SEATTLE— LA Galaxy captain Robbie Keane issued a challenge to his teammates following their dramatic and disappointing 1-1 draw with Seattle Sounders FC.
It’s time to concentrate for 90 minutes plus.
Keane’s first half goal and a strong defensive performance had the Galaxy on a path for three points at CenturyLink Field, but a late sequence of miscues proved costly for Los Angeles. In the dying seconds of the match, the Galaxy conceded a corner which resulted in a close range from Chad Barrett who slipped his marker and gave Seattle their equalizer.
After conceding the late goal, Keane demanded that the Galaxy learn from their mistake.
“Concentration. Concentration. Not letting players go. It is no one’s fault. We take it as a team. I keep saying it. I keep saying it every week. It doesn’t matter if it is individual mistakes. We all take it on the chin because we are a team,” Keane said. “So, we all messed up tonight because we didn’t finish the game. It is good if you learn the lesson. It is important that we rectify these last minute mistakes and try to avoid giving corners up during the last minute of the game."
“Don’t give the corner away. These are the little things we have to be clever about. Manage the game. We have to manage the game well. Don’t give a team that is good at set pieces and a couple of players that can get the ball in, with good technique and put a great ball in. So we have to be a little bit clever in terms of that moving forward.”
Forward Gyasi Zardes, who took responsibility for missing his defensive assignment on Seattle’s goal, agreed with Keane that it’s time for LA—and especially himself— to shore up before the postseason begins.
"We have to learn from this, and I need to learn from this. Chad Barrett was my man, and even if the ball took a deflection, that’s still my responsibility 100 percent,” Zardes said. “I own up to that. I’m going to watch film and learn from this.
“Although that we clinched a playoff spot this is a perfect chance for me to watch film and clean that up before playoffs because we have to be better at set pieces. The game was over, it was past 90 minutes. Although we tied, it felt like a loss.”
