anything, it’s continuity. I am getting the opportunity to play and gain confidence every day. I am giving everything I can to the game.”
Did you think you deserved a PK on the play where you were brought down in the area?
“I saw two plays where there was contact. If the referee sees no contact, then there was no contact. It is the referee’s decision. You have to respect those decisions.”
FC DALLAS DEFENDER RYAN HOLLINGSHEAD
General thoughts on the match…
“I thought we were the better team throughout in terms of possession and the amount of chances that were created. All their chances came from counter attacks. There weren’t many sustained attacks from them. For us, we were in their half for almost the entire game. A lot of the time, that is the opposing team’s game plan coming in… just trying to hunker in, defend and counter attack and they did that well today.”
On the controversial plays where no penalty kick was awarded for FC Dallas…
“On those plays, where there is a guy sitting on the ball in the box for a few seconds and we’re looking for a call thinking it is coming… Part of that is our fault. We need to be better and be alert. We need to keep on playing until the whistle is blown. Part of that too is… We have to be better. We cannot leave it up to a referee.”
On setting up Michael Barrios’ goal with a header from midfield…
“A lot of our game plan on defensive headers was to get it over or through their back line. They’re slow on the turn so if you can get the ball behind their backs, our guys were faster. It wasn’t maybe perfectly directed down the line or anything like that, but I was trying to get it up and over as well as I could. After I hit it, I looked up and saw we were on goal.”
FC DALLAS DEFENDER JE-VAUGHN WATSON
General thoughts on the match…
“We lost focus for a minute and they scored two goals. We gave up a lot of chances in the second half. It's just that there are some things that we have to learn. We have to play for 90 minutes and, playing for FC Dallas, we've got to play good. We can't give up. Tonight we played good, but we lost focus for about 10 minutes in the game and it cost us. We started off the game slow and when they scored the two goals, we realized that the game was not over. We were the better team tonight as you can see, but we still have to take our hats off to LA… They came here and they wanted it more. Next week with Vancouver we've got to get the three points.”
