SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- Sunday's 2-2 draw with the San Jose Earthquakes was a knock-down-drag-out brawl, but according to Galaxy forward Robbie Keane, that may be just what his team needs as they look to the playoffs.
Wearing the captain's armband in place of the injured Landon Donovan, Keane was dynamic throughout Sunday's match tallying the Galaxy's first-ever goal at Buck Shaw Stadium in the 2-2 tie. During the match, Keane was clearly emboldened by the armband as he was seen repeatedly attempting to break up scrums between the two sides, in order to calm nerves during heated moments.
But with those moments likely to get more and more frequent as the MLS Cup Playoffs set to start, Keane believes that Sunday's battle was a valuable character builder for the Galaxy.
“I thought we all showed a lot of character," said Keane. "You have to in these games, we’ve seen the way that they play all you want to do is get the ball and hit as far up front to the big guy up front. That was our main objective is to get that second ball and I think that the lads played very well."
More thoughts from Keane below...
(On the play of Edson Buddle...)
KEANE: "I thought we played well, full credit to Edson, he’s had a long injury and has come back so it was nice for him to get the goal today. He’s a good player and he’s very, very strong, and I think that he’ll be a vital player for us in the coming weeks…I’m sure that goal will do him a world of good."
(On the tie and only gaining one point...)
“I think we left two points on the pitch to be honest with you. I think we were the better team, we can’t be conceding goals from set pieces, it’s not good. But apart from that, I think you have to give up credit. We played tough against 12 men and that includes the referee, so it was quite tough. The lads showed a lot of character, we weren’t getting decisions that we thought we should have and I think as captain, I had to ask the ref to speak to me when I was asking questions, but it was okay, when the lads from their team were speaking in Spanish to him, he would speak back to them. Sorry, I don’t speak Spanish.”
(On whether LA must try to figure out the San Jose...)
KEANE: No, you saw it today. We can play the way that we play today then we’ve got no worries."
(On whether or not, he enjoys playing San Jose...)
KEANE: "Of course, it’s always an exciting game, and I’m sure the fan enjoyed it. I think that if we play the way that we play, especially in the first half, I think we can beat anybody."
