LA Galaxy 4, Sporting KC 1
Q. How different was it to sit and watch not on the sideline?
GREG VANNEY: It's hard to sit up there and not feel like you're in -- have influence. But the view is better. Like seeing the game from up there is better than seeing the game from field level. The disconnection is difficult, so don't want to do this too many more times.
Q. Thoughts on the start. Joseph gets the early goal. You guys get three there. Thoughts on how the attack looked and guys looked on defense as well?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, thought it was great to get off to a quick start and get an early goal, set piece. The game was just really like back and forth early in the game. I felt like both teams gassed out pretty early for the start and then had to regroup a little bit, because it was just -- the ball was just going through midfield so easily either direction.
In the first 15 minutes I felt like there wasn't a flow to the game. There was an attack and a series of set pieces, an attack and series of set pieces. But it was good. Really important just to -- in a game like today, getting on top of the game early is important. Getting the second one, I felt like if we could have kept our foot on the gas a little bit more I felt like we had the chance to maybe pick up the third and maybe bury them a little bit earlier.
I know when you get to that part of season and you're not playing for anything and you're on the road and if it you can get on top of a team early it can set the tempo. So I felt like we had some chances. And of course, Dasan finds some space facing forward and the classy finish we're all used to see from Dasan, just slotted away to the near post; brought them back within one obviously.
But we were able to pull away. Joe had some really good looks. I think the one he hit off the post for me was probably the best team attack the entire night. Was a really good action off the right side and the movement was really coordinated and smart. Gabe slipped him in. It was a great -- actually it was the cutback one I think. But it was one -- for me one it was one of the best attacks all night and we weren't a little unfortunate not to finish it.
Again, good to pick up the next goals. I think it just -- once you got ahead you get up 3-1, 4-1, then now you're managing the game a little bit more. That's a positive. I did feel going back to the beginning of the game when it was open, I felt like if we could have done a little better job when we broke the pressure and we got deep into their half of the field, if we weren't in such a rush sometimes to try to hit the big ball to finish it, because they had two strikers on the field and two pretty attacking wide midfielders or wingers who we didn't really make defend much in the early part of the game because we were rushing the attacks, not finishing clean. Then those guys are kind of cheating and hanging out because we weren't forcing them come back and defend, and that is what was getting the game back and forth.
We could have managed it a little bit better so it wasn't quite so open and then forced them to have to defend lower in their half of the field, but I felt like we were -- we sniffed the opportunity to score goals and we kept going for it. That kind of opened it up a little bit at times.
Q. Where did you watch the game from? Are you at liberty tee to say?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, I was in one the radio boxes. Yeah, I think like 4 or something, just behind our bench in one of those boxes. Good view. Almost midfield. Pretty much where I would've been standing but a lot higher.
Q. So Joseph had that first half hat trick. Obviously what led to his success and how important is it to get him going like that before Wednesday?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, I think the spaces that were available for him to run through and attack, some of them in transitions, a couple where we were -- couple of his opportunities, again, came off good sort of organized movements where we were able to find him coming in from an angle in front of the goal.
So I just felt like when the game was open like that and there is space, it's just going to play into Joe's hands because of his pace and ability to get in behind and see the channels very wide open. I think that's a big part of it. I felt like when we did break lines and get into the forward movement of our attacks, then things started to go pretty fast.
Didn't feel like we got bogged down in the top end of our attacks. Felt like we were a little slow at the start of the attacks sometimes, but once we got through the lines I felt like we were going to try to go to goal. We weren't slowing the game down too much. A little more execution in some of those actions, and there was a handful probably more chances and goals for us if we would have been a little cleaner in a few of those.
Q. On the chances missed, seems like Gabriel Pec got a couple chances on his wing as well; didn't get anything, even though he obviously put in the work. What do you think is missing from that final action or that final moment for him to go ahead be successful?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, he's been -- last week we sat down and watched all of his actions, his final actions. Sometimes technically I think he's almost trying to be too perfect with it. Sometimes I think he can go at it with a little more force and not try to be perfect, put a little more on it.
Because I think when he's trying to finish it and curl it so much a little power comes off it and the keeper is able to get across, dive, make a save, things like that. There is some things technically I would love for him to shift a little bit in his final action, but I think we are trying to work through it on the training ground for him, again, to be more aggressive when he goes to that final -- to hit the final shot or the final play there.
And the others, I think for him a couple more times if he would make a pass and then make the run after the pass towards the goal, I think he would -- I do think we would find him a couple more times and finishing chances. I think we missed him a couple times as well which probably frustrated him as well.
He's got to keep working and we got to keep looking for him. When he does go strike or finish, I would like for him to be a little more power through the ball and try to be not quite so perfect with it sometimes. I think there is always a balance there.
I think his technique is good enough that if he hit it a little harder he would make it tougher on the goalkeeper sometimes. That's just my opinion anyway.
Q. Three games left. One point back from D.C. United in the Wooden Spoon Race. Is that something you guys are focused on at all, or just trying to finish the season game by game and doing the best you can?
GREG VANNEY: Certainly don't want to finish last, but we're definitely focused on our performances, getting some players, again, as many minutes as we can get some of the young guys, it's helping them. The more Harbor plays the more it's benefitting him. Even guys like Maude and others. Ruben could have scored a couple goals tonight. He was in a couple really good spots.
Elijah, the more games he gets his starting position for next year will be in a better spot as he comes into camp. Trying to balance off, again, continuing to do the things we think are going to help us long-term while we're trying to win the games in the short-term.
Dallas' future depends on our games with them, so they're just -- seems like they're just on the outside of playoff picture with two game against us. Then we'll finish with Minnesota, who will be vying for positioning maybe in who they're going to play. There is the head coach, right there.
So we got three tough games. Three tough games and we're certainly playing to win them. We also have some long-term things we're trying to focus on as well. Hopefully get some guys healthy. Nasci is closer. Marco was in training and decided it had keep him out. He decided this wasn't the right game. Maybe Wednesday. Let's see, obviously we had Julián and Emiro back in. Christian is getting closer.
Lucas isn't quite as close as the other guys. Hopefully as we get down the stretch those guys will be a little more available to finish it off.
Q. I'm wondering if I could ask you about the red card real quick. We had a little bit of a discussion. I'm assuming where you were sitting you had access to replay. Looks like he comes in, knows he can't get to the ball; at the same time, there is not a whole lot of contact with the shoulder or the cleats. What did you see in that play? Was that the right call in your mind?
GREG VANNEY: Yeah, it was interesting. Actually, I was sitting next to one of our members of our staff. I said to him, that one fell into a weird area for me. Like it could have been a red card and also could have maybe not been a red card.
I think the lack of intention to try to play the ball and try to go through somebody who was kind of vulnerable as a they're trying to clear a ball probably pushes it a little bit towards some kind of a red card, but I think when you talk about like real dangerous contact to the legs or something like that, I didn't see a ton of that.
So it sat in a position where if it you give them a red, it's probably going to stay a red. If you don't, then maybe it doesn't get changed. I thought he definitely was going through his body. He wasn't trying to necessary block the ball or anything like that.
I can understand it, but I understood that it was kind of sitting in that gray area maybe a little bit. I'm pretty sure I wasn't going to change the game though.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports