MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTESHEET
SATURDAY JUNE 26, 2010 -- TORONTO FC
0–0 LA GALAXY
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the return
of Donovan and Buddle…
“Well Landon is in the middle of his MLS
season he should be fine, Edson will be fine. Landon may need a couple
more days because he played so many minutes but he’s going to be fine. He’s very fit and he’s very motivated and I think he’ll be ready to go.”
LA
GALAXY CHRIS BIRCHALL
Thoughts overall on game…
“I think the
overall performance was improved. We played well and moved the ball
around and in the first 20 minutes. We went off the
ball for the last 10-15 of the half and they got into it, but I think
overall we were solid and we created chances, just unfortunate we didn’t
put any away.”
On strong first half…
“That’s what Bruce
wanted us to do. I mean, sometimes on the road we come out and we are a
bit lazy in the first 20 minutes and fortunate enough to not concede
goals. Today we came out really well, we created chances and it gives
people confidence when they get on the ball straight away and make good
passes. We were just unfortunate to not get a goal.”
LA GALAXY
FORWARD TRISTAN BOWEN
Thoughts…
“I thought we could have played
better, moved the ball a little bit faster, we were a little bit slow on
that. We didn’t finish the chances with our opportunities and it was
disappointing to not come out of here with a win, but we’ll take a tie.”
On
having the break if it affected him…
“No, not really we needed it. There was a couple of guys that were playing a significant amount of
minutes but we just have to
come back a little bit sharper and start off the next game better.”
TORONTO
FC HEAD COACH PREKI
Thoughts on game….
“It was a difficult game
after 3 weeks of not playing. I didn’t think either of the teams was very
sharp. It was a tough fight and if someone makes a mistake that is how
the game was going to be decided. Neither team really made any big
mistakes and it ended zero-zero.
Was asked if players were
affected by what’s going on in the city…
“I’m sure it was in the back
of their minds, everybody was following what was going on in the city.
That can’t be the excuse though, once you step onto the field, once you
step into the locker room actually, you've got to focus on your job and
what’s ahead of you for the next couple of hours. I thought we worked
hard but we’ve got to find a way to have a little bit more soccer in
us and little more creativity. We didn’t create enough.”
TORONTO
FC DEFENDER NANA ATTAKORA
Asked if the goings on in the city affected
the team…
“No… not at all. We knew we had a job here to do today. We
saw it on TV and we just focused on the game - and just did what we could
do.”
Was asked if they noticed the decent crowd considering what
was going on in city…
“To be honest we did notice, me and a few of
the other guys were talking about how many people would show up today
and there was 18,000 – that was shocking. We were thinking like 11
(thousand) might show up but it shows the support we have here in
Toronto.”
TORONTO MIDFIELDER DAN GARGAN
On playing after the
lay-off…
“You’re antsy to get back onto the field, and that makes
your play kind of antsy. Defense on both sides definitely stepped up a
bit because they were trying to pressure as much as possible, as they
haven’t played in a couple of weeks. I think that makes it tough to
settle in and get going. I think the later stages in the first half we
were a lot better. We moved the ball around a bit cleaner and in the
second half kind of the same thing, but we had a few chances at the end,
maybe a bit unlucky but that’s the way it works sometimes.”
“Anytime
you keep a clean sheet you got to be happy about that. They are sitting
on top of the league with the best record so to get a draw isn’t a bad
result by any means. We’re still undefeated at home and that’s the
way we want to keep it. We want to be tough to play against.”
NOTES
- With the tie, the Galaxy are now 10-1-3 on the season, leaving them with 33 points. They remain alone in first place in the Western Conference, nine points ahead of second place Real Salt Lake who have 24 points.
- Bruce Arena named the same starting XI with six of seven substitutes remaining the same as Leonardo replaced Bryan Jordan on the bench as he did on June 9 in Salt Lake.
- Leonardo made the trip to Toronto and for the first time since his injury dressed for the game. He has been out since mid-April with a right quad strain.
- In addition to Leonardo, the Galaxy were also without Dema Kovalenko and Mike Magee, who each remained in Los Angeles because of injury. Edson Buddle and Landon Donovan remain unavailable for selection while in South Africa with the U.S. National Team at the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
- This was just the first time this season that the Galaxy had used the same lineup in three consecutive games.
- With Landon Donovan in South Africa with the National Team, Gregg Berhalter wore the captain’s armband for the fifth consecutive game.
- Since MLS discontinued the shootout to decide games before the 2000 season, the Galaxy are 6-2-4 following their first defeat of the season. In the last six years, LA is 4-0-3 after their first loss of the season, outscoring opponents 12-4.
- The Galaxy remain unbeaten against the Eastern Conference this season. In six games against teams from the East, the Galaxy are 3-0-3 for 12 of their league-best 33 points. Dating back to the start of last season, the Galaxy have lost just once in 19 regular season games against the East, going 11-1-8, with the only loss coming at Columbus on September 26, 2009. LA have recorded 11 clean sheets in those 20 games and allowed more than one goal just twice.
- The Galaxy are 1-1-2 all-time in MLS games in Canada, after winning at BMO Field for the first time ever last season, defeating TFC 2-1. Alan Gordon and Edson Buddle scored the goals in that game for the Galaxy’s first ever goals north of the border.
- The attendance for today’s game was 18,809.
- The Galaxy’s quest for a third Open Cup title will begin on Tuesday, June 29 when they host AC St. Louis at 7:30 p.m. (PT) at The Home Depot Center.
- In MLS action, the Los Angeles will host their annual postgame fireworks show on the Fourth of July when they take on the Seattle Sounders FC at The Home Depot Center. That game kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (PT) and can be seen live on FS West.
