MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTE SHEET
SUNDAY, JULY 4, 2004 - LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2, SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 1
LOS ANGELES GALAXY HEAD COACH SIGI SCHMID
On the game:
"It was a pretty physical game, which it usually is between these two teams. When they scored, I thought there was an incident right at midfield when they came out that looked like a little bit of a foul, and I couldn't tell if he was offside or not, but fair enough - the guy scored. It was important for our team to equalize before the end of the first half. I thought we scored a great second goal that was an outstanding goal from Ned [Grabavoy] back to Carlos [Ruiz]. When we went a man up, I thought we had done a good enough job at holding the ball - at that point and they looked a little flustered."
On the Galaxy's first goal from Carlos Ruiz:
"It was a huge goal and I thought we were dangerous the entire time from set pieces. I told Carlos before the game that he was one goal behind and he needed two to get back in front, and that has always been a good motivator for Carlos."
On the play of Galaxy defender Tyrone Marshall:
"I thought Tyrone did well and I think when he stays simple, obviously he's got speed and he can cover. In terms of his game, I think he's at about 75 percent, but it was important for him to get through the 90 minutes tonight."
On the play of rookie midfielder Ned Grabavoy:
"I thought Ned did well. One of the things he gave us earlier when he played was that he was a hand-full defensively. He bothered people and I told him he had to be a little bit of a blank again. But the play is what Ned is all about - his vision, most guys and everyone in the crowd expected the ball to go to Jovan [Kirovski], and he saw Carlos trailing behind and played him a great ball."
On the injury to Galaxy midfielder Marcelo Saragosa:
"He got tangled on the sideline and (Dwayne) De Rosario sort of stepped on him and received a yellow card for it. He's turned his ankle and it's a decent sprain and he will probably be X-rayed tomorrow to make sure it's not fractured. But, it could keep him out a while."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY MIDFIELDER ANDREAS HERZOG
On winning two games in a row:
"We are first in the Conference and we want to stay in the top, now with Colorado, and San Jose near us. Kansas City is very close to us; it was an important win for us today."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY MIDFIELDER NED GRABAVOY
On first Fourth of July Game at the Home Depot Center:
"It was pretty crazy tonight, it was a packed house. It was obviously the biggest game I've ever played. Just the emotion and intensity of the fans tonight was unbelievable. We tried to reward them tonight and hopefully we can make it an everyday thing."
On the goal by Carlos Ruiz that he assisted:
"I kind of checked the ball from Ricky (Lewis) and saw the right-back come up and pass me. I spun off the defender. Jovan (Kirovski) made a real hard run and two guys went with him. I saw Carlos (Ruiz) waiting at the top of the box and I threw him a good ball. That was a great finish to be that calm 18 yards out and to slide it into the back of the net. It's not as hard as you think when you have Ruiz."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY FORWARD CARLOS RUIZ
On the fan support:
"It was a big game for the Galaxy. We knew that we were going to have a large crowd. We got three points which is the important thing."
On a physical game against San Jose:
"Both teams played a good game, in the end we got the victory. San Jose played well but the team that finishes their scoring opportunities wins the game."
On scoring two goals:
"I had great personal satisfaction scoring a goal because I have not scored in a while since I have been injured. These goals are a great motivation for me and hopefully things will continue to go well."
On coming back from injury:
"I feel good, but not yet 100 percent, but we have a week off to be able to be at 100 percent."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
on the game:
"I thought that we could have scored some more, we had some good chances, but at the same time we did not pass the ball well enough, we did not play together like I know that we can. For us, the dedication and the heart was there, I just don't think that this was one of our better games, and I think everyone on this team knows we can play better."
On mood of team:
"We are disappointed. At this point of the season, we don't want to fall too far from the top, but the reality of this league is that right now we are in fourth place in the West. We know that this was not one of our better performances, but the good thing is we have a quick turnaround. We play Dallas on Wednesday and we have a chance to quickly get back on track."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES FORWARD DWAYNE DE ROSARIO
On his goal:
"It was a great play by Brian Ching. It was a very unselfish play for him to lay it off for me like that. He put me in a position where I had to score. We had a good build-up, and I thought I was going to score on my first shot, but the goalkeeper made a great save. It is just fortunate that I was able to keep working hard and make sure that I stayed in the play and was able to get open to score."
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES MIDFIELDER LANDON DONOVAN
On the game:
"We are upset. I feel like we fought hard, and we had enough chances that we probably should have earned at least a point out of the game. This is a good rivalry with L.A., and games like this make us grow to not like them, so it definitely hurts more to lose here."
