LA Galaxy Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 4, La Máquina 1
Tuesday, June 14, 2016
2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup – Fourth Round
StubHub Center – Carson, California
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH AND GENERAL MANAGER BRUCE ARENA
On if LA Máquina FC gave LA Galaxy a good game:
“They did. As I told our team at the end of the game, we shot ourselves in the foot a couple times in that first half for sure with that sending off, which was warranted I thought, and fouling up a play created their goal. We certainly didn’t make things easy for ourselves. We played, in regulation, 73 minutes with 10 players and then add another 30 onto it. That’s not a smart way to play any game. We certainly had our chances to score more than one goal in 90 minutes, and you know, we sent it into extra-time. Clearly we were going to get a goal at some point to win this game, but we sure took our time.”
On what he liked about La Máquina FC:
“They did a solid job. You could see a couple of those guys have had some experience. They had pretty good composure. I thought they, for the most part, did pretty good defending. They didn’t have much of the ball on the night. They made a couple of plays; the one defender in the first half saved the ball off the line. The goalkeeper made a few good saves; the defenders did a good job. They worked hard, give them credit. They were opportunistic. The two front runners pressured our backline as much as they could and that pressure certainly helped create the goal for them. So, you know, they did a pretty good job with all that stuff.”
On if he was pleasantly surprised by Dave Romney’s goal:
“Yes.”
On who he liked of the players that got minutes Tuesday night:
“It was good for that whole group. I thought Jack McBean’s 60 minutes were excellent. In the first group, I think it was good for Leonardo to get that kind of game and Dave Romney who hasn’t played that much for us. And Jose Villarreal hung in there for 120 minutes which I thought was surprising. I thought Raul Mendiola had an excellent game for us tonight. He never stopped. And in a game like that to have that kind of energy out of a player for 120 minutes is pretty remarkable. I thought he did an outstanding job. And obviously, Sebastian Lletget coming in and getting a couple goals…I thought Baggio Husidic was excellent in playing his 55 minutes. So those guys all made a good contribution tonight and we beat ourselves up a little bit. But still, at the end of the day, to persevere like that and compete and win the game like that is good. So for the young players to learn as well as most of our first team players: when anyone plays the LA Galaxy, whether you’re a professional team or an amateur team, it’s your big game of the year and they’re ready to play. Our guys have got to be ready for that challenge each and every game.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER A.J. DELAGALARZA
On how frustrating match was:
“[It was] very frustrating. Obviously, these games are always tough I think., and we haven’t fared well in the past in this tournament. I thought we came out pretty well up until the red card and then obviously I mess and cost us a goal. After that red card, I think we kind of fell down a little bit until we got scored on. After we got scored on, we picked it up again and started pressing again… I thought we did well for most parts of the night.”
On if it was one of the weirder games he has played in:
“It was a weird game, especially after the red card. I still thought at times we did well pressing them even with them up a man, as we should. We were probably the more fitter of the teams… and we were obviously able to take advantage of them in overtime.”
On La Máquina:
“No matter who you play, when you’re playing the Galaxy, it’s your biggest game. These guys are amateurs, but they have got guys that have played professionally and in some pretty good leagues.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER SEBASTIAN LLETGET
On this being one of the craziest games he has been a part of:
“It got really intense out of nowhere, it was a big game for them and we understand that the teams that are going to play us are ready and we have to be professional and max their intensity. I think we did that towards the end.”
On the whether the LA Galaxy’s fitness level played a part at the end:
“Absolutely, I think we are coming on to the middle part of the season and I think we should be fit and we showed that fitness.”
On La Máquina:
“I give them a lot of credit even if they weren’t the best technically sometimes but their effort was outstanding.”
On his play and goals:
“I felt good, that’s what I was told to do, just get on the ball as much as possible. Be aggressive, as I always try to be, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t but tonight it worked out.”
On whether the team underestimated La Máquina:
“I think in those types of games you always get surprised, it doesn’t matter how ready or how professional you are before the game. Those teams are always going to give that extra 10 percent and we just have to match it and that’s our job and we have to be professional. Fortunately enough, it worked out for us in the end.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER BAGGIO HUSIDIC
On his free-kick assist to Dave Romney in extra-time:
“I asked a referee for a whistle and he didn’t respond so I just passed it.”
On if he made eye contact with Romney on the play:
“No, I just passed it toward him. I saw him looking, but really didn’t make any eye contact.”
On how frustrating it had been for the team up to their second goal:
“Obviously, the first half was a little tricky. The team gets all hyped up and gets a red card and then they end up getting a goal. And you hope that quality and endurance and professionalism end up winning the game towards the end. And we had quite a few chances up to that point.”
