On what impressed him about LA’s performance:
“I think they were good certainly in the 50/50 challenges but I don’t think that we made them defend enough, we weren’t good enough with the ball. We gave the ball away so cheaply, so many times in very dangerous spots and so even the goal comes from our giving the ball away in our defensive third of the field on just an easy pass that’s just missed. So we can talk all we want about how we have to be better defensively but for me, we wouldn’t have to defend as much if we were much better with the ball.”
On what the team needs to do differently to overcome the deficit:
“We just need to play better, that’s it. The passes are there, you can see that the options were there, we’re just missing simple passes so some of our most important players need to play better, and they will.”
On how challenging it is both mentally and physically to play another playoff game four days from now:
“I think it’s going to be very difficult and then if you succeed you’re looking at playing another one three days later. I think that’s extremely difficult, I think we have some problems because of all the gaps we’ve had lately. If we can have two weeks in between matches, for us, I think it’s really hard to have a consistent rhythm and a flow and a tempo about what we’re doing so I say again, if you say you weren’t good with the ball in the first half some of that maybe comes down to that we haven’t played a game for a week and a half. Again, it was like two weeks before that then we played a game then it was two weeks before that so for me that’s certainly not ideal.”
On his the play of Tony Beltran in his return to the lineup:
“He was out there, I think that a lot of the guys worked hard and were fully committed to the effort. Wasn’t their best outing.”
Real Salt Lake GK Nick Rimando
On what the team needs to do differently going into the second leg:
“We’ve got to possess the ball, create some chances and not give the ball away in dangerous spots. As you saw, they have dangerous players and I think we got very, very lucky not to get scored on a lot more. I don’t think they were as sharp as they’ve always been up top on their counter attacks and we need to do a lot better possessing the ball and not giving the ball away.”
On the defensive performance:
“I think we did a great job defending for 50, 60 minutes and then we started to cheat a little bit. You saw they got a lot of chances from us not wanting to get back and track back to some of their players from bad giveaways. To win this series, everyone has to pitch in and play together, offensively and defensively and we know that we can play very, very good at home and we have to continue to do that and show that on Thursday.”
On tonight’s result:
“I think it’s a fantastic result for us. Looking back at the chances they had, 1-0 at halftime, I’m happy with it because it could have been a lot worse and we just have to build on and watch tape on what we have to do better.”
Real Salt Lake DF Tony Beltran
On if he felt like the team was defending for the majority of the game:
“We were. It’s tough playing LA at home. They have so many attacking assets and when we get up high up the field, they’re so good at counter attacking. They get some speed up top and play really good balls to two of those people up top. So you always have to stay tuned-in, always be careful and I think we gave them a little bit too much room tonight and they got behind us a couple times. Sometimes that happens when you’re playing away from home so we’ll regroup and be sharper, hope to dictate more of the play on Thursday.”
On if it’s difficult to find a rhythm having not played in 11 days:
“I think the coaching staff does a really good job challenging us during training so we’re working the whole time, the level is very high, the desire is still there. So, it can be kind of frustrating because sometimes it’s nice to play games every couple days just to get momentum going on a roll but it was also a chance for us to regroup and kind of fine tune everything, so it wasn’t really a big deal.”
On how challenging it is to play another playoff game in four days:
“Personally, I like that. Sometimes a week can seem like such a long time waiting for the next game, so the fact is that I wish it was Wednesday or Tuesday. We’ll be ready no matter what.”
Real Salt Lake FW Devon Sandoval
On tonight’s performance:
“We weren’t good enough with the ball and they could have easily scored more but I think a 1-0 result is alright going home. It doesn’t change the way we play so we’ll be ready for Thursday.”
On if he’s frustrated with the 1-0 result:
“I think we’re frustrated with ourselves because we can play better than that, and we will on Thursday.”
On if he thinks Real Salt Lake can come back in the series:
“Yeah, without a doubt. If we play our game and play the way we’re capable of then I think so.”
LA Galaxy
LA Galaxy Head Coach Bruce Arena
On Sean Franklin’s goal:
“The goal was a great goal. No question about that. He had a great night. His last 15 minutes in the first half and second half were real good. “
On the play of Gyasi Zardes in his postseason debut:
“I thought he played well. Beltran played well against him. It was a good match up. Gyasi was a handful and helped create a number of potential goal scoring opportunities for us, and had a very solid game.”
On the LA Galaxy’s defense not giving Real Salt Lake a lot of chances:
“Not much, but a little at the end there. [Chris] Wingert cross to the back post, but for the most part they were pretty solid. They will have to be pretty good on Thursday as well.”
On Real Salt Lake changing their formation:
“They went with 11 players as we anticipated. Everyone makes too much of formations. It’s 11 against 11. They obviously came here to try to get a point or steal three. They fell a little short there.”
On the Galaxy’s finishing problems:
“We had our chances. A couple of players were a little off tonight. I think Rimando did very well. He was very composed in goal and didn’t make things very easy.”
On going into the second leg with a 1-0 lead:
“I’d rather be the team ahead. These are always difficult matches. All the games in the league are all competitive going into the second game. It’s going to be difficult. Obviously, having the one goal is a real plus, but it’s going to take a heck of an effort in the next 90 minutes.”
LA Galaxy DF Sean Franklin
On his goal:
“The ball just came out on top of the box. I had time and space. I hit it. I just hit it and kept in on frame. And, it went in. It was a great goal, personally, for me. I’m just glad I got it for the team. I’m happy we won with the shutout.”
On keeping a clean sheet:
“We talked about how we didn’t want to give up any goals. Everyone was flying in front of balls. Everyone did a good job today of shutting down their players and that’s kind of what is needed going into the second leg.”
On the next leg being in Salt Lake City:
“It’s going to be cold. There is altitude. It’s going to be a crazy game. They are definitely going to come out and press us early and we are going to have to be smart about that, and not give up any goals early.”
LA Galaxy FW Landon Donovan
On Sean Franklin’s goal:
“Great goal. As someone who has scored some goals, you’re just trying to hit the target and he hit it perfectly. It probably came through a little traffic, but I don’t think there’s any goalie that’s saving that. I thought it was a terrific goal and it was a much deserved goal for us.”
On if he feels LA could have scored more goals:
“A little bit, yeah. Especially at the end they pushed forward and we did a good job defending, and Robbie and I needed to do a better job with our counterattacks. Usually we are better about that. My guess is we are going to have a lot less chances Thursday as they push numbers and they attack and that absolutely plays into our hands so we welcome that.”
On if Galaxy need to score more goals on Thursday:
“We need to not give up a goal. We don’t give up a goal we advance. That has to be the starting point, but as the game goes on, as it opens up, as they expose themselves, we’re certainly going to have chances to score.”
On if he is confident heading into Thursday’s game:
“Very. We went there twice this year, with less than our full team. One game we won 2-0 and one game was 1-1 until the 84th minute, or so, so we are very confident. We go there with a full team, our team is very fit now, we’re well rested, we’re healthy and we like our chances.”
LA Galaxy FW Robbie Keane
On the game-winning goal:
“It was a great strike. He’s lucky to be where he was because all the defenders were certainly running in and sometimes you just need to pull the ball back in and hope for the best, and lucky enough for us Sean was there. Great shot.”
On he and Landon Donovan not being able to connect for a goal:
“It is what it is. We had a few chances, we didn’t score. But we scored one goal. Like I said, it’s not about me and Landon, it’s about the whole team. You can keep talking about me and Landon but it’s about everybody, it’s about 11 players. We certainly gave them a lot to think about at the back, we had a few chances, but we didn’t put them away but it’s no problem.”
On what the mentality will be heading into Thursday night’s game:
“I think when you get a goal it’s always good, but we have to be certainly weary and respectful of them and that they are playing in their place, which is always a tough place to go, so it’s certainly not over and if the players think, well then, we’re going to be in for a big problem on Thursday night. As long as they know we start off with a 0-0 game, knowing we can counter and score with the players we have on the team and defend very, very well we should be OK. But if we think we are going to go there and the game is done well then we’ll be in for a shocker.”
