Opening statement
“A very good match and one were you had two teams approach the game like it was halftime of 180 minutes. LA to their credit sat a little bit deeper and I thought we had good control of the game in the first half. I think back on the chances and the one that was called offside that ends up going off the post, wasn’t offside and it would have been interesting if we score that one. Mikael has the breakaway and a couple other half chances in there including the one that gets crossed in to Julian but we don’t score in the first half. I thought we played a really strong first 45 minutes and was happy with how the first half went and one where I thought we played the game on our terms.
Second half again both teams were cancelling each other out a little bit and at 0-0 we get the PK, score it and from that point we obviously have to do better to close the game out. Again two really good teams and a match that could have gone either way. Disappointed we didn’t get a second goal with the chances we created. Overall we cannot feel sorry for ourselves as much as the goal hurts late, we just have to regroup. We know we have to go to LAFC which we know is very difficult but we can go there and score goals.”
On the past success having scored at LAFC in the past
“There is always context and when you concede late it feels devastating because I think the guys deserved a win tonight. I thought the fans were excellent and gave a great atmosphere. Look they’ve been the best team in our league, they are the defending MLS Cup champions and I thought we played with them and showed that on a given day we can beat them and were very close to doing it. The challenge now is to go to their place and we have to score because that is the reality of the situation and win the game which is hard but not impossible. My group right now is upset and angry as they should be because we had a little lapse in judgement at the end of the game. We will regroup and go out to LA and make the city proud.
On the performance of the defense and what led up to the tying goal for LAFC
“We are up 1-0 and we’re in control and we hadn’t conceded a lot of chances in the second half. Andre had not an easy day because he made some big saves and you need that against a good, quality opponents in big games. I thought we were comfortable but a little bit of a missed clearance but maybe we can recover a little quicker. We win as a team and we lose as a team. The group is going to stick together and I still saw a lot of good things over 90+ minutes. To do the job we did on Bouanga and Vela, those attacking pieces they bring off the bench are really big players. They are a champion for a reason but we have a really good group too. We are disappointed we didn’t win tonight but we are at halftime and we still have an opportunity to go to LA and if we score early then all of a sudden things shift to our favor. I really love how the team played so this is why it sounds so contradictory because it feels a little empty conceding late like we did.”
Would Jose [Martinez] made a difference?
“I think anytime Jose isn’t on the field, we aren’t as good. I wish he could have stayed on the field but he pushed as hard as he could and I thought he was excellent all night. He’s been excellent the last several games for us. We are not as good as when he’s on the field. Our starting core group has logged a lot of minutes over the last several years and they are the reason we win. When we lose one of them it certainly hurts because our margins are razor thin like I always talk about.”
On how things shape up for the next leg?
“The away goals are big and if we could have closed it out at 1-0 then it sets you up to still say aggressive on the road. The reality is that we still have to go there and score. I think we would have had to go there and score anyway because the way LA plays, they are going to come at you in waves especially at home. I’m all for a high scoring game in the next one. I don’t normally like that but this will be an unique opportunity for us to go end to end with LAFC. They have incredible fans, a great stadium and we bring the best out of each other and everyone has seen that now in our last several ties that we’ve had against them. It doesn’t change your approach entirely because we would have went there with the mindset of wanting to get a goal because then they have to score three if we had kept it at 1-0. We didn’t do that so it changes a little bit but not completely different in terms of how aggressive we are going to approach the game. We have to approach it aggressive and our team is at their best when we do that and that is what our players respond to the best. Being proactive rather than reactive so it’s going to be hard no question about it but I still think we are in a position where we can get it done.”
On using the momentum from Atlas second leg
“It is never easy and we are in a competition where for the casual fan that doesn’t know this and it is the easiest way to put it. The four best teams in our continent are left. When you talk about Tigres, Leon, us and LAFC, the opponents are high quality and the margins are razor thin. The difference between a deflected ball going into the goal like it did at the end like it did tonight can hurt but at the same time it is about how you get up and respond to adversity. We are through the first 90 minutes and I love my group, love my players because they give me everything they possibly can and I know they are going to do the same thing when we go to LA. Anything is possible especially if we score early in LA.”
