MAJOR LEAGUE SOCCER QUOTE SHEET
SUNDAY, OCTOBER 7, 2007 - HOUSTON DYNAMO 1, LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the game:
"I thought the first 20 or 25 minutes was excellent. We kind of let our foot off the pedal after we scored. We let them have some territory. We weren't sharp defensively. They had some long stuff, and they were kind of creeping in a bit. They scored a nice goal. It was decent by them, bad by us. A little too much ball watching. Then the second half starts and we really should've been up 2-1. You think with the lead going into the second half maybe wins the game for us today. They were a little bit more alert on the set piece than we were.
On players returning from injury:
"I think when guys are out for a while they come back and want to do everything at once. You saw Brad [Davis] on some set pieces. It's difficult to come in and make an impact when the other team is sitting back with 10 men. You just have to hope the ball falls your way. Brian [Mullan] hadn't played in three weeks. He played 90 minutes. Stuart [Holden] got 30 minutes, and Brad [Davis] got 15. We'll get them a little bit more time, and take it from there. I thought they did OK."
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER RICHARD MULROONEY
On the game:
"We're always looking to get the early lead. Looking at our record when we score first, I think that might have subconsciously sunk in. I think we took the foot off the pedal, and LA started turning it up. We've played in this weather before. It was humid as well. You can say it was the weather, but it was really just a matter of us needing to stay focused for the full 90 minutes instead of the first 20 and the last 45."
On the playoff outlook:
"They're a desperate team, and they found a way. They found a way in the previous three games in fact. Our challenge is now to get back on a winning streak. We have to go to Salt Lake, which is a place we've already lost this season. We're not necessarily looking for revenge, but we are looking for a result because we didn't last time, and we remember it. Going into next Monday our goal is to start another unbeaten streak."
On the late scratch of Brian Ching:
"Nate [Jaqua] did great I think. I thought he held the ball up well. Obviously Ching gives us more depth with him and Nate up top. Any time you lose a player of that caliber it hurts the team. Having said that, I think that Nate did an abnormal job filling in for him."
HOUSTON DYNAMO FORWARD NATE JAQUA
On the game:
"It was real disappointing. On the run of play we had a lot of good chances. At times we let up and let them do more than I think we should have. After we scored we kind of let up, and they scored in injury time in the first half. It was a big blow, and it definitely changed the game."
On scoring against his former team:
"It feels good, but I would rather have not scored and beat them. That was the more important thing. We just have to move on and look at next week."
On the playoff picture:
"That's our goal right now. Losing this one makes it a lot tougher. We still have Chivas USA in the last game. Hopefully we'll be close enough in points that that will be a meaningful game."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY HEAD COACH FRANK YALLOP
On his team's reaction to the win:
"It just keeps us a live and it keeps us rolling. I think every single one of our guys today, everybody in the club is so behind what we're doing right now. It's just great. It's a great atmosphere. The guys have done terrific, and I'm really proud of what we're doing right now."
On the goals:
"Obviously Carlos starts the game and Landon flicks it on to him, and he has a terrific finish. It was a beautiful left-footed shot, and at the far post it was unstoppable. We talked about early set plays and beginning areas, and we did exactly what we said. It was a great head back by Cobi and then Gavin was alert to put it in the net, so it was terrific."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY FORWARD LANDON DONOVAN
On the win:
"Incredible result. I'm real proud of us, especially to go down away from home to what I think is the best team in the league, and a team that's near the top and fighting to get the Supporters' Shield and first place in the Western Conference. I'm really proud of our guys."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY DEFENDER ANTE JAZIC
On his team's defensive play:
"I thought towards the second half of the first half, we started to pick up our game and started to play really well. We got that goal from Carlos, which helped us tremendously going into the second half. In the second half we dropped a little bit. They put some pressure on us, but I thought we defended well, kept our composure, kept our shape. We were able to sneak a second goal, which we were able to hold out for a huge three points in a playoff drive."
On his team's recent success:
"I just think right now we have a positive atmosphere, we're playing without any pressure. All the guys are together, we've finally become a team. We have the same lineup, 12 guys deep usually. We're gelling together at the right time. It's a good atmosphere, and we're going to make a good push towards the playoffs, hopefully."
