QUOTES
Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena
On the game…
“Give Colorado a
lot of credit, they pushed us really hard to get the goal and even up
the game. Both teams played very well. It’s really good to get a win on
the road in Denver, it’s never easy. I told Edson (Buddle) he could have
had nine goals tonight. I think Pickens made some pretty good saves. I
was pleased with our performance.”
“You know the home team is going to come hard at you, especially as they were trailing. We needed to be patient and do the defending that is necessary and look to get the second goal. Give Colorado credit, they pushed to get that goal.”
“I think (Omar) Cummings was real dangerous in the first half. In
the second half, we did a little bit of a better job on him.”
Galaxy
forward Landon Donovan
On the game…
“We did a good job of
dictating the game, which was smart. We played the way we need to play
on the road against a team that plays well at home and has the advantage
of altitude, field size and crowd. We limited them to a few good
chances.”
“It’s hard to play here, even if you’re fit, it’s still
a challenge. Colorado has a big advantage of training here every day.
That’s why it’s so special to come here and win. We haven’t done it in a
long time and I’m very proud of us. We got tired but we pushed through
and we did very well.”
Galaxy forward Alan Gordon
On his game
winning goal…
“Maybe they were looking for a shot but they
definitely weren’t covering me. We played a good ball, I was lucky to
get a head on it and win it. We know we have some big boys, so we
concentrate on doing our free kicks well and it worked out.”
Galaxy
forward Edson Buddle
On Conor Casey…
“He’s a good player to
watch if you want to learn some things, he is a good example. I like
Conor’s game; I like him as a person as well.”
On playing at
altitude…
“It’s a little rough playing in altitude. But we came in
late last night and I think it helped. We did win, so we aren’t going to
complain about the altitude.”
Rapids Head Coach Gary Smith
On
the game…
“I thought they were the better team in the first
half and mounted some good pressure in the opening 20 minutes. But for
us to concede from a dead ball again was a disappointment. I thought we
created some absolutely fabulous opportunities. I think to come out in
the second half and to dominate the way we did showed a lot of character
from the group. We showed the quality of possession we had displayed
the last several weeks. The big difference from this week from last was
we created some fabulous chances. Unfortunately today, we couldn’t force
on. And in a game where one goal can make a big difference, their one
has gotten the three points.”
Rapids goalkeeper Matt Pickens
On
the game…
“We can’t dwell on this one, but it is a really hard
loss when you look at how much we put into it. We were able to play our
game. I think if it wasn’t for the way we started; it would have been a
different result.”
“The game comes down to the finest detail like
a set piece that went against us again. It is a very small margin, but
we need to correct that. We need to put on emphasis on correcting these
small things so we can get something from these games.”
Rapids
defender Drew Moor
On Alan Gordon’s goal…
“I think they
were a little bit overloaded on the back post. I think (Omar) Gonzalez
came in really late and we didn’t adjust to it quick enough and made a
quick switch which left Gordon open. We had plenty of time once the foul
was called to get in position. It (goals from set pieces) is just
something that is haunting us right now.”
NOTES
With the win, the Galaxy are now 6-0-1 on the season, giving
them 19 points. They remain alone in first place in the Western
Conference and are now nine points ahead of second place Colorado and
Houston, who lost 1-0 at home to FC Dallas earlier on the night.
• LA
is now four points ahead of the Eastern Conference leading New York Red
Bulls for the best record in MLS. The Red Bulls are 5-1-0 for 15
points.
• The Galaxy did not get their 19th point of the 2009 season
until a 1-0 win over New England on July 4.
• For the first time this
season, Bruce Arena made no changes to his team from the 3-1 win over
Philadelphia on Saturday night. In addition to keeping the same starting
XI, Arena named the same seven substitutes as he had against the Union.
•
The Galaxy were once again without Sean Franklin, Dema Kovalenko,
Leonardo, Eddie Lewis and Mike Magee who all missed the game because of
injury. Of that group, only Magee made the trip to Colorado.
• Alan
Gordon scored his first goal of the season in the 21st minute, heading
home a Landon Donovan freekick. The goal was Gordon’s first in MLS since
a 2-1 win at Toronto FC on June 6, 2009.
• Donovan, who was fouled
leading to the freekick, collected his MLS-best sixth assist of the
season on the goal, tying his total from all of 2009 when he finished
tied for the team lead in assists.
• Edson Buddle was booked in the
89th minute for his fourth yellow card of the season. Buddle is now one
caution away from a mandatory one-game suspension.
• Goalkeeper
Donovan Ricketts made three saves in the game for LA to keep his fifth
shutout in seven games this season. Ricketts has allowed just two goals
in 630 minutes for a league-best 0.29 goals against average.
• Former
Rapids Jovan Kirovski and Clint Mathis each entered the game in the
second half for the Galaxy.
• The win was the Galaxy’s first in
Colorado since July 13, 2002 when the Galaxy won 3-1 over the Rapids at
INVESCO Field at Mile High when Danny Califf, Ezra Hendrickson and
Carlos Ruiz scored for the Galaxy. Since that game, LA was 0-8-4 in
Denver, including 0-3-1 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
• The Galaxy
are now 3-0-0 all-time on Cinco de Mayo.
• Galaxy midfielder Chris
Birchall celebrated his 26th birthday today and played the full 90
minutes in central midfield.
• The attendance for today’s game was
9,882.
• The Galaxy are back in action on Saturday afternoon when
they travel to Seattle to take on the Seattle Sounders FC at Qwest
Field. The game kicks off at 1 p.m. and can be seen live on FOX Sports
West starting with the Galaxy Live pregame show at 12 p.m. AM 570 and
ESPN Deportes Radio 1330 AM will broadcast the game live on the radio in
English and Spanish respectively, starting with their pregame shows at
12 p.m.
