LA Galaxy 2, Nashville 2
Q. You guys are losing 2-0 in the first half, obviously you miss the penalty kick in the first half, losing 2-0 in the second half, what do you make of the 2-2 draw?
JOHN McCARTHY: I think it a great fight from our group showing the resilience in the group. It was like you said, down 2-0, if you can fight back and get a point on the road and possibly three, we had a couple chances; it's something to take some pride in for the group. I think it says a lot about the group and the mentality of a team that won't give up and has each other's backs.
Q. You guys did give up two goals pretty quickly there there in the second half. Defensively, you guys have been pretty strong so far this year. What did you see in the breakdowns and what do you guys need to get better at?
I think it was a good game defensively. I don't see much, maybe a mental error here, a mental error there. It was a good defensive team effort. There's nobody to point any fingers at or anything. It was a group effort. So.
To come back like that, there was great resilience in the group. Wish we had three but when you get points on the road, that goes a long way in the season.
Q. And what was the locker room like after the game? Are you guys relieved you got two points? Disappointed you didn't get three?
No, like I said, I think you go into every game, you want three points. So when you're down 2-0, the positive is to come back and take it 2-2, and we had a couple chances in the first half, couple chances in the second half that we capitalized on, and a few more chances that I think the group said that we could have capitalized even more on.
So three points were on the able. So there was some tough times when you don't get three points. But we were positive, because like I said, when you get a point on the road, that can go a long way in the season.
Q. Your center backs, Martin Caceres and Maya Yoshida, definitely had some defensive moments themselves, good defensive moments. What's it like having those two experienced guys right in front of you, and how much have they contributed as a whole to make sure this defense is playing a lot better structure compared to last season?
It's great. It's great to have them. Yeah everyone knows they are high calibre center backs. They have played for their country, big-time clubs, all around the top lesion. These guys have experience, and they bring that and they show that in their daily work, and obviously in the games, you guys see it.
To have these guys in front of me, it's great. They are great dudes and those are guys that are great players and great guys for the team. So it's really nice to have those experienced guys in front of me and play with them.
Q. Maya after the first game mentioned the left side speaks Spanish, the middle speaks Italian and the right side speaks Japanese. How have you guys been able to communicate as those games have gone on and how much have you improved in that aspect as well?
Yeah, there's a lot of languages there for sure. But it's also a cool thing because you get to try to learn and speak to other people and have different conversations on and off the field and make each other feel welcome. You want to have the team understanding each other as much as possible.
So when it comes down to crunch time, you guys have belief in each other, and you know you have each other's backs. You definitely have to work on each language, but we're a solid group back there. It's been fun.
Q. I wanted to ask you, have you learned any phrases in Japanese or Spanish to shout out?
Yeah, mine is OG Chan (ph). Means grandfather. He's older.
Q. Wanted to ask you in preparation against opponents in general, do you study the opponent regarding penalties? Is that something that you do beforehand, or do you just take it in the moment? Are you a spontaneous goalkeeper or is it something you study ahead in the match?
I mean, everyone knows there's film and stuff like that out there for players to see and watch, but can't tell you too much. But there's sometimes you just have like a gut feeling or you remember something or in the moment you change to something. You kind of have to stick to one thing and run with it.
Q. And just another question. You seem to be settling really well and have found your place. Is this the most enjoyable time of your career at LA Galaxy?
The most enjoyable time of my career, or enjoying time at LA Galaxy? Can you repeat?
Q. Is it the most enjoyable kind of team that you're finding your feet with and playing for?
It's a great group. I enjoyed a lot of teams, a lot of times. I had a great time at LAFC, Miami, Philly. I'm not knocking anybody. It's a great group as well.
So I'm trying to make the most of it, try find a way to get some good results and keep the team moving forward. There's no -- there's always going to be ups and downs but you try to make the most of it and like you said, I'm just trying to enjoy it.
Q. When Nashville got the second goal, did you still think the Galaxy will equalize?
Yeah, it's not like it was the 90th minute or something like that and you're like, it wasn't our day. There's ten minutes, thirty minutes, whatever there is left on the clock, I haven't looked back on when the goals were but I believe it's like 15, 16 minutes or something like that. Plenty of time. All you have to do is get one chance. You can't over-exaggerate. You can't get stretched and try to overplay or anything and try to really push to get another one conceded.
So I think the group realized that. We just had some belief that we are going get a chance here and that we are going to get a chance for you, and try to capitalize on it. You always have belief. There's always going to be a chance in a big moment in a big game to come back and then if you don't have belief, then this game isn't for you, and this group had a lot of belief today. FastScripts by ASAP Sports ...
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports