LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On tonight's match:
"It was a good win for our team against a good opponent, it was a difficult game but I am please we came out with a win. Obviously going to Tijuana next week is going to be a difficult match, but I am pleased with the position we are in. Tonight was a pretty even game, we had a couple chances at the end of the first half, and didn't get it, and then Tijuana pushed us real hard in the second half and it was a great result for our team to get a clean sheet tonight. We played well defensively."
On the play of Galaxy goalkeeper Jaime Penedo:
"Jaime had a good night, a couple good saves, maybe a couple weren't because they put the flag up, but Jaime did well, he is getting back into form. Jaime is coming into the prime of his career, we think he is going to get better, I like to believe goalkeeper is a position that is strong for us now."
On what to expect playing in Tijuana:
"It will be difficult. Obviously, another goal would have benefited our team, but it's still nice going there with an advantage. Not giving up an away goal is important and we are well aware of the fact that Tuesday will be a difficult game. We will be ready.
On the play of Galaxy forward Samuel:
"He has done well, he really has. I could have kept him in longer tonight, but I felt that we needed to get some fresh legs in the midfield, and push Landon up top, but Samuel has done very well. He has adjusted well, and is very opportunistic around the goal, we've seen it in the preseason, and tonight a similar type of goal. He's got a good nose for the goal and he is just going to get better as he begins to understand our team and our league a little bit better."
LA GALAXY FORWARD LANDON DONOVAN
On playing the return leg in Tijuana:
“It will be difficult; they hardly ever lose at Estadio Caliente. It will be difficult for us but we have an advantage and we are going to give it our all in order to advance.”
On tonight’s win:
"We wanted one-zero, two-zero, three-zero, two to three-zero ideal. But we wanted to win the game first and foremost, and not concede goals. So those two objectives were met. All and all it was probably a justified result, I don't think we created enough chances to score a second, but I think we are happy with how it went."
On tonight’s performance:
"It was really important. It's frustrating because we're not fit yet, and frustrating for myself or Omar [Gonzalez] because we're fitter than the rest of our team. But we have to remember that we're one game into our season, and Tijuana is 10, 11 games in so there is a big difference there, it's a big disadvantage. Mentally, I was happy with how we kept our heads, and although we were tired we kept ourselves focused and made sure we didn't concede a goal. They're a good team, and you can't overstate the fitness factor. You can see in the last 30 minutes they had a lot of energy, they kept going, our guys were tired and we held on to the end. Hopefully now with these first two games, and a few days to now come down and rest, we'll be a lot fitter come Tuesday.”
On the return leg in Tijuana:
"We'll find out. There's few places in MLS that are as difficult as going to Tijuana so this will be a good test for us. Fortunately we've had a lot of guys who have played in games like this and know what they're doing. We expect they are going to throw everything at us, and we want that, we want a good test and a good challenge. I think tonight was a great game for everyone to watch, and I think Tuesday it will be the same."
On Samuel's goal:
"It was a good poachers goal. He does that in trainings, he is always around the goal. It was good for him, an important goal, and he did very well tonight."
LA GALAXY DEFENDER A.J. DE LA GARZA
On the return leg against Club Tijuana at Estadio Caliente:
”It’s going to be tough in Tijuana; going down there in Mexico is a hostile environment; playing on turf. We set ourselves up though in the first game and we have to finish it off.”
On the team’s performance in the second half:
“I think we gave a couple easy balls away, myself included. When that happens we are on our toes, and I think we were on our toes for most of that second half, and we were able to weather the storm.”
On the atmosphere:
“I think they announced 15 thousand, but there were big Tijuana supporter groups, but I’m not disappointed; we won. The fans come out if they want, and hopefully they can back us up and I think the fans that really do support us in this tournament are here.”
LA GALAXY FORWARD ROBBIE KEANE
On tonight’s victory:
“It’s always important to get a win, the goal difference as well. Obviously we’d like to get more, but they’re a good team. I think the most important thing is that we didn’t concede a goal. It was very important, we mentioned before the game that it is important that we kept a clean sheet and we did that.”
On Tijuana’s constant pressure during the second half:
“Second half there was a lot of pressure on us from them, they’re a good team. We expect that every team always has some part of the game where they’re in control, and most of the second half they were in control. It doesn’t matter if they’re close, it’s about getting to the next round. We did well tonight, we know that’s only half way, we have another half to go. It’s going to be tough, but we put ourselves in a good position.”
LA GALAXY GOALKEEPER JAIME PENEDO
On his performance:
“I think the team did a great job against an excellent rival. We know that we still have 90 minutes left to play. It’s a rival that will be even more difficult when we play them in Tijuana. We have a small lead but we will work hard to punch our ticket to the next round.”
On Club Tijuana’s performance:
“I think that it was evident that they’ve been playing together for a while now, and they also have a tough match against Cruz Azul this weekend and we’ll have to continue to work hard because the team aims for big things.”
On the possibility of winning the CCL:
“Hopefully. It’s a dream and we have to work hard in order to get there.”
On the importance of maintaining a shutout:
“On these types of home and away games, it’s very important. The win was a necessity. I think that we were able to hand pressure to Tijuana now that they will play at home because we have great forwards who could do damage on the road.”
On the team’s performance in the second half:
“Tijuana has a great team and when they are able to connect plays in the mid field they really do cause a lot of damage. It’s important that we were able to experience that in order for us to make adjustments in the return leg.”
CLUB TIJUANA HEAD COACH CESAR FARIAS
On tonight’s game:
“It’s a game that has 180 minutes, it was not a great result for us but it is also not a bad one considering we played away. It was a hard game. We had two goals on the line, and we pushed trying to grab the tie. We were very stable on the defensive line and we were good with air balls. We had a distraction that cost us the win, but it’s a win that we can come back from in Tijuana and we are going to work with the same professionalism and with a lot of hope that we will be able to win in Tijuana”.
On his thoughts on the player’s performance:
“We knew the Galaxy was going to attack since the first minute. We made a mistake and they scored a goal and that cost us the match. In the second half we played better. It’s not the ideal result for us but we can win at home.”
On why Dario Benedetto did not start:
“Dario is coming off a small injury on his Achilles, that if we don’t take care of it we won’t be able to count on him. We did not want to risk injury. In the last game he came off because he was hurt, not because he did not deserve to be in the game. He asked for the substitution and we had to take care of that.”
On Club Tijuana’s traveling supporters:
“It was spectacular, the fans that traveled helped our players get excited. They cheered during for 90 minutes. Now it’s time for us to end the series in Mexico and where we will work in order to put all we can to be able to advance to the semifinals.”
CLUB TIJUANA MIDFIELDER JOE CORONA
On the changes that need to happen in the midfield:
“I think we did a pretty good game over all. We created a lot of opportunities. Unfortunately we couldn’t score the goal but like it’s going to be different in Tijuana with our people, we’ll have a lot of energy from the fans and I think that we have to have patience. There’s still 90 minutes to go and I think that the team did well and we are now looking ahead to the second leg.”
CLUB TIJUANA FORWARD HERCULEZ GOMEZ
On tonight’s loss:
“Unfortunately it was a loss but things aren’t over. This tournament allows for series that are 180 minutes and we still have a lot of minutes to play. We know that it was something that wasn’t positive for us but at the same time I think the score could help us. Hopefully we will be able to turn things around in Tijuana.”
On how to play LA Galaxy in Tijuana:
“They are an intelligent team, they are organized. The first half they showed how organized they could be. I think what helped us was how urgent we were in the offensive side. I think we created a lot of problems in the second half, but it should be like that during the whole 90 minutes, and not only 45.”
On the rivalry between LA Galaxy and Club Tijuana:
“I don’t think you can consider this a derby because it’s just a game, I think that both clubs, both staffs, and marketing directors for both sides would love for this to be a derby. But it’s not one yet.”
