LA Galaxy Postgame Quote Sheet:
LA Galaxy 1, FC Dallas 2
Saturday, March 4, 2017
2017 MLS Regular Season
StubHub Center – Los Angeles, California
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH CURT ONALFO
On the match:
“I thought it was a game we shouldn’t lose. I thought we played well enough to get points out of the game. I thought our reaction….if you look at the first half, I think we’re sloppy at times. But we had some good, extended possession. We defended well for the most part, a little disjointed on a couple plays but normal for this time of the season. They come out and score a quick goal. I think our reaction is excellent. And then we’re pushing the game and I’m really disappointed with the second goal we gave up. Having said that, a couple clear chances. Jermaine [Jones]’s chance off the post, Ariel [Lassiter] has two chances and we we’re dangerous. You think you have to get something out of the game, so I’m disappointed from that standpoint. But for me it’s a matter of getting better each day. We faced a very good FC Dallas team. They were the best team in the regular season last year. They were the best team in MLS and they’re better this year. We faced a very, very good team that punishes you when you make mistakes.”
On his central midfielders:
“I thought João [Pedro] and Jermaine were a handfuls. I thought they were very good the whole game. It’s too bad they picked up yellow cards early on because that affects how you play the rest of the game.”
On Jack McBean:
“I thought Jack [McBean] played very well. I thought he held up the ball well, he laid off the ball well. You could see him growing as a young player. He had a good physical presence playing against two central defenders.”
On Ema Boateng:
“Ema [Boateng] came in and made a difference immediately and that’s what he has. He has the ability to get in behind. There’s going to be games he starts, there’s going to be games he comes off the bench. He’s a weapon that we need to utilize.”
On how the game measured with his expectations:
“It’s kind of what I expected. I think last week rattled us a little bit because we played a very good Portland team. Any time you play a good team you learn a little bit more about yourself. But we’ve added really good pieces. All the pieces that we added are quality and you can see it. You can see it in today’s game. Just getting it to gel and getting it to be fine-tuned, to turn those chances into goals and then not conceding the goals we give up…we can’t give up those kinds of goals and expect to be in every game especially when you’re playing a really good team. Very good starting point, a lot of optimism, we’ll just build on it.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER JERMAINE JONES
On the team’s chemistry:
“I think it’s still a work in progress. And if you watch the whole game, we controlled the game pretty good and gave up a dumb goal, we came back and at 1-1 we had a lot of chances, but we don’t put them in. And then, from a throw in, they come back with a shot. I think you have to close them in from the throw in. But I still believe that the team is still a process. There was a step, as you see we could control the game, but you have to score, too.”
On Romain Alessandrini:
“He’s good at reading games. And he can find that spark between the lines. I would say that the last piece was missing to score a goal, or the last ball for the chance to score. This is the part that we have to work on. We lost today, and that’s a start we didn’t want, but I think we controlled the game really well, but at the end of the day you have to score goals to win games. So that’s the part we have to see and talk about when we come back on Monday.”
On playing alongside João Pedro:
“I think we controlled the game pretty good. Dallas has a good team. I think normally you see they have more possession, and that wasn’t the case today. But as you see, they scored two goals where I thought we had the chance to step out and close them earlier. And if that’s the case, you lose games.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER JELLE VAN DAMME
On being the team’s captain and what he brings as a leader:
“Try to do my best every game and give it my all. I think that’s the minimum you can do as a player. It’s an honor to be captain. On my previous team, I was captain before. I try to give 100 percent every game.”
On where the team is at:
“Getting [Gyasi] Zardes back is going to be a big asset to the team. I think the young guys did well. I think Jack had a good game, he did well. Zardes is not there so the boys who are here have to do it and I think they did well. If you see our game over 90 minutes, we should have gotten more out of it. But that’s soccer.”
On the goals the defense gave up:
“We gave up two sloppy goals, yes. I mean I have to see them again, but I think we lost the ball twice too easy and they came at us. I think I can do better with the first goal…we’ll learn from it and progress.”
On how he graded Romain Alessandrini:
“For me, he’s a typical winger from Europe and France. He can go one-on-one, he has a good cross and a good free kick. He’s going to be important for the team.”
LA GALAXY GOALKEEPER BRIAN ROWE
On the game:
“Definitely frustrating. I think we could have managed the game better and not put ourselves in that situation, to scramble to get a goal at the end. I thought we played well today. I thought we played well enough not to deserve a result like that. We possessed the ball well, they didn’t really have too many chances. I thought we moved the ball well and if we were a little more patient I think we would have been able to get a couple more opportunities.”
On FC Dallas’ goals:
“The first one was the one off Jelle [Van Damme’s] shoulder and it went right through Jelle’s legs. It was a good shot. The second one, I think we just fell asleep on it. I was playing off Dan’s shoulder and it was a good finish.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD ROMAIN ALESSANDRINI
On playing his first MLS game:
“The first half was good for me. The second half, physically it was a little bit difficult. I think I need to come back step by step. I’m really disappointed about the result and because we have a lot of expectations for this season. We need to win the games at home because it is the most important.”
On playing FC Dallas:
“It’s was important to play against this team because they are one of the best. It’s important for the team to work hard every game and every training. We have a lot of new players on this team so we need to get to know everybody. After that I think we can do a good season.”
On the game:
“The first half was really good for us. After the first goal it was bad for us because we had a lot of chances to score after. It’s very difficult because we need to win at home and tonight I’m really disappointed.”
On the difference of playing in Europe and MLS:
“It’s a physical league and we have a lot of spaces. If I play more games I think I will be better because tonight in the first half, I had a lot of balls in the middle and I can turn and go on the left side and right side. I think I need more games and I will be better.”
FC DALLAS HEAD COACH OSCAR PAREJA
On the match:
“I like the three points obviously. Just starting off on the right foot with such a great performance…but what I would like to remark is the level of character after the long trip and the difficult away matches. The boys were playing in Panama and came directly to LA. What I saw in the first half was that the team controlled. We had the ball and we had options and we created a lot of volume especially on the flanks. We dominated that half and we could have had one or two goals. In the second half, the Galaxy came to us and we started dropping too much and Galaxy just started to put more people into our half. They created options than we did in the first half, but we were good with the chances we had and we scored. Scoring two goals in this place is not easy for anyone.”
On if the penalty:
“In the second half, they made us go probably 10-15 yards back and that wasn’t our desire. We wanted to keep playing in their half. But Galaxy had numbers and they started getting control in the middle and then it was a back-and-forth game. We did well in the last 10 minutes and it was hard to sustain the result, but our character did us well.”
On Kellyn Acosta and his improvement:
“He’s understanding the position more, first. He sees himself now as a box-to-box player. I think that is important. When the player is convinced about the position that he’s playing…I like to see him. That’s the first step to be more mature. He’s putting more information into his game and I can see his game being improved for sure. He’s still young but I don’t want him to feel young. He has played enough games that he should believe that he can play that position at any level.
FC DALLAS FORWARD MAXIMILIANO URRUTI
(Translated from Spanish)
On how he feels after the team’s first win:
“Very good, I’m very happy. We did a great job. It got complicated at the end but that was normal since they are the home team and we expected them to press. I’m very happy with the win and happy to kick off the season on the right foot and with the right mentality.”
On scoring the first goal:
“I’m very happy to have scored. Forwards like to score and gives them confidence but more than anything I’m happy I was able to help the team, that’s fundamental.”
On the team’s schedule this week:
“The team feels great and we’re happy. We have a team that works together, and that’s reflected on the field. The coach asks for certain things, and when those things are accomplished everything works out. We know this is a long season, we also have the CONCACAF Champions League semifinal to think about, and all we have to do is stay focused.”
On defeating the LA Galaxy:
“We knew it was going to be a tough game. I don’t know if we were able to do the job we wanted to do, but at least we were able to hold the score. They’re a great team. They lost some big players but they are always one of the best teams and to kick off the season on the road against the Galaxy and securing three points is very good for us.”
FC DALLAS MIDFIELDER KELLYN ACOSTA
On today's game:
“The boys rallied, we finished it off and we got a good 2-1 win on the road. I know we are excited and happy about that to start the season well.”
On the team's performance:
“We have a lot of opportunities to prove ourselves and today was one of them and like I said, the guys did a tremendous job from beginning to end. A bit unfortunate with the PK call but throughout the game I thought we rallied, we worked hard, we tied the game up and guys continued to fight and got another goal and finished the game off.”
On his performance:
“Playing more games I am becoming more comfortable, more consistent in that area. I understand the relationship between me and Carlos [Gruezo] better. It's my teammates they have been finding me in good stops and I have been trying to work hard for them and they are working hard for me. I think overall our team chemistry is just where it needs to be. I think in each and every game we are getting better and more acclimated to each other and it's be showing. I think [preseason in] Argentina was a big test for us and playing all those games we started to know each other and became more of a family and I think that paid dividends for us for the good in the end and I hope it continues until the end of the year.”
FC DALLAS DEFENDER MATT HEDGES
On the team's performance:
“I thought it was a great performance from us coming off a midweek game. We came out with our game plan, what we wanted to do, I thought we executed it brilliantly. We got in at the half with a good score line. We attacked a little bit more and a great result 2-1 for us.”
On Kellyn Acosta:
“He's more confidant. He is getting higher up the field. Maybe the way we play now with our formation switch is helping him. He should be able to get a little higher up and be a little more creative without having a number 10 in front of him. He takes on more of that role.”
