LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2, HOUSTON DYNAMO 2
LA GALAXY HEAD COACH RUUD GULLIT
On the game:
"The preparation for the game was very tough. With Ely (Allen) injured on Tuesday and then on Friday with Alvaro (Pires) injured, and we had Steve Cronin also injured. Steve was just tested before the match. We had to improvise. It was difficult with the personnel that we had. In the first half, Houston showed that nobody else can play the game like they can when they have the ball. I had to improvise with Joey (Franchino) because I've only seen Joey on video. Of course, I knew with the help of my staff what his talents are. I had to have a little more power in the midfield so I put him in the middle with Brandon (MacDonald). I also needed someone with a left foot on the outside so I took my chances with Mike (Randolph) on the left. It was a matter of working hard and not giving up. The second half was an excellent game for the LA Galaxy. Every time we tried to press them, we couldn't get into a rhythm. That was a little bit disturbing for our team. I'm very proud of my team. I've very proud, especially, of the leaders of this team, Landon and David. They really showed the leaders they are."
On Joe Franchino:
"We were looking for someone in the midfield with a left foot who could play inside role or outside. We came with this solution. We saw matches from 2006, also things from the MLS website. Just to find out what kind of player he is. I think he could be excellent for us. Not only for the team, but the look of the team. They told me the situation that they could come tomorrow, Sunday. I said no, no, let him come in today and sit on the bench because I think in the end I'm going to need him, especially in this game. I was right. When he came into the midfield, it was right. It was tighter, they couldn't find space."
On Steve Cronin:
"He was great. One half hour before the game, he was tested for fitness. We were happy he was OK. I'm very proud of him. Today he was excellent, especially during that free kick that he saved. Also with crosses, he was there. He gets more comfortable with very game. We're very happy with him."
On the goals:
"I think the most important thing is the passion. I saw heart and really good football. The crowd was behind us. They helped us also. It was a good game."
LA GALAXY MIDFIELDER DAVID BECKHAM
On the team's performance:
"First half, terrible. Second half, better. There was no fight in the first half I thought. No urgency in our play. Throw-ins, free kicks, everything was slow. A few words were said during halftime by players and our management. We came out in the second half, the feel changed. The mentality changed. We had a bit of fight in our game. It got us back into the game. We played a few good minutes of kicking the ball. We got ourselves back into the game. The second half was all about character and fighting. We didn't show it in the first half, but in the second we did. We're happy with the result."
On the subs:
"That happens sometimes. Sometimes you need a change of players or a change of system. That happens in the second half. It wasn't about the players that went off, but the players that came in. There was a lot more fuel in their game, a lot more fire. That's what has to be shown."
On the relationship between himself, Chris Klein and Landon Donovan:
"I've said it when you play with players that are intelligent. They know where to run and where the ball is coming. That was the case tonight and the case in other games. I've had an assist in a few games now. The ball from Chris was a great ball for me for the second goal. It's just about the understanding of the game. Tonight we had that. I've always said my game is about assists and tonight again. It's nice to have two assist and Landon to score because any goalscorer wants to score goals. Unfortunately, the other goal with Edson (Buddle) was over the line apparently, but that wasn't given. We have to accept that. The understanding I've got with Chris and also with Landon worked tonight.
On getting back into the game:
"I don't think we escaped with one. I think at the end of the day if we played like we did in the second half in the first half, we would have won any game. We came out and showed a lot of fight in the second half. As much as I had an assist on both goals and Landon scored both goals, it's more about the fight that went on before that. That's what got us back into the game. People always look at the goal scorer and the players that assist on the goal, but it's more about what happened before that. We came out we showed a bit of fight straight from the whistle in the second half. That's what got us back into the game."
HOUSTON DYNAMO HEAD COACH DOMINIC KINNEAR
On the team's performance:
"I thought we played very well in the first half. I thought we were excellent. Then unlucky enough to be up by more than one goal, and we needed to come out and push in the second half. Our possession wasn't as good in the second half. We gave them opportunities to keep the game in our half. They scored their goal, and then we scored ours. I thought we looked pretty good. And, then we got a little bit stretched again. As far as our game, that was a very good soccer game. I thought our team played very well. Some of the stuff in the first half we did was some of the best stuff I've seen all season, not only from this team, but others. It was good. I'm sure both teams will point to their missed chances. I thought we had some good chances. If we had a bit more of a cushion in the second half, it would have opened up things a little more. We just couldn't hold to the ball as well as we did in the first half. That hurt us a little bit."
On the Landon Donovan/David Beckham combination:
"I think we did a pretty good job of stopping them in the first half. When you make the field a little bit smaller, you're team is nice and compact. We did a good job, and they didn't move the ball as well in the first half. In the second half, it did get stretched and it opened up. You give David Beckham time, and the one thing about Landon is that his running off the ball is quite exceptional. It's a dangerous combination. When he has time to play the ball, and let's be honest, the guy can pass the ball pretty darn well, and Landon's running off the ball is really good. That was the accumulation of the two goals. Back in the first half, we did a very good job. We held the ball better in the first half and really pushed them back. In the second half, we didn't hold the ball as well and they got the ball more in areas that they could hurt us. We did a good job of pressuring them. When we had the ball, we held it better in the first half."
HOUSTON DYNAMO MIDFIELDER BRAD DAVIS
On the result:
"I think we played a good game. It's on the road. It's a tough game. You want to come out of here with a point. We're happy to, I guess. Three points was our goal tonight. I think we had it in our hands a couple of times. Guys worked hard. We all put our heart and soul into the game. We went up a couple of times, but we were just unable to finish it off. We talked about scoring goals and allowing goals. To us, as a team we feel like we've allowed too many goals this year, and that's one thing we are going to continue to work on. But it is encouraging getting guys healthy and getting our team back. We've played a lot of games in the beginning of the year. We're going Saturday to Saturday now, so we need to focus on getting into a regular route, and coming back next week, not hanging our heads and working hard to get three points out of the Columbus game."
