LA Galaxy 3, LAFC 3
GREG VANNEY:
Q. (No microphone.)
GREG VANNEY: I thought -- it was an intriguing game I thought because they sat so low for good stretches. When they extended themselves they didn't win a lot balls high, but when they sat so low and just really kind of bogged us down and were able to keep us in front of them so much.
We made probably three, maybe four big mistakes and got punished for those decisions and those mistakes. And we spent a lot of the game trying to figure out how to turn possessions into a chance.
And, yeah, I mean, at 3-1 felt like it was going to be difficult. We were trying to make some subs and trying to get some guys into positions where we could whip some balls in the box, do something to try to create some numbers up in the box and some action ahead of the ball so that we could try to find a way to break through the wall they had set up there.
Yeah, proud of the guys that came on and kept working through it. These games are crazy always, so, in a rivalry game or any game you never give up. These games specifically have always had a way to have some crazy in them. Didn't disappoint there at the end.
I saw some things as we were sitting on the side like trying to get Mauricio in because he's such a good server of the ball in those wide positions, trying to get extra body up there up top, you know, whether it was Christian or Nasci, just trying to get another guy up. A lot of times Jesus was sometimes dropping in and looking like a back five and sometimes he would step out, but whenever he went into a back five we just didn't have numbers up against him.
It was an interesting game.
I found it tactically intriguing. Again, there wasn't a ton of shots in the game overall, but the ones that were taken, a lot went in the goals, so made for an interesting night. The intensity was there for the fans and I think it was -- yeah, I'm glad our guys kept fighting to the end and they found a way through.
Q. Even at 3-1 seemed to be...
GREG VANNEY: Yeah.
Q. Did that sort of galvanize the group a little bit you think?
GREG VANNEY: Possibly. Sometimes I feel like a little fight, a little passion, something in there can just spur up a little bit more energy, a little more intension, a little more purpose, whatever you want to call it.
I don't know if I've seen that particular situation before, but, yeah, the group -- we got more intention to try to break lines and to try to finish our attacks as we started chasing the game a little bit more.
I felt like we started to, I don't want to say take risk in the final action, but try to run through the line, play through the line, and see if we couldn't break down the group that was keeping us in front of them all game. I felt guys started to that. They started to move off each other and not just pass and stand.
They started to move off each other and seams started to show up. Obviously when they take a red card that means there is just a little bit more space on the field. They lost one of their center backs which means they are probably going to be a little bit small in the back, and Maya going up high means we're bigger in the box.
So there is just miniscule advantages we were able to take advantage of at the end to get ourselves back into it.
Q. ...you mentioned you didn't really like the intensity out of the team that day. Was this the proper response, what you were looking for out of the team after that loss?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, I thought, again, it was an interesting game because I think when a game -- when a team sits like that on you and they're very comfortable doing that, it takes a little bit of the intensity out of the game at times, versus two teams that are pressing and going at each other.
But definitely thought the intensity was there. It was just hard sometimes I think to see it because the way the game played out through stretches of the game. Obviously in transition they're so good. You make a mistake or bad decision in transition and it's costly.
I thought when the game continued and pressed on, yeah, I felt like -- I think the concentration and the appropriate intensity was there, but obviously it got to a different level of passion and intensity down the stretch. That was -- you don't always want to be on that edge, but as I said to our guys we need to be on the edge today. We need to be smart and not get over the edge, but we need to be on the edge, have kind of derby intensity in ourselves, and I think it came to life as the game continue to do progress.
Q. (No microphone.)
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, again, I was really impressed. Again, I think the group is -- they believe in themselves, they believe in each other, they believe in what we're doing. Again, we've got to find ways to not put ourselves in holes and to give up goals in some of the ways we give up goals. Make a little bit better choices.
The group feels like they have the tools out there. When they get going, if they can solve problems in the game, they can stay in it. We saw it today. They just kept competing until the end. When we went to 3-2 then I think the energy really stepped up again like, okay, there might be something in there for us and we found a way.
Sometimes you just have to have some things fall your way too. Great cross, great header. The one the one that Lloris saves a little bit earlier probably would've been offside, so I'm not sure that would've stood anyway. But that was good action, but I think we needed to get something out of this game.
Q. The decision to start Luca Sanabria instead of Diego, what do you see of him and what do you want from...
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, started Luca, just he's a little more defensive in nature and combative in the mid-field. We were going to keep our two pivots a little closer to home and I felt like in transitions he could break up some things. Defensively having somebody, not just Edwin, but somebody who can end their possessions and Bouanga is getting one-on-one, who can really work back and try to help on the inside shoulder of our full backs so they can try to double team him and keep him to the outside, and things like that.
So we did it in an effort to try to protect ourselves a little bit defensively. I felt like maybe he was getting a little tired. It's a different type of environment and game than he's been in for the season and he missed a couple passes, and I think just a little bit of fatigue was setting in, and he was on a yellow card.
So if he's defending in transition moments I was a little concerned for him in those types of situations.
So with Diego, we brought him on. We also tried to adjust our positioning. We pushed Diego a little bit higher and tried to build and get at them a different way by putting more numbers higher.
And then Diego just has been around this league for a long time. He just feels the game in a little bit different way. So having him out there was -- we were down at the point 1-0 or 2-0 -- was it 2-1 when he came on?
So just bringing another guy on who has the feel for these types of games. I thought we needed a bullet in the holster a little bit so I didn't start all the guys that have been starting lately so that we would somebody with some attacking experience to come in. It was going to be a 90 minute game; as it was, 97.
Q. The mini-brawl and what it plays out, you getting an, advantage but it seemed like out of it you guys had the spark they didn't.
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, I think the spark is they take a red card. Now the group -- for us we see an advantage, one less guy on the field when the whole day you're dealing with a really low tight block, and now they have one less guy to put in that low tight block. Maybe the guys sense there is something in it for us.
I think always those situations bring a different kind of intensity and passion into the situation, but then losing a man I think maybe just opened up just a little bit more space for us to try to take advantage of the situation.
Q. You don't really think of it, oh, everyone is getting in there fighting, who knows who is going to get the card and stuff like that. It's kind of a plus for you guys.
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, again, this is what I was saying earlier. For our guys you got to play on the edge, but you can't go over the edge. These games can have emotion and get you -- if you -- I mean, Emiro went over the edge, but he went over it on his own teammate, which is different that doing after somebody else's teammate, I think.
But for them it was -- wasn't a good decision, got penalized for it, and we took advantage of it.
Q. The mistakes you guys did make that they took advantage of just led to massive space.
GREG VANNEY: Yeah.
Q. ...from his little chip and run, that's probably about an 85 yard play.
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, that was I think a little bit flukey if I'm being honest. I don't know if the touch was meant to go who it went to and how it got there. We were kind of caught stepping forward, and I think the touch meant the fastest guy was going to get there, and he's usually that guy.
Yeah, we got caught -- in all three situations we got caught being over aggressive when we probably needed to be a little more cautious in the situation because of the way the situation played out. First one Miki goes pretty far to try to get pressure and then gets beat in one-on-one situation. Now we're really separated and they hurt us.
The second one Emiro gets overaggressive to try to deal with the transition. That opens up a ton of space.
And the third one was the third one.
All three of them are I think situations where against a team like this, if you're not in the right position and you're not prepared, you have to remain a little bit cautious. Even though you want to be aggressive, you have to be a little more cautious and maybe drop and not get overextended.
But we paid for them, and, yeah, they made the game.
Q. On Gabriel Pec, not the most productive season for him. What did you like from him tonight?
GREG VANNEY: Just sticking with it. It was hard for him. I think it was hard for him to find space and to really attack. They do an interesting job of when Jesus drops back into the back line, their full backs get really aggressive and get tight to the wingers so it's hard for the wingers sometimes to build any speed at them and really go one-on-one or take them on.
I feel like we tried him on the left, we tried him on the right, and he just stuck with the game even though I don't think it was his most influential game in some ways. But he was able to over on the course of it -- obviously good finish on the penalty -- but stay with it and get the second goal.
I just think it's important. Again, that's games are -- all the games in the whole season, for him when he stays on the move he's very difficult to play against. When he stands and waits for the ball I feel like teams have a way of defending him that hasn't been his most successful.
I think he kept working through the game and trying to find ways. I think there were times he was dropping a little too low and trying to pick up the ball sometimes really deep.
But I think he was just trying to get away from the full back sometimes so he could try to face forward and get some kind of influence on the game.
Q. Just looking at the goals, goals two and three, is that goal No. 2 with Pec scoring that, is that one of the best scores you scored? And looking at goal No. 3 with Maya Yoshida, a guy who has so many headers go over crossbars and just barely go over, what does it mean for him to score that goal?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, the second goal was just a great team action. Again, something we've seen sparingly between Joe and Gabe, two guys who are big parts of those. Each of them only has one assist, and so when you do that you don't see as many team goals as we were used to seeing last year. Getting that action going I thought was nice.
And for Maya, like you said, he's got his head on a lot of things. Yeah, it's a little bit of a Hail Mary and he gets in the box and he's able to get one. I know for him, just it's been a battle, and as a team we've given up a ton of goals. When you do that the centre backs take a lot of heat and the back line takes a lot of heat. For him today to go up the to front and help us got something out of this game, I'm sure first and foremost he's exhausted. He played all three games this week. I'm sure he's happy to be able to contribute in that way.
Q. Very satisfying point in a heated derby. Would you be a little frustrated perhaps by how poor the set pieces were today? Was that maybe an edge that you lost in the game? Felt like it was a little wasteful at times.
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, I think we were disjointed if I could say maybe on some of the set pieces. Couple times I think we hit them and we weren't even ready for them to be hit. Like we didn't know who was going to him 'em. I felt like the signalling and the attention inside of that, the detail wasn't sharp enough.
We opted yesterday to be fair. These are things we should be good at this time of the year. We should stick with the play calling and stay with it. Normally on -1 if we throw in a couple of wrinkles given who the opposition is we will train them. Because this is a three day and short turnaround we didn't train them. We tried to do it more through video and less through actual repetition.
Not making excuses. That's just part of it. But I felt like we didn't -- yeah, we didn't execute well on those tonight. Those are always an opportunity and we've been reasonably dangerous on them for the last few weeks and tonight certainly not.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports