On the Columbus game:
It seemed like little bounces didn’t go our way and we didn’t make plays. We were in a great position at 2-0 to close up shop. Then they got the first goal. We stopped playing and we paid for it. Then we did good to get back in it and we let it get away again.
On why the Galaxy give up goals:
Usually when that happens, the tendency is to say that the back four or the goalkeeping isn’t well, but the issue is that they’re able to get from their defensive end into the attack in about two or three passes, easily. That makes a big difference, when you have guys running at you – three, four guys running at the back four, that makes it difficult. That said, we should have done a little better, clearing some balls out and doing better there tonight. But it’s not always just that the back four is struggling.
Analysis:
In the first half, we actually did a fairly good job of being hard to play against – we really limited their chances. In the second half, the game opened up a lot and we weren’t as compact and therefore they had more space to play. They’re a good team. If you give them space, they’ll make things happen. They’ve got a lot of solid, hardworking players. Like most MLS teams, they have a few guys who can hurt you. In between Schellotto, Rogers, Alejandro, they make it difficult. And they’re good on set pieces. That’s usually a good recipe, obviously.
On Ale:
He played well. Probably should have scored at least once. He’s always a handful.
On the penalty call on Beckham:
I couldn’t see it from where I was. It’s hard to tell. On their penalty, I wasn’t sure that [Rogers] really got fouled. On ours, I wasn’t sure that David really was fouled. But whatever. That’s the ref’s decision to make.
On whether Beckham was fit, as he seemed uninvolved at times:
I think he’s fit. There’s points in a game where you want dangerous players to even cheat a little bit, because you want them to get the ball. Other teams do it. Schelotto doesn’t defend. Alejandro doesn’t do anything. He sits around and waits for ball in good spots, so it kind of happens. I don’t know.
Why do the Galaxy blow leads?
One is, we’re young. There’s no denying that. We have a young goalie, a young leftback and a young centerback. That’s part of it. We work on things in training. You’re got to turn on the part of your brain that senses danger, you’ve got to put out fires. You’ve got to learn how to win. Some of these games, we’ve been giving away points. It’s funny, we could be eight points clear. We clean that up, we could be very good. But we’ve still got a ways to go.
3 comments:
As a left back for an adult team that's often more interested in the social/drinking aspects of the team (and rightfully so) I can relate 100% to Donovan's comments.
We're an okay side, but with a little dedication we could be better. I've worked hard to get the back four in order, but if the midfield doesn't limit the amount of balls that get through to us, it's hard to keep everything out.
Ah - I remember my rec league playing days rather fondly for the social/drinking aspect. I played right back. But our captain was all about the game. I remember one time he was so thrilled - we completed 12 passes in a row, with everyone on the team touching the ball. It was; GK to me, to CB, to other CB, to DMid, to LM, to LB making overlapping run, cross to AMid (our captain)who worked a give and go with the RMid, then flicked a pass into the box for the Center Fwd, who laid the ball back for the withdrawn Fwd - one touch into goal. Sweet stuff.
Landon, the problem isn't your young goalkeeper (Steve Cronin), your young centerback (Sean Franklin) or your young left back (Mike Randolph).
The problem is your old right back (Chris Klein, who gets dispossessed easily and can't dribble under pressure) and your old and slow central defenders (Greg Vanney and Un-abel Xavier).
The problem is a central midfield that is either too old (Franchino), too inexperienced (Pires, McDonald) or not confident enough on the ball (Vagenas).
But the biggest problem is a front office (and we all know who that means, boys and girls) that has an incompetent horse's posterior for a GM, a moron who blindly buys into the company line to save his you-know-what, and can't distinguish between his spouting own propaganda and making intelligent transactions.
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