COLORADO RAPIDS 1, LOS ANGELES GALAXY 0
COLORADO RAPIDS HEAD COACH FERNANDO CLAVIJO
On the game:
"Like I told the team, regardless of who we have out due to cards or injury, we have to show our true character. We have to show that we can play. This is our home field and we need to play hard from the beginning. Los Angeles is a physical team and we knew that they played very physically against Houston their last game. We had to match their physical play and today we did that. We missed a lot of chances but we scored and protected the result. It was outstanding. I was extremely proud of my team. The younger players had an opportunity to play and prove to me that they can play at that level."
COLORADO RAPIDS GOALKEEPER JOE CANNON
On the shutout:
"To be honest this one was a team shutout. The goalie didn't have to do too much tonight. It just feels good because, after giving up eight goals in the last two games, everyone really wanted to get the shutout today. This was a team win. We got the goal and that was all we needed. We were hoping to get one or two more but it didn't work out for us. But hey, we got the three points. Los Angeles only has [10] games left and they are eight points behind us. The pressure is on them now. Hopefully we can get one or two results on the road and secure a playoff berth."
COLORADO RAPIDS MIDFIELDER KYLE BECKERMAN
On the Rapids' goal:
"The goal was a result of our work effort. We were pressuring them and we were causing them to make mistakes. We pressured them and the ball popped out and Thiago got it and hit me with a nice pass. I took one touch and passed it across and Niko was there. It was as simple as that. (My offensive explosion) was bound to come. In the past it just didn't but this year it is. Maybe it's an extra year under my belt. Fernando has let me loosen up a little bit so things are going good and I'm taking advantage of it."
COLORADO RAPIDS STRIKER NICOLAS HERNANDEZ
On his goal:
"Every goal is important, especially if it translates into three points and a victory for the team. It is good luck that every time I score, the team wins. Let's just hope I can continue contributing that way for the rest of the season and the playoffs."
On his adaptation to MLS:
"I'm lucky to have a good group of guys around me to have helped in my adaptation to the league and my team. It took me less time that I thought, but like I said before, I'll happy to be able to score and return the trust that was put on me by the coaches and the team when they signed me."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY HEAD COACH FRANK YALLOP
On the match:
"We are obviously disappointed with the result of the match. But we have had a great run so I can't really complain about the last seven or eight games. We were a little flat and a little tired tonight. Maybe we didn't play our best stuff but I thought it was an even game. I think a nil-nil would probably have been a fair result.
On defending:
"We gave them their goal. We have talked a lot about that. Sometimes you get punished when you make mistakes in our own end. That was a great example of being careless in our own end and they scored a goal from it."
On the attack:
"We looked shaky from the start. We didn't seem as sure of ourselves and we looked tentative in our play all over the field. I don't think anyone was worse than anyone else. We are all in it together anyway so, for me, we weren't good enough tonight to get a result. We have to look at where we are failing. We aren't creating enough chances so we have to look at that side of things. We have to make sure we can get more people into the attack to create chances. I think that is what we are lacking. It doesn't just come from the players up front. It comes from our general play to get to those areas. We struggled a little bit tonight. We put a lot into that Houston game. We came out flat, took the goal and couldn't get back into the game."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY FORWARD LANDON DONOVAN
On the match:
"We were pretty poor the first half. We played better the second half but we made the mistake that changed the game. Maybe a tie was a fair result but they capitalized on one mistake and that was it. We had some decent changes to score but nothing great. We did a better job as the game went on. I think the guys who came in did a good job of providing, but we have to do better. We have to get more of those half chances if we expect to score more goals."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY MIDFIELDER PETE VAGENAS
On the defeat:
"I think that sometimes, that is the way it goes, especially in this game. We came off the long week and a draining game Wednesday night. It's tough to put it together. Give credit to our guys. As the game went on we got a lot stronger. It was more a mental thing than a physical thing because otherwise it would have been the opposite. I thought we did better toward the end. I'm sure there was some fatigue involved but it was more of a mental thing. They were coming off such an embarrassing loss and us coming off an exhausting victory."
