LA Galaxy Postgame Quote Sheet:
LA Galaxy 1, Portland Timbers 2
Saturday, Feb. 25, 2017
2017 Preseason Exhibition
StubHub Center – Los Angeles, California
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH CURT ONALFO
On what the Galaxy did well this preseason:
“Every game is progress. Obviously Portland is a very good opponent and I think we saw that in the first half. I thought we were very sloppy. We didn’t do a good job of pressing them. We weren’t efficient in our pressing which meant that we were doing a lot of excess running which meant that when we had the ball we were tired and we were sloppy so I think we solved that and had a much better second half. We pressed better and our spacing was better and it translated into better soccer and we created more chances and we started seeing some good things in the second half so that’s what I’m going to build off of.”
On the performance of LA Galaxy players on the wing:
“In the second half, we got a lot out of them. I thought Romain [Alessandrini] came in and really made things happen and so did Sebastian [Lletget]. For me, it was just the inefficiency in how we pressed and in the second half it was better. We’ll be looking at that.”
On if the Galaxy lacked providing width in the match:
“Every play is different. It just depends on the play and how you want to provide width. Your outside backs can provide width, your outside midfielders can provide width and so can your forwards at times so it’s just about how you’re moving offensively with the ball.”
On how free of a role Romain Alessandrini had in the match:
“Our belief when we have the ball is that we don’t want to be predictable. That means there’s going to be interchanging of positions and as we get to know each other better, those things will continue to get better. Romain is an excellent attacking player so I don’t just want him to be a wide player that’s going to get service all the time. I want him coming inside combining and creating chances. And then all of the sudden, things open up outside. It’s not so much a free role, but him just having some freedom to be dangerous going forward. A lot of the stuff is actually orchestrated but that’s going to get better in time. We’ve only had him a couple days in training and the signs were very good today. He came in and really made an impact and was dangerous literally every time he had the ball. We’ll have to bring him along intelligently. All eyes are on the first game of the year and you want to start out of the gate right. But you also need to make sure that you do right by the players. So we’re going to see how the week plays out and then make a determination by the player.”
On Romain Alessandrini’s chemistry with Giovani dos Santos and the possibility of the two players pairing up top:
“We’re working through that. That’s a potentially a very good option as well. The important thing is that they just continue to understand how to work well together. That doesn’t happen overnight, but there was some good things in the second half.”
On if he’s concerned about the defense heading into the home opener:
“Anytime you concede, there’s concerns but I feel like the group is getting better. I think individually those players are getting better and you’re getting tested in depth when you have injuries and that’s all part of it. We’re not the first team that’s dealing with injuries. It’s to start the season which makes things difficult, but I believe when there’s players out for injury or what have you, it’s an opportunity for somebody else to step up and grow. In the case of Rafael [Garcia], I thought he had another really solid game at right back, he keeps getting better. Dave Romney only played a half because we had to switch him back to center back and Nathan Smith came in and did a really good job. Those are good signs because they had an opportunity and they did well. Now it’s just a matter of getting them working together this week as we get prepared for our opener.”
On the team’s upcoming season opener against FC Dallas:
“It’s going to be an excellent game. They’re a top team. They were the best team in MLS in the regular season last year so they’re coming off a very good season. They added players to enhance their team so it’s going to be a tough game.”
On what he saw in FC Dallas’ Champions League win on Thursday:
“I saw a very good team that handily won 4-0. They were very good in the attacking third, excellent on the counter. Very good speed and just a well-balanced team all around.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER JERMAINE JONES
On the match:
“I think that the first half was a little bit tough. It wasn’t the best first half, but I think the second half was something we can work with. It’s still preseason so I think we had some heavy legs too, but I think we’ll be ready for the Dallas game.”
On the team’s performance in the midfield:
“I think in the midfield we were more into the game. They have a good team and they know exactly what they want to do. I think in the second half we came closer to them and shut them down quicker and were in front of them. It wasn’t that easy for them, so I’d say that the second half was the better half.”
On how he feels about the team’s preseason:
“What I saw in training sessions is how we’ve played. It’s not always easy, Romain [Alessandrini] has only been back a couple days so you still have to fit players in. We have Ashley [Cole], who’s one of the best wingers in the league, so when he’s injured….it’s tough. But I think the young ones behind have to push and you have to show up and at the end of the day you play for LA Galaxy.”
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER ROMAIN ALESSANDRINI
On first impressions of playing in this league:
“It’s a very physical league. I need to come back step by step. It was good for me to play 45 minutes. We need to win the next game. It’s the preseason and it’s good for us to prepare for the season. The result isn’t good for us tonight, but we need to be ready for next week. For me, it was very difficult physically. I just have trained for one week, so I think I need to train more, I need to know my partner more. After that, I think I will be good.”
On if he feels like he’s getting there physically and with his team:
“It’s a little bit different, so I need to know the other team, I need to see video and know my teammates. It’s really important for me. I’m here to be one of the best, so I need to know every team. For the moment, I feel good, and we have a good team, so we need to play together, to attack together, and after that we will be a good team for this season.”
LA GALAXY DEFENDER DANIEL STERES
On the Galaxy’s defense:
“We’re testing the depth of our team real early this year (grins). Unfortunately it was Ashley last week, but we have guys that can step in. It (tonight’s game) was somewhat of a wakeup call, but we adjusted in the second half. We just have to figure out how we’re going to work together as a unit. We’ll be ready for next week.”
On finishing the preseason:
“Things got taken up an extra notch today. We were throwing guys in that haven’t played much yet. It happens. I think the guys stepped up; now we just have to figure out how to play together. We just didn’t adjust quickly enough against a team that had an extra guy in the midfield.”
PORTLAND TIMBERS HEAD COACH CALEB PORTER
On what he thought of the match and how he feels about the team heading into the season:
“We felt it would be a great opportunity to make it real even though we all know in these preseason games that they’re not real. I think that’s the challenge in the preseason: to play games that feel real. Tonight felt like a real game from the standpoint that there was somewhat of a crowd and I thought it was a good game. It was two good teams, two teams trying to play good soccer. Obviously when you look at the stats I thought we were a better team, I thought we had the better chances. We were unfortunate to give up that late set piece goal, other than that I didn’t think they had a ton of looks. I thought we could have scored a few more goals. We made subs at the end…obviously we’d never take off Valeri, Nagbe, Adi and Blanco in a real game but we thought it was important to get some young guys minutes in that front four and I thought when we did make those subs the game turned a little bit in LA’s favor, but up until that point I thought we were in complete control.”
