LA Galaxy 5, Colorado 0
Q. As you look at it, five goals, no goals allowed, one of your cleanest performances this season?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, I think so. I mean, I don't think we allowed a shot on goal which is, you know, good transition defending, guys working hard to get between the balls and the goal. Even in our set defending moments, we did a good job of keeping the ball out of dangerous areas. When they got to dangerous areas, we had bodies between them and the goal, and it was hard for them to get any clean looks on goal.
Yeah, I thought it was good. Really pleased with, again, the response over the course of this week and coming into this match. It was a big match for us and the guys responded really well. First half was a little bit bogged down. They had a lot of numbers kind of underneath the ball and a little bit lower, and I felt like we weren't building enough speed to really kind of penetrate and break it down.
But we were able to get the set piece goal which is fantastic and they had to make some decisions at halftime, or are you going to hold numbers still in low behind it. We did a good job of being patient in the right moments and then being vertical and being direct and really attacking with numbers at the right moments.
I thought to your -- the short answer is, I thought it was a very clean performance, and probably one of the best.
I can't remember all 34 at this point, 35 now, but it was definitely one of the best ones I think, and at a good time. Hopefully we can build off this. We are going to have a tougher Colorado team in Colorado, we know that, coming on Friday.
So we have to be prepared and not think that we did anything more than just win one game tonight.
Q. Looking at John Nelson's play, seemed maybe he was a little more advanced on the left side but getting his first-ever MLS goal in this game. But he's really come along in the second half, and how he's progressed, What did you see out of him tonight?
GREG VANNEY: John's always, since we got him, early days, I felt like we wanted him to come out of his shell a little bit. He was, there solid defender, good at passing, but always kind of pretty conservative about his approach to things.
And I think just more time with us in the system, more time getting back to being on the ball more versus maybe a pressing system, just being on the ball, and whether that's a little bit wide and higher up the line in other positions, I feel like he's gotten more and more comfortable over the course of the season.
He's a very mature defender in choosing his moments in reading plays, which is one of the things that's been really nice for us, too. He's been solid in the absence when Julian got injured of just giving us a lot of mature, solid defensive work, and I think he's grown into the attacking roles.
Today we ended up putting him just a little bit higher, and there were times where I would have liked him to be just a little more aggressive. You could tell he's a touch hesitant but what a finish. When he put it away from his left foot, I was thinking "No," and he curls it in with his right foot. I haven't seen that, I've got to be honest.
But happy for him, to get his first MLS goal in a playoff game like this is, I'm sure, one he'll remember, and he looked pretty excited about it.
Q. You guys have not been very successful on corner kicks this year and then Riqui takes a corner kick for the ninth or tenth time and scores a goal on that. Can you talk a little bit about that change that you made there? And the second question, you win this 5-0, and in the old home and away playoff series, it's done and now you have two more games where none of this matters. Just reflect on that a little bit and how do you approach it and what does that mean?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, first, the set pieces, it was a great ball in. Dejan found some space in the goal. Wasn't that close to the goal, and it wasn't like he had any running momentum. It was just ball had eyes, he put it in a great spot and it found the back of the nest. Good service.
Sometimes with set pieces, there's a couple things is you've got is get runners in the root spots and you've got to get the ball in the right position, and we certainly did on that one.
I don't think we are, what I would define as the best heading team in soccer, and so maybe why we aren't as successful all the time as maybe we'd like to be.
But today we had one connect and found a spot where the prayer was and Dejan did a great job finding the back of the net. Maya has gotten on the end during the course of the season. They probably unlucky in a couple others. But the execution was good on that one, and we'll take it because it was timely. To have a 1-0 lead going into halftime, gave us a chance to have a little bit of a different discussion than if it would have been 0-0, so that was positive.
As far as the format, to be honest, I was always a big fan of the home and way. And the aggregate scoring, I feel like it always had purpose and meaning in the game no matter what. You know, where a team could be up a goal, and then somebody's having to push because then you have away goals. And there's always a scenario in which somebody is having to go after the game unless it's 0-0.
But as soon as one goal happens, I feel like it was always somebody is having to push the attack, and also you have to defend because you can't just concede a bunch of goals.
I feel like today as it gets to three, four, five, for them, they can think, well, we have another game at home and this doesn't really matter anymore. Not saying they did but they could.
For us, this game is now behind us and whatever we did today, it doesn't impact the next one. It is what it is and I liked it because I felt like as a coach there was always these different scenarios and nuances that you were always having to prepare for and consider. But in the best-of-three, you know, you take this one and now we have two games to win one, and we'd like to do it sooner rather than later.
But we have two games to win one to get to the next round. That's what it stands for. It's just one game is what it means at this point.
Q. Just on the two brace (ph) scorers, what did you like individually from their games, and then also as a unit, they both assisted each other. What have you seen from the combination of the two them together?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, again, I think when guys are on the move, our guys are very, very good at being able to play on the move to make good runs for each other, to find the good connections, get the timing right, things like that.
Obviously the first one for Dejan was a set piece, but I feel like once the game opened up a little bit, and we have so many attacks weapons on the run that are so dangerous; and the different movements create space for each other, and it becomes very difficult to defend the waves of attack that are coming.
Again, I think the more those opportunities present themselves, it's interesting for us for sure. I mean, the pass even that Gab slips in to Riqui who is on the run, and the first touch that he's able to take and finish so quickly. Yeah, there were a lot of those scenarios.
I actually think that in a few of them if we make a better decision or execute just a little better we probably have a couple more looks, real good looks at goal.
But yeah, it was one of those days where we got ahead, and now they have to potentially extend themselves to press where we were able to utilize the space underneath and behind and build some speed and those guys certainly took advantage of that today.
Q. It's been sports frenzy in L.A., and today again, the Dodgers win, the Lakers win, the Galaxy wins. What does it mean to be a part of it and seeing like each team supporting each other in the city?
GREG VANNEY: I love this time of year, especially in these big cities with multiple teams who are all in kind of the playoff mode, or in basketball, it's the exciting start of a season and another great team.
There's so much sports energy that is happening around, and I think partly what makes this time of year really special, especially for us soccer guys, is because the energy around just sports in general is high and it's being covered and it's out there. And the teams obviously -- L.A. teams are typically supporting each other, not us and the other guys down the street, and everybody else.
I just think when, you know, the weather cools off a little bit, the field is a little dewy and it's fast, you know it's that special time of year as things kick off. I've been tuned into the World Series. I'm a bit of a baseball fan and a long time ago I was a big Dodgers fan but that faded out, but I like them again because we are in the World Series.
I enjoy baseball. Played it for a long time and I enjoy watching it. I was watching it up until I had to start concentrating on my business today. But this is a great time of year for sports and it's great for us to be in the playoffs right now. It's exciting.
Q. The offense did their things but the defense put in a shutout, the first one in seven matches. Can you talk to us about their performance, and perhaps Emiro Garcés, and maybe why he came off at the end. Is he going to be ready for Game 2?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, I thought a couple things on the defensive side. I would say one, in general, our use of the ball was pretty good. I mean, we minimized the amount of transitions we let them get into when we did give up transition moments, I thought, again, where we were really good tonight, where I didn't think we were good against Houston is we were right up underneath our possessions where when the ball turned over, we were able to contest the ball right way.
I feel like in Houston, we gave up too much space when the ball turned over to where we could first contest the exit pass. And today we were in better positions to slow them down and give our attacking players an opportunity to rejoin us and help us defend as a collective unit, and so I thought we were better in that situation.
I thought Emi was better, and -- not specifically tonight, I thought a little bit too deep in the last game, and he was so much athleticism. It's on display always, just the speed in which he can cover ground and his confidence in one-on-one defending in open field.
So getting him up a little bit closer in those transition moments can really help us. I thought the guys did a good job there, which meant we dealt with less things in a set situation or in our half of the field or closer to the goal tonight. Because we managed the ball better and we contested the initial transition better, and then we were able to protect our goal when we needed to.
So I thought it was strong from everybody. I give a lot of credit to all the group tonight because to get a shutout, everybody has to do their part tonight. And John didn't have to do a whole lot, which is even a better daze because he didn't have to make any saves that were unusual tonight. I thought it was good.
The other question, Garcés, he's okay. He's been managing a little bit of some stuff this week. I think it was more, I don't know if it was more cramping, or I don't think it was anything too specific other than just some stuff that we've been kind of managing with him over the course of the last week or. So I haven't heard anything other than that.
Q. Talking about performances, what do you think of today's performance by Paintsil, and what are some of the things you're going to talk to him in the upcoming game?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, I think for Joseph, and honestly for Joseph, Diego, anybody who plays and spends time over on our left side, they do a lot of tactical work and a lot of running and a lot of defensive work for the group, and I think that's a job that everyone has to kind of take down.
Today I felt like he was competent and good and fine in some of the possession moments. He made some good hard runs where he shows you again, his speed and his directness and all that stuff causes problems.
He wasn't happy with how he finished the final product stuff today. I'm sure he'll be the first one to tell you he had four good chances, and he should have done getter with them.
And part of the reason I slid him over to the forward position is I just think sometimes goal scoring is just about confidence and composure in the final action, and I wanted him in transitions to maybe get one more chance or get a goal. Last week into Houston he scored and because of the way his luck is going right now, that goal gets called back for a foul; that kind of happened before.
I think sometimes for him it's just about confidence and finding the rhythm and being composed when they get into that final action. His ability to get there is unique because of his pace and speed and how quickly he's able to transition and get behind. Not everyone can do that. So sometimes he gets a couple more chances a game than maybe anyone else would.
I think for him would he agree that he would just like to finish those. Feel a lot better about the moment if he was able to for sure.
Q. This is the most goals LA Galaxy have scored in a playoff match since 2014. Coincidentally that was a 5-0 win as well. Of the five goals tonight, which one was your favorite and why?
GREG VANNEY: Oh, man. That's a --
Q. Is that like asking which one of my children do I love the most?
GREG VANNEY: Kind of. I mean, first you're challenging me to remember all of them, and I -- not to say that, like, five is so many, that's not it, but I have to remember the details of each.
I feel like there was an action, and it might have been the fourth, that just the combination play and the amount of linking up to each other and how it was just flowing forward and the different runs that were moving defenders, creating space and the game was moving so kind of smoothly.
I just remember looking at the coaches after the goal and I turned back and I was like, wow, that was a pretty good, just, collective action at top speed, which was really nice. I don't even remember who scored it to be honest but it was nice.
Honestly I can't remember. You can't do that to me.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports