KANSAS CITY WIZARDS MANAGER PETER VERMES
On the game
“It was a well fought match. I thought we had better chances throughout the course of the game, but Landon Donovan had a great chance towards the end of the game and Jimmy Nielsen came up huge. All in all, we drove the game, and defensively our back line was huge tonight.”
On Kei Kamara’s miss in front of the goal
“It’s a tap in at the end of the day, and we’ll get some more of those. That happens some times, but the great thing is that we were able to hold onto the game still. I’ve seen crazy things happen in this game, so that play didn’t surprise me.”
On the improved Wizards defense in 2010
“I think those (defenders) have taken it upon on themselves since preseason started to work meticulously on how our line moves together as one unit. They have progressed in that not only are they better at being together, but also they individually are starting to understand when and where they need to do certain things. To see that is a huge positive for us.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS GOALKEEPER JIMMY NIELSEN
On the game
“It was a tough game. We knew that they had some good strikers and that we were going to need to be careful. We’re in good balance and good control and we played with a very good discipline.”
On the performance of his defenders against the top offensive team in MLS
“The defenders were outstanding. It was tough job for them, especially with Ricketts’ long goal kicks. We won the first ball, and we won the second ball nine out of ten times. As I told them after the game, they did a fantastic job and made my life very easy.”
KANSAS CITY WIZARDS DEFENDER MATT BESLER
On the Wizards defensive performance
“It’s a good sign. Every time we step out there defensively we want to keep a shutout. We wanted to come up this week and play tight, and I think we kept our line pretty well.”
On the improved Wizards defense in 2010
“I think we’re a lot better this year. We’re a lot more organized, and there are a lot of guys that are stepping up and playing well. We’re all on the same page, we all know what is expected, and that helps a lot. I’m looking forward to keeping this going.”
LOS ANGELES GALAXY HEAD COACH BRUCE ARENA
On the game
"It was a very ugly game in a difficult venue. No surprise that it was going to look like that. I think the conditions were magnified (because of the field). It was a difficult, ugly game. We knew that coming in, and we knew that when you leave."
On Ricketts in goal
"Donovan (Ricketts) had a good night. He had a couple shots that he did a good job not giving up a rebound. He was in a good position to do well there. It was apparent that it was going to be a low scoring game, a one-goal game. Unfortunately we weren't able to finish it off. We were fortunate, obviously, in the first half that there was a player with a handball with the goal. That's the kind of game we anticipated it was going to be here."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY FORWARD LANDON DONOVAN
On the game
"I thought we played okay. We're disappointed a little bit in ourselves because we know we can play better."
On his opportunity late in the second half
"I got a good clearance. Someone cleared the ball well and did a great job putting the ball in position and I couldn't quite pull away from the defenders."
LOS ANGELES GALAXY DEFENDER GREGG BERHALTER
On his season debut
"I glad to get back with the team. I've been out for a while. You always have to worry about your fitness in the first game and getting a result. Our team has won four games in a row, but I think holding on for a tie is a positive. We got on the road, and we got a point. It was good that we didn't give up any goals."
On the handball negating a goal for Kansas City
"It was unbelievable. It was one of the most unbelievable things I've seen in soccer. It was unfortunate for Kamara but it was a handball and credit the linesman for seeing it."
