Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 0 – 1 Real Salt Lake
Saturday, March 8, 2014
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LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On tonight’s game:
“It’s obviously a disappointing result. I thought it was a good game, two good teams. They made the most out of their opportunities. We had a couple of good chances as well. Our best players had a few good looks at the goal. I think [Nick] Rimando was outstanding and certainly saving the penalty in extra time was outstanding and play of the game. We could have had a goal tonight but I think both teams for an opening game played well.”
On Samuel’s performance:
“Samuel had a good night I thought. First game in the league I thought he worked real hard. I was surprised he went as long and as strong as he was on the evening. I am encouraged by his effort.”
On James Riley:
“James [Riley] played well. He is a good player we discovered that early in camp. He’s a good player. He’s going to be a valuable member of our team.”
On the missed opportunities:
“1-0 game, we had some good chances, they did as well. We don’t finish our chances and the penalty at the end of the game, what more can you say? Those are wasted chances. We should have got at least a point out of this game.”
On the positives of tonight’s game:
“For the most part we defended pretty well. At times our passing was quick and sharp and other times it was not. In the first half I can recall off the pressure we created that chance were Robbie [Keane] hit it off the post. He created the chance were he slipped Landon [Donovan] in on a one on one with [Nick] Rimando. Those were good chances. Good ball movement. For the most part the play was pretty solid. You could see that a couple of our players hit the wall at the end of the game when we needed a little more energy.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD ROB FRIEND
On the penalty kick:
“At the end of the game it got a bit hectic so we had to play a few long balls. I went up and I know I definitely could have got my head on it, redirect it towards the goal. He (Tony Beltran) obviously gave me a bit of a shove and fortunate to get the penalty, unfortunate not to score.”
On his debut:
“Obviously we want to win. I sniffed around the net a bit where I had some chances, it would have been nice to score. Unlucky not to get the win, I think we deserve to get the win or at least a tie. Obviously Salt Lake is a good team so we move on and learn for our mistakes and get stronger for the next game.”
On Wednesday’s game against Club Tijuana:
“It makes us more motivated, no one likes to lose, especially in their first game. We expect to win every game so obviously now we are motivated for Wednesday, but I think we got a little bit of extra fire in us now.”
On tonight’s atmosphere:
“It was perfect; it was really nice, it was great. Good experience for the first time in the MLS, I enjoyed it.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER STEFAN ISHIZAKI
On his debut:
“It wasn’t really what I hoped for. I was hoping to come out and make a difference and obviously win the game for us. I had two or three good chances to score. I actually felt my long shot was going in, it made an awkward bounce just in front of the keeper and I thought it was going to bounce over his hands but unfortunately he got a touch on it. Then it’s disappointing how we let the goal in; it was an easy pass and we didn’t track the run. I’m a little bit disappointed, but it’s nice to have my debut.”
On Nick Rimando’s performance:
“He had a good day today. Not a lot to say, we had, I would, say between seven and nine good opportunities to score and obviously you need to score when you have that many chances. If we would have done it before then, maybe it would a totally different game and we could’ve just kept the ball the last five to 10 minutes. Now we had to work hard and try to win it back again. We couldn’t really play our style at the end of the game; we had to get balls up there and try to score.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD ROBBIE KEANE
On tonight’s game:
“I think I missed opportunities certainty in the first half and it certainly cost us the game, no question about that. I think that with the chances that we had, we could have killed the game. We didn’t and let them get back into the game. It was a lot of positives in this game, certainly a lot of positives but if you don’t take chances you don’t win games. That’s just the way it goes. We certainly have players on this team that can score a lot of goals.”
On Nick Rimando’s performance:
“He is a good goalkeeper, so it’s expected to pull off a few saves. He certainly had a good night. That’s the way it goes in football, you have to get on with it and move on as quickly as possible, because we have another game on Wednesday.”
On the penalty kick:
“It was around the corner, it was a good save and that’s the way it goes.”
On teammates Samuel & Rob Friend:
“Samuel did well at the start; it took him a while to get into the game. He had a few glimpses here and there. Rob [Friend] was certainly a trap when he came on, especially suited him because we were losing the game. A lot of balls going forward in the air, and obviously that’s his game. Overall we are disappointed with the result because it’s certainly a game that we should have won in the first half.”
On Wednesday’s game against Club Tijuana:
“Tough against the Mexican teams, it’s always tough so I’m sure it will be an interesting game. It’s a good game for us to bounce back. I’m sure fitness wise and after playing today, it will do the team a world of good on Wednesday. I think you’ll see us a lot faster and sharper because the more games you play the more match fitness you get.”
On tonight’s officials:
“I thought they actually did well tonight. First half especially well, second half a bit here and there, but that’s expected. I think overall it was really good.”
On Stefan Ishizaki
“Clever player, he is tidy, he knows how to play. He is certainly going to be a great addition to the squad.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER LANDON DONOVAN:
On tonight’s loss:
“Soccer is a cruel game sometimes and we got judged on results. I think we can be happy with how we played, but at the end of the day we have to score, and we had too many chances to score and that puts our backline and goalkeeper under a lot of pressure when we don’t finish off opportunities. We have to be better going forward.”
On Nick Rimando’s performance:
“You give him credit, he made some great saves but from some of the positions you have to score, that’s what we get paid to do. It’s frustrating, you can give him credit for sure and we were a little unlucky too when you look at it. All of those played into one of those nights where one team is a lot better but loses the game and that happens in soccer sometimes.”
On teammates Samuel & Rob Friend:
“I thought they did well. Samuel was really good, active and physical, and played well. He tired a little bit before he came out but you can see he is going to help us a lot. I thought Rob was pretty good when he came in too, and gave us a different dimension so we are going to have a lot of help in that area this year.”
On tonight’s game:
“We came in at half time wondering how we weren’t ahead, and the next thing you know it’s the 80th minute and we’re down a goal and we’re chasing the game. It’s hard to understand how that could happen, but that’s the way it is, and when you don’t finish your chances you get punished sometimes. I’ve learned that sometimes you can’t control the result as frustrating as it is. All you can do is play as well as you can, and sometimes the ball goes in, and sometimes it hits the post, and sometimes the goalie makes saves. But I think we played well and we just have to keep that going.”
On Nick Rimando as a player:
“I think he is the best goalkeeper in the league at saving penalties. He just reads the game well and he reads body language well, and he did a great job. He saved a couple of mine in the past too and I think he is very good at them.”
On CCL rival Club Tijuana:
“I think we’re still confident, we know here how to play. We played well against a good team for long stretches of the game. We have to be better in front of the goal, and it’s easy to say but when those chances come we have to finish them and it’s as simple as that.”
On tonight’s officials:
“I thought they did pretty well. I think the only issue is they don’t understand our league and the way it’s played. I thought there was too many fouls called, I think they should have let the game go more. But overall, it wasn’t a bad job, but we certainly hope we get our refs back. I think we underestimate how good they’ve become and we want them back as soon as possible.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER OMAR GONZALEZ:
On tonight’s game:
“Defensively we didn’t have to deal with much until they had those two or three chances, but other than that I thought we kept the ball on their half most of the game. We were just unlucky to get a goal ourselves maybe three or four.”
On Real Salt Lake’s goal:
“I was pretty close, I think it was a mispass from Kyle [Beckerman], I think he was trying to put it into [Alvaro] Saborio’s feet, the ball kind of moved funny and it kind of knuckled away and I just couldn’t get my foot on it and then [Joao] Plata was at the right place at the right time, or maybe it was a good run, I haven’t taken a look at it, but it was a good goal.
It’s never fun losing, especially at home when one of our goals for the year is to make this place a place where we don’t lose. And to start the year off losing the game, it’s a bit tough to take, but having said that, I think we did play well tonight, I think we deserve more than what the end result was. You just have to move on and make sure that we forget about this game, and we look towards CONCACAF Champion’s league, and make sure that we can keep the shutout and score some of those goals that we didn’t score tonight.”
On the penalty kick:
“Especially when you see Robbie [Keane] stepping up to take it you think it’s a for sure goal. But we’ve faced Nick Armando in pk’s before, and we know how good he is so I thought that he did well to save it. Again, that’s just how our night went tonight. Everyone up top was threating, making the defenders shift a little bit, making them feel uneasy the whole night, but we just couldn’t get that final shot.”
LA GALAXY GOALKEEPER JAIME PENEDO
On tonight’s game:
“It was a complicated game, it was the typical type of game where you have a lot of chances up top and the team finds it hard to finish them. And these things happen. Sometimes I’m not very good at taking in losses; I didn’t like to start off the season this way. I am a positive person and it’s a long season. We have a good team; the Galaxy is a big team, a team that attacks and a team that creates scoring opportunities up top. Goals will come soon and we have to continue working hard in the back line.”
On the team’s defensive line:
“I think our defenders did a great job, Real Salt Lake never caught us off guard but of course there are always things we could work on.”
On his saves:
“I think that I work hard in order to be able to be ready for games like these. Goals hurt me a lot and the goal that we allowed today is one that I will probably watch over and over again in order to see where I can improve. I think it was a quick play, and like I’ve always said, we’ll be able to correct the mistakes so they won’t happen again.”
On the team’s performance:
“I think the team did well, a team with an ability to score a lot of goals. Today we couldn’t score any but the important thing is that we are creating opportunities on goal. I’d be very worried if given the type of players that we have and being a club like the Galaxy we aren’t able to create scoring opportunities. Goals will come. In the back line, we’ll have to continue to be concentrated and focused.”
REAL SALT LAKE HEAD COACH JEFF CASSAR
On getting his first win as an MLS Head Coach:
"It feels great, but what I am really excited about is the fight that the team had. We were under the gun a couple times in the first half and came in and half time and said, you know, just relax, it's 0-0, exactly where we want to be, and the energy level and effort from the guys in second half was fantastic. We had a great two weeks in Tuscon preparing for this game, we had a good game plan of what we thought they would be doing, it doesn't hurt that our goalkeeper played amazing, but I am really proud of the guys."
On Nick Rimando’s saves:
"Unbelievable. He was controlling the ball, didn't give up rebounds, was unbelievable in the air. This is not an easy team to play against when they are getting service into the box and then obviously the penalty kick save was amazing, but that is Nick, he is that guy. They are a dangerous team, we knew they would be dangerous. We would like to tighten up being countered on, but I am really proud of the guys."
On the play of Joao Plata:
"Unbelievable, he was really threatening a lot of the time, but he was even controlling the ball and making good decision in transition, he was fantastic.”
REAL SALT LAKE GOALKEEPER NICK RIMANDO
On the penalty kick:
"The whole game, I think everybody fought hard, but in that moment it felt like somebody wanted to take the game away a little bit. I knew he would stutter-step and I waited as long as I could, went to my right, reacted, and was lucky to make the save. I hadn't studied him, [Robbie Keane], at all, I just knew he likes to stutter-step from seeing him take penalty kicks in the league. I just stood my ground, I know he likes to look up and see where the goalkeeper goes, so I just stayed up as long as I could and reacted to his ball."
On the game as a whole:
"They are a terrific team, one of the best teams in the league in my eyes, especially at home. It's tough to get a result, let alone a shutout here, and they came at us like we knew they would and I thought the defense played great, and by defense I mean the whole team. I knew I was going to get some shots, and today was one of those days where I felt like the ball was bigger than it was. They are comfortable here, like any home team in their home stadium, it's a big field, they have very dynamic players that like to get the ball and run at you, there is a lot more space on this field. And they are in front of their home crowd for their opening game, put all those factors together and you are going to get a very good Galaxy team. You always want to get out to a good start, I wouldn't say this is a huge win, but it is a step in the right direction for sure. We have 30 plus more games so we have to continue to grow and make sure we are paying attention to the details. If you ask anybody in this room we could have done a lot better tonight."
REAL SALT LAKE MIDFIELDER JAVIER MORALES
On Joao Plata:
"He is young and learning a lot, from the last year I see a lot of difference, he has improved on a lot of things. Now I am happy for him because I think he deserved the goal, he works hard out there."
On starting the season with a win:
"It means lot you know, because we have a new coach. It brings us confidence to win here in LA, the first game of the season. Jeff Cassar is a great guy, and when you coach you are always looking for your first win, he got it right away, so now he is going to want a little more, but he has been great."
