Quotes: Portland Timbers at Philadelphia Union
Portland Timbers Quotes
Head Coach John Spencer
On the result:
“First 15 to 20 minutes we’re a little under the crush they started pretty well coming from a 97 minute game against Revolution; fantastic performance to have to come back and pushed us back, started well. I thought after the first 15 minutes we started to get a little belief in ourselves and had a couple of chances in the half to get in the lead. At half, pretty happy to be at 0-0 and second half at kickoff I think we started to dominate the game. We had a couple breakaways. Overall, I think it’s a very, very difficult place to play, a really, really tough team to play against; well organized, a lot of quality players.”
Defender David Horst
On from being from nearby Pine Grove, Pa.:
“No, I didn’t get a chance to make it home. The flooding hit my town pretty bad, so I didn’t get a chance to make it back there but I have a lot of family who came to the game and a lot of friends who made it down here. I think it was the first time they ever got to see me play in person, which was really exciting. For a lot of them it was the first Major League Soccer game they’ve ever seen, so I’m glad we did well tonight. I root for the Eagles, Phillies, Flyers everything. I was hoping to come here back when they had the expansion draft, but it didn’t work out, but it is working out for them (The Union) right now.”
On the road result:
”A point on the road is always a good thing. You always want three points, but it doesn’t always happen that way. Philly is a really tough place to play. Not many teams have won here this year, but I felt like we were ready for the fight and we did a great job here tonight.”
On the current playoff race:
“You know it’s like this every year, it comes down to about seven or eight teams, it comes down to that last game. Every game at the end of the year is so vital. So you always have to play well every game because each could be your last.”
Returning from a 17-day break:
“No, once you get back into it, you’re back into it. The first five minutes you get that first wind, that first sprint in, you feel like you’re ready to play again. Credit to the coaches for keeping us sharp over the past two weeks and I think we came out today ready to play. It has been a struggle on the road for us this year and the guys really came out ready to play tonight.”
Forward Kenny Cooper
On how the game went:
“I think we did really well to create some good chances. Some of the ones that fell to me I wish I could have done better with them, especially the one at the end. Diego really played a super ball through to me and I wish I could have done better with that.”
On building on a productive August:
“It was a good result for us. Philly is a good team and to get a point in their house is a big point for us. Obviously points means so much right now, we’re hungry to get into the playoffs. We’re going back home now so it’s definitely a big point for us.”
On picking again after a long spell off:
“No, I think the boys have been great professionals. The last two weeks they’ve taken really good care of themselves. We knew we were going to have to take good care of ourselves during that two-week break. We made sure we trained well when we were out on the field and we made sure we recovered well when we weren’t (on the field). We knew that without having the games we would be coming here fresh and I thought it was a fantastic effort from the players tonight and a great clean sheet for the boys.”
On the traveling Portland support:
"Obviously we have great support. We had a number of fans who travelled down, we had a great travelling party coming down and we appreciate that so much. It’s amazing because back home they don’t just fill a stadium. They bring such an incredible energy and we’re really fortunate that they travel too. It’s really nice to have their support on the road and you always want to make sure you send them home happy. And credit to Philly because they have fantastic fans as well. It’s always fun to come into a full stadium.”
On the playoff race and the pressure of each game:
“This draw puts us in a great position. Going home now obviously the rest of the games are very important, and I think we all know that. We’re all incredibly hungry to get into the playoffs, we know our fans deserve it and we definitely want to do that for them.”
Philadelphia Union Quotes
Head Coach Peter Nowak
On the match:
“I said from the beginning of the season you try too hard sometimes you make errors. Overall, the game we deserved to win, we were better than the other team. From the score line of course, we weren’t happy, we weren’t there, but we deserved the three points. I applaud their effort after the tough game on Wednesday. You see some of them start to get tired that’s why we made the substitutions. I think it was a tough stretch for us you know, three games in one week. We have to move forward.”
On the team’s mentality:
“I think if we scored in the first half, if we scored with the situation with Seba (Le Toux). I think it’s a mental part, we don’t score the first one and we go here we go again. And I think we need to overcome those thoughts because we need to keep going keep creating chances. It’s important to score that first goal then it will be easier to play for all of us.”
On rookie Zac MacMath:
“I think he was very good, stable, he gave a lot of confidence to the back line. That whole back line played a very good, exceptional game. Very good and stable performance even with the four last game on Wednesday. I think he did very well especially in the second half. The first half he didn’t have too much to prove himself from.”
Defender Sheanon Williams
On the 0-0 score line:
“We had a few chances in the first half and a few in the second and you know it happens. We didn’t score today but we’ll score another day.”
On winless stretch:
“It’s been awhile and I think we took a good step today. I thought our defense played well and I thought Zac MacMath did what we needed him (to do). I thought we played well today and we got some chances. Unfortunately we didn’t finish. But the goals will come. We’re just waiting. Anytime you get 0-0, take a chance to win. We have to throw a lot back and keep that going for the rest of the season. The goals will definitely come.”
On playoffs:
“We’re just taking it one game at a time. It’s a first race and we just got focus on what you can control and we can control our destiny. That’s what we’re going to focus on. We’re not going to focus on who’s beating who and who’s playing who. We’re just going to focus on us for the final remainder of games.”
Notes:
-
The scoreless draw was the first shutout the Timbers recorded this season in which they didn’t win the match. Entering Saturday’s contest, Portland had earned the win in each of their first six shutouts and were the only club in MLS without a 0-0 result in 2011.
-
As a result of a first-half collision with the Union’s Danny Mwanga, Portland defender Eric Brunner received four stitches above his right eye following the match.
-
The draw broke a string of back-to-back road losses for the Timbers.
-
Since Aug. 3, the Timbers are 3-2-2 in their last seven games.
-
On the road this season, the Timbers improve to 1-8-4. Portland has earned points in three of its last six away fixtures.
-
The Timbers welcomed back to four players away on international duty. Defender Lovel Palmer (Jamaica) started at right back, while Rodney Wallace (Costa Rica), James Marcelin (Haiti) and Steve Purdy (El Salvador) were all on the bench for the match against the Union.
-
The last time the Timbers were held scoreless was July 23 in a 1-0 loss at the Columbus Crew; a stretch of seven games.
-
Portland’s David Horst is a native of Pine Grove, Pa., which is located roughly 95 miles Northwest of Philadelphia. Horst had a contingent of family, friends and former teammates in attendance at PPL Park on Saturday.
-
As part of a MLS-wide tribute, the Timbers wore commemorative black armbands featuring the ‘9/11 Memorial’ logo in honor of the 10th anniversary of the tragic events of September 11, 2001. More information on the 9/11 Memorial can be found at www.911memorial.org.
-
With the shutout, Perkins moves within one of matching a career-high for clean sheets in a single season. His career-high is eight, which he achieved in back-to-back seasons with D.C. United in 2006-07.
-
The Timbers finished the regular-season series against the Union with an unbeaten mark of 1-0-1.
-
Portland wore its secondary “Rose City” red kits for just the second time on the road in the match against the Union. The Timbers are 1-1-2 in regular-season matches when wearing their secondary strips, including an unbeaten 0-0-2 record on the road.
-
With their “Rose City” red jerseys, captain Jack Jewsbury helped debut the club’s new, fan-created captain’s armband created by fan Brent Diskin.
- Filling in on the Timbers’ TV broadcast for play-by-play man John Strong was broadcaster Glen Davis. Strong missed the match due to illness.
