Postgame Quote Sheet
LA Galaxy 5, Portland Timbers 0
Wednesday, June 24, 2015 – 8:00 p.m. PT
MLS Regular Season
StubHub Center – Carson, California
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On tonight’s game:
"I don't think this was really a five to zero game, but we played really well at times. Portland to start the game was really all over us, and after about ten to twelve minutes we got settled in a little bit and started to play better."
On the play of Sebastian Lletget:
"Very good performance, in the early minutes of the game he was our best player. He made a bunch of good plays and then ultimately got the first goal."
On the play of Robbie Rogers:
"He makes a big difference for us, we have missed some important players in the first three or four months of the season so to get him back is really helpful."
On scoring ten goals in two games:
"There are going to be really good games and some that aren't, that is all part of it."
On five different players scoring a goal:
"It's all by design, the way we draw it up. No, I wouldn't mind if one player had five goals, it is good to see that everyone is involved in the attack, the ball is moving better."
LA GALAXY FORWARD ROBBIE KEANE
On items for team to work on:
“There is always things you can work on. But we’re doing well, we’re doing very well; we’re clinical. Some good goals are scored. Thinking in the final third we’re looking sharp and being very precise with our passing, so when you do that, ultimately you are going to score goals. And we’ve got players on our team that can assist and score goals.”
On Robbie Rogers’s first goal with LA:
“He has been in a lot of opportunities. Unfortunately he didn’t score, but today he did well, it was a good finish. I just waited for the right moment; I could see he [Alvas Powell] was trying to gamble and go get to Robbie, so that’s where I delayed it for a second. So for him, it was the right thing what he did the first time, because the keeper wasn’t even set. As you saw, he was just running out and then before I knew it, it was in the back of the net. So congratulations to Robbie, we’ll be expecting him to score a few more. It’s great for him; I think he was desperate to score a goal. It’s been a long time coming; he’s been getting in great positions because he has so much energy. Going forward, he gets in the right spots. It was just unfortunate, that when he was getting the opportunities he wasn’t taking them. He took it tonight, so hopefully that will give him confidence, and he can start getting a few more.”
On Sebastian Lletget:
“He has got some quality. He is very, very comfortable on the ball, sometimes he just has to learn how to get rid of the ball quicker which I’ve spoken to him about. He is young, he is learning, he is great, he is scoring a few goals which is very important to us. If he continues to do that, and listen to experienced players, and know when to take on people, and when to take it simple, and he certainly did that the second half. So he is a lad that listens, and he has already been a big addition and going forward he will be.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER ROBBIE ROGERS
On his goal:
“Going into the games, I don’t think, ‘I’m going to score tonight.’ But I’ve been close and finally scored this game when it was already 2-0. I didn’t think I was going to be so emotional and I didn’t think it was going to have the impact that it did have on me, so it was a great way to cap off tonight. Tonight’s obviously Pride Night so it’s special and I think that’s why it was more emotional because I know there were a lot of people that had never been to the stadium before. My family, my boyfriend, his friends and a lot of people from West Hollywood.”
On what was going through his mind when he scored:
“When I’m playing, obviously I’m playing for the Galaxy, these guys, my family and most importantly, myself, but I also feel like I’m playing for those in the LGBT community. Sometimes it has been tough for me and I’ve felt the pressure and from the moments like this and the [2014 MLS Cup] Championship, I never expected for me to find that pride or to be proud of coming from a community that doesn’t really have a huge footprint in sports. But to be a part of it… It’s a special moment.”
On the goal:
“It was a great pass from Robbie [Keane] and I just ran. I don’t really know what the goalkeeper was doing, he came out way too early. Robbie [Keane] and the goalkeeper made it easy for me. I just saw him come out and he probably thought I would take a touch and that’s why he started sprinting at me, so I decided to first-time hit it.”
On scoring five goals in successive MLS games:
“I think everyone knows we can improve on this and we’re still not quite ourselves, but we’re getting better every game. We got a shutout this game against a very good attacking team… so I think it’s positive but we still have a lot of improvement.”
On the defense:
“This game I thought defensively as a unit, the communication with us four back there, it’s very difficult for attacking teams. They’re a very good attacking team so you’ve got to give credit to Omar [Gonzalez], A.J. [DeLaGarza], Dan [Gargan] and the guys in front of us because they score goals.”
On pairing on the left with Sebastian Lletget:
“He’s a good player. He’s really impressed me since he’s been here. I think he’ll continue to get better as he gets used to the guys around him. So he’s done a great job and we also have Baggio [Husidic] who can play out there and played last game, Jose [Villarreal] is a great player and Gyasi [Zardes], too. So we have a really deep team. Compared to a lot of other teams in MLS, we have a much deeper bench and guys who can come on and fit the system.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER SEBASTIAN LLETGET
On the team’s performance:
“The team’s on fire. I think we really played well today. I think it was a good performance against Philadelphia. I thought we played much better today. I’m just doing my job. I forget about the past. I look at the next game; it’s a fresh start for me. I’m excited. I hope I can keep it going.”
On Robbie Keane:
“He’s a great player. He makes my life a lot easier. His communication with me is outstanding. It’s going well; I can’t complain.”
On his transition to MLS:
“Fitness-wise in the beginning I was struggling. But as soon as I got that, I think mentally … I think is more my style of play. They welcomed me with open arms, so I can’t complain. Bruce has given me a chance and I’m just doing what I think I can do. If that is bringing creativity to the team I think that’s what I’m doing.I was running off adrenaline, too, but that’s my job. Especially with this team. Before the game we talked about we have to get after them and press them and that’s what we did. I just did my job.”
On his goal:
“I was just waiting for it. I think everything was timing. I knew the cross was coming, then it was just getting the ball and finishing. It wasn’t easy. With those you have to have a good connection and hit it toward the goal and luckily it went in.”
On the penalty kick call:
“I slowed down on purpose to see if there was any contact and he went for it. got my right leg, a good spot.”
On his confidence:
“I can’t wait for the next one. I can’t wait for San Jose. I know it’s my home town, a special one for me. Without a doubt I’m going to give it 100 percent and try to get another one.”
On starting every game:
“I hope so. We’ll have to see what the boss has in store.”
On friends and family that live:
“I’ll have a lot, about 50 tickets. It’s ridiculous. Friends, family, everybody’s going to be there, I promise you. My three sisters, my parents, and about 20 friends.”
On how he feels with his fitness and team:
“I think the way Bruce [Arena] managed it… bringing me in slowly, coming on as a sub. Then starting against Columbus was good, especially with the goal. It was a good way to start with this team. I felt confident, I just hope to keep it going.”
PORTLAND TIMBERS HEAD COACH CALEB PORTER
On how this game played out:
"Well obviously you saw we lost five to zero, so it seemed like everything that could go wrong today, did. Obviously we were playing a very good team, on the road, they showed what they could do last week versus Philadelphia, and we were well aware of that. They punished us, for it seemed like every mistake we made, and we made some big ones. I thought we started well, we had three or four opportunities where we pressed them and countered them, we looked to be the team that was on the front foot to start the game and then in a five minute span we are down two to zero. Their first real look on goal they score, so they are clinical there, and then they get the penalty and now we are down two to zero chasing the game on a big field, on the road, against a team that is very explosive and dangerous and talented going forward. That is a tall ask to be in that position. For me, the biggest thing is we have to move on from it. We have a game coming up on Sunday, obviously we have been in good form, we had four league wins in a row, twelve points, we get zero points tonight but we can't let it carry into the next game, we have to move on from it and learn from it, correct the mistakes we made. Hats off to Los Angeles, they are a very good team and they showed that tonight."
On his message to the team moving forward:
"You have to think about it tonight, OK. I think that is very important, you sit on it and think about it, and then tomorrow it is over. We will as a staff address some things in training video and so on and so forth, but the biggest thing is we can't let this hangover carry into our preparation, and more importantly into our next game, because we have been playing really well. Tonight we didn't play well, it was a funny game in that I thought from box to box it was pretty even, but they were very clinical and ruthless it seemed like every chance they got. They got some clear chances, and we were not good in the final third. I think it is a game where we have to throw it away a little bit and look at the things we need to correct, but mostly for the next game we need to move on and put it behind us because we have been playing really well. If we hadn't played well in the last four league games then I would be more worried, but our performances have been good so this game becomes one game that we throw away and move on, and if we get three points versus Seattle then we are still in great shape."
On the red card given to Liam Ridgewell:
"I have no idea what happened, I haven't seen the play, it was kind of strange. They both went up, Alan Gordan and him, and I really didn't see anything in it for either guy you know, both guys just going up for the play. Then Ridgewell falls and next thing you know he has a red card and Gordon has a yellow, but I haven't watched it yet and to be honest with you it is the last thing on my mind. I don't care about the plays, the penalty and all the things that happened, what I care about is that we get a good performance versus Seattle."
On the play of the team tonight:
"I think everybody was trying everything tonight. We didn't quit, guys kept fighting to the very end, but you can't spot a team a couple goals early in the game and then have to chase the game because now the game gets stretched and open and it is not going to be an ideal way to beat the Los Angeles Galaxy. A loss is a loss, just like a win is a win, it is zero points, so if we lost one to zero it is still zero points and we would be very disappointed, but losing by five, psychologically, can get you thinking that it is worse than it is, but it's zero points, it's a loss, so that is all the guys are going to think about, we lost the game. I don't think we have played a team as good as Los Angeles, they showed tonight why they have won three out of the last four MLS Cups, they are a team that is ruthless in transition, on the counter, and they caught us a couple times there and were clinical. They have very good players in the attack and right now they are in form, if you look at their US Open Cup game, and their last two league games I think they have scored like 14 goals, so their attack is clicking, and when your attack is clicking you are confident and you tend to be a bit more clinical and that again is what they showed tonight. I think when it was three to zero, we were up seven to five in shots, so they scored three goals on five shots and that is where soccer can be funny some time. Bottom line, we lost. I am not going to say the old 'the score was not indicative of the result', we lost by five, but it is still a loss. Ultimately they were clinical and they finished their chances and that is what good teams do."
PORTLAND TIMBERS DEFENDER JORGE VILLAFAÑA
Translated from Spanish
On tonight’s game:
“It was a game that we unfortunately lost. The loss stings a bit. We committed a few mistakes and they capitalized on them. We weren’t able to get ourselves out of the hole we put ourselves in. Now we have to forget about this game and focus on the next game.”
On giving up five goals:
“We made a few mistakes and they capitalized on them. They were sharp in front of goal and they put them away. If we were to analyze their goal scoring opportunities we would see that it was due to our mistakes and not necessarily due to them controlling the game.”
PORTLAND TIMBERS MIDFIELDER DIEGO VALERI
Translates from Spanish
On tonight’s game:
“It was a weird game. They are a team that takes advantage of their opportunities. We tried to put pressure on them but unfortunately they got their first goal and shortly after they got the penalty kick. The game changed after the first 20 minutes. They did a good job finding spaces and taking advantage of their opportunities.”
On giving up five goals:
“A team like Los Angeles that takes advantage of their opportunities and that has great players deserve a result like this. To have given up these many goals was due to us making a lot of mistakes in our attacking and defending. In general if we look at the score it was a really bad game and we have to learn from this game and fix our mistakes.”
