Immediate Reaction to 1-0 Win Over Red Bulls

Be sure to read the postgame notes pack below, and here is Landon's penalty, Donovan's highlights in goal and the postgame quote sheet from Arena, Donovan, Buddle, Osorio and Angel.

MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTE SHEETSATURDAY, MAY 2, 2009 – LA GALAXY 1, NEW YORK RED BULLS 0

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the game:
We are pleased with the win. Obviously it was game where there weren’t a whole lot of chances by either team. I think in the second half when New York pushed to get a goal we were very organized and very solid defensively. We really held them the entire evening. They really didn’t have a good chance at goal. I think the defensive part was good. We had some moments in the second half where we could have produced a second goal to end the game, but we didn’t do that. The end of the day—we are six games in and it’s good to get our first win. We’ve only lost one, so it’s not like we are in a major crisis. I think we are starting to get better, we’ve seen progress over the last month. It’s good to get some players back from injury. I think tonight, although you don’t see it on the score sheet, [Edson] Buddle had a really good game. He’s presence up top, his ability to hold the ball was an important aspect of the game tonight. Overall, I’m pleased. Anytime you win, it’s a good win. The timing was right for us to get a win. I’m real encouraged by the things I’ve seen over the last month. Hopefully, we can move forward and get some results. We have two big games on the road next week, so that will certainly be a test.

On Donovan Ricketts:
Donovan has been a great edition. Obviously, starting the season without him hurt us a little bit. He’s an outstanding goalkeeper. We would have not won this game last year. Maybe only gotten a point, but now that we have a real solid presence in the goal—we are getting better, defensively as a team. Certainly, we need to improve going forward, but that will take some time. We continue to improve, but I think an important part of our team in the defensive part of the field has certainly been Donovan Ricketts. He has been really good since he’s returned from injury.

LA GALAXY FORWARD LANDON DONOVAN
On the win:
I thought we were very solid all over the field. We deserved to win the game, and we are happy to get that.


LA GALAXY GOALKEEPER DONOVAN RICKETTS
On the game:
I think it good. The defensive did good work. I had nothing to do. It’s been a great four weeks. We haven’t lost a game yet.

On the defense’s effort during the game:
It wasn’t just the back four. The entire team tracked back, the midfield cut down the spaces. It was a great team effort.

LA GALAXY FORWARD EDSON BUDDLE:
On if the win will give the team confidence:
I hope so. Going to Salt Lake will be a hostile environment. Teams seem to put their best games together when the play against us, but I’m looking forward to the change.

NEW YORK RED BULLS HEAD COACH JUAN CARLOS OSORIO
On the result:
I think it was a tough result to digest. I think for as much as we kept possession and to have the chances that we had, I believe we deserved at least a point. So, I’m extremely disappointed that on a penalty we lost three points.

On New York’s midfield:
First of all, Seth is a player that we need to be very careful the way we keep him in shape because of his injury. So, we rotated a little bit for the last game, the Open Cup. The team played very well. We thought we needed to change it again, and amongst other things we were pleased with the performance of Albert Celades, who for just the second time he showed everybody that he is capable of playing really well. Hopefully, that will be the case for the games to come. In general, I would say that in the midfield we controlled the game, and it was a good performance.
NEW YORK RED BULLS FORWARD JUAN PABLO ANGELOn the team’s performance:We came in strong in the second half; we fought for the ball. It was hard to break them in with eight players behind the ball, but they did well defensively, and they tried to keep the advantage that they had in the first half. Other than that, there wasn't much in the game for any of the teams.
On the score:It was a really close game. The penalty was questionable. I haven't seen the replay. I'd like to see it, but it was the only difference.... the referee's call made the difference in the two sides.