Players React to the 1-0 win over the Fire

We spoke to both coaches and a number of players from both sides to see what they had to say about tonight's game.

Here is what they had to say.

LA GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the overall game:
Well it’s a win, and it’s good. I think it was an even game. Chicago certainly put us on our heels the last ten minutes of the game. I think we had a few opportunities in the second half to make life a little easy for ourselves and try to get that second goal and a little bit of a cushion, but that’s the way the ball bounces sometimes. We weren’t as sharp as we needed to be to finish them off, and Chicago, true to form, played 90 minutes every game. They sure did tonight, and they made us earn the three points, but I’m real pleased with the performance. I’m looking forward to closing out the season, and I think we put ourselves in a position where there is a great likelihood that we be a playoff team this year.

On the fouls at the end of the game:
“You got to keep your concentration. I think our wall did a great job on both plays. I think [Mike] Magee was incredibly alert on the free kick they had on back pass. We were fortunate to hang in there at the end, and keep the ball out of the net. I think that [Donovan] Ricketts made a pretty good play as well on that one corner kick. It wasn’t easy, and again, everything I’ve seen out of Chicago this year is that they are a team that plays for 90 plus minutes. To be able to walk off the field with three points is a real positive performance.”

On the performances of David Beckham and Landon Donovan:
“Great. I think David played a bunched of balls tonight where our guys needed to be a little bit sharper to read where the ball was going. There were a bunch quality balls that we were a little late getting there. David’s second half was better than his first. David’s a winner. I don’t know what more to say. I thought he played very well tonight. I thought the effort Landon showed at times in the second half was spectacular. I think those guys are key players for us, there is no question about it, and they are focused and concentrated and working—without a doubt it makes our team better. My hat is off to those two. They had a very good again tonight.

LA Galaxy Forward Landon Donovan
On the win:
“It’s a nice feeling, but more importantly we’re pretty close to the playoffs now. It’s been a long time for me personally and for this team so it feels good.”

On his goal:
“In those moments I’m trying to set up the defender and figure out where his mind is, and at that point Logan (Pause) I think was a little casual in recognizing the space behind him so I took off and Chris hit a great ball. [Pause] tried to slow me down and I was able to get the better of that and Busch was caught in between so I put it over him.”

On the difference between this year’s team and last year’s team:
“First it’s competing. I think most games this year we’ve competed in the right way throughout 90 minutes. Second is having some sort of structure and identity. The teams that are successful around the world have that, they know what they’re good at and what they’re not. And now we’ve got almost everyone healthy and playing well.

On breaking his five-game goalless streak:
“It’s been a while since I scored so it feels good, but more importantly the relief at the end to know that we’ve put in so much this year and now we’re really close to the playoffs.”

LA Galaxy Midfielder David Beckham
On the result:
“To battle the way they did in the last few minutes shows the character of the team and shows the fitness of the team. We know that Chicago are good at scoring at the end of games and never give up so full credit to them. They had chances but we held strong. Donovan in goal saved us a few times, but that’s what he’s there for. We have a lot of confidence in him.”

On the Galaxy attack:
“We’ve done well and Edson has done well as well. He holds the ball up well and the players that came into the game tonight were strong and that’s what we need. We attacked well and we defended well, especially with McBride up front, he’s always going to cause problems and win balls in the air, but our two center backs did well tonight.”

On being in first place:
“It’s great that we’re in that position at the minute, whether it changes over the weekend we’ll see but it’s nice to go into this two week break in a good position. It’s what we need to do. We need to win our home games, then we’ll be alright I think.”

On the play of Landon Donovan:
“Landon’s performance wasn’t just about his goal tonight. His workrate was second to none, he was chasing balls back and closing people down. It’s not all about his goal tonight, which obviously won us the game. It was important, but his workrate was exceptional tonight so we’re all happy.

On the difference between this year’s team and last year’s team:
“I said when I first came back that this team has players that are not afraid to pass the ball and to make plays on their own and maybe we haven’t had that over the last couple of years. And we’ve got strength in depth as well with the players that we’ve got coming in. We’ve got a stronger squad of players more than anything. Of course having Bruce know the league and know the players and know the way he wants us to play, it’s working out well so far.

Galaxy Midfielder Chris Klein
On the win:
“It meant a lot. It means a lot to be in the lineup. I’ve always said I’ll help the team wherever I can and my number was called tonight and the coach put me in. It was a graet win for our team, especially not only on the verge of a playoff berth, but also with the two weeks off I think it’s important for us to take some momentum into that so we can build on this game heading into the last couple of games of the season.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY DEFENDER SEAN FRANKLIN

On his thoughts about the game:

This is the most tired I’ve been since I’ve been back. It was tough game. It was a good team effort, everyone gave everything out there. Now we put ourselves in a spot for the playoffs. I am tired but we’ve got a couple of days off now to recover.

LOS ANGELES GALAXY DEFENDER GREGG BERHALTER

On defending against Chicago:

It was a little tough, especially late in the game when they start throwing people forward that makes it more difficult. Part of that is hanging in there, keep battling. It is a team effort, so I am happy with the result.

On reaching the verge of the postseason:

I think it is good and we are happy with that but there is still work to do. We are not satisfied and we are not finished. There still two games to play and then hopefully we’ll do well in the playoffs.

On Bruce Arena praising his leadership:

Obviously, when you have someone who is 36 years old, who has been around for a while I am not on the field for my speed and for running by people obviously I am there to keep people organized, to be helping out and to show leadership qualities and that is a great compliment coming from the coach.

CHICAGO FIRE HEAD COACH DENIS HAMLETT
On the result:
“Disappointed. Our guys put a lot into in tonight. Took some chances in the second half, trying to get the equalizer, and we left ourselves open in the back. Jon Busch made some big saves. We are just disappointed to lose the game on a play like that. We had some chances at the end, but we didn’t do anything with them. We never really tested Ricketts. We had some chances in front of the goal, but we just didn’t do well with them. We have to regroup and get ready for a big game against New England.”

On the game:
“That’s the way they play. We tried to keep things tight. You’ve got to give them credit because they are good at it. Obviously with Landon, he played real well tonight just playing those loose seams underneath and just threatening to get behind, and I thought David was able to serve a few good balls to them, so they got going on that part of it, so it was real hard for us to deal with that in the first half. We made some adjustments the second half. Obviously, them getting that goal right before half was big for them. But, the second half, you’re down a goal so you got to take some chances and we took some chances. We left ourselves open in the back. Our defenders made some big plays and Jon Busch made some big saves, which kept it at 1-0. At that point, that’s all you can ask.”

CHICAGO FIRE DEFENDER C.J. BROWN
On his thoughts about the game:
“I think there was not enough fight. We did get chances; we worked hard defensively; we had good moments, but there is not enough fight. There is no attitude to win games. It’s been like that in the last three or four games, it’s disappointing because you are trying to get into the playoffs, and if you don’t have that bite and attitude, then we don’t deserve to be in the playoffs. There is a lot of work to be done, and it’s a little late.”

CHICAGO FIRE DEFENDER WILMAN CONDE
On his thoughts about the game:
“This game was like a final. It was a very competitive game, where both teams were trying to get the win, but Galaxy did their job in scoring a goal in a complicated play. The reality is that we lost, and we have to look forward to the last two games we have left.”

CHICAGO FIRE MIDFIELDER LOGAN PAUSE
On his thoughts about the game:
“Obviously, I am very disappointed that we lost. We got caught on the counter for the goal. Especially right before the half, it’s a little disappointing. It would’ve been nice to come in even with a chance to do something in the second half, we made a push in the second half, the guys put a lot into it…the game kind of got wide up, and [the Galaxy] had a couple of chances that maybe they could’ve put away, and we have a couple of half chances in the end. I am disappointed, but we’ve got to move forward. We have a little bit of time before the next game to regroup, get guys healthy, and keep plugging away. “