CARSON, Calif. -- LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena speaks after the club's 1-0 victory over the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.
Arena's quotes are below:
On how the team played:
“We played well enough to get three points. Not our best game; I think we made things a little difficult on ourselves not converting the penalty early in the game and then a few other chances we could have been better with. I thought defensively we played well. Give Houston a lot of credit; they played real hard. But a little bit better, maybe we win this game by a couple goals and make it a little easier on ourselves. I think you see the tactics that we generally see playing a home game by our opponents. They did a good job getting numbers behind the ball and making it difficult for us.”
On Baggio Husidic’s performance:
“Solid game. In the second half, Baggio and our whole team played much better.”
On Gyasi Zardes’ performance:
“He did very well, and he came close to pulling off a couple plays that could have been converted into goals. But he played real hard. He works real hard for our team.”
On Steven Gerrard’s performance:
“It was solid. He felt a little something at the end of the game; that’s why he came out. But obviously an important goal... I thought he started the game real well, and they did a real good job keying on blocking off passing lanes to Gerrard and Keane and getting around Giovani dos Santos quickly. They were prepared for the game and did a good job.”
On the difference in home and road records for LA Galaxy:
“We have one of the best away records in the league, did you know that? We have one of the best away records in the league this year if you look. The league is very hard to play on the road because of the travel, the scheduling, and a lot of other things. It’s very difficult to travel and play away in this league…altitude, time zones, it’s very difficult. And often, teams, especially out of conference, will play on the road fairly exhausted. And you come back, and it impacts you for the next game. If you look right now, I think there’s five teams in the league that haven’t won a game on the road this year. It’s difficult. Houston’s one of them. So as much as you want to make that a story, it is a story, but it’s the same for a lot of teams.”
On how important it is for Steven Gerrard and Gyasi Zardes to have good games when Robbie Keane struggles:
“Well Robbie didn’t get a goal, but he was in position to get a couple. But that’s all a part of it; you can’t depend on one player to score. I think Robbie was a threat all night despite the fact that he didn’t get a goal.”
On if Baggio Husidic’s play could earn him a starting spot over Nigel de Jong:
“De Jong has been a very good player for us this year. I expect him to be on the field.”
