Quotes: Portland Timbers vs. Vancouver Whitecaps FC
Portland Timbers Quotes
Head coach John Spencer
General thoughts on the match:
"I thought we never got what we deserved tonight. I felt we were by far the better team for most of the game, for long periods of the game. I thought our football at times was some of the best football we've played the whole year."
On the changes to the Timbers’ lineup:
"I thought it worked. I've been saying time and time again, we're lacking a bit of creativity, we're lacking a final pass or cross into the box, and I think tonight we showed that with our feet. I thought we possessed the ball extremely well, at times. We're creating chances at will, almost. For us, we just looked at it after the Chicago game, and we looked at the result and we thought, 'You know what, great three points. Wasn't a great performance.' Never left us fulfilled as a coaching staff, because that's not the way we want to win games. We want to try to win with flare and creativity. I just think tonight we had a little bit of sparkle about us. I thought we were the best team on the field by far."
Thought's on Kris Boyd tonight:
"You've got to get the forward chances. You get him a chance in the box, and the ball is in, and the ball is in the back of the net. It's plain and simple. We have one of the best finishers in the British game on our club, and if we don't get him chances, he's not going to score goals, it's plain and simple. I think tonight, we got him a couple of looks and he finishes one off. That's what he does. He's a penalty box player."
On physical nature of the match:
"I think that's just part of the modern game. If you don't do it, teams are going to run over the top of you and you're going to lose games. For me, I like to concentrate on the way we played tonight with the ball at our feet and I thought we were excellent."
Forward Kris Boyd
On his goal:
"It's good to get on the score sheet. Obviously, you look to score as much as much as you can. I've said on numerous occasions, the team is the most important. We get the lead, then we should win the game tonight."
On team’s play:
"I think we were a lot more offensive tonight. We created numerous chances, we got at them, we pressed them higher up the field. We caused them problems in their half. We still looked steady at the back, and I think it was a positive performance tonight."
On positives to take from the result:
"When you see the way we played for the majority of the game, I think there are a lot of positives to take, but once again, we finished the game without three points."
On what worked against Vancouver:
"I thought we got in their faces. I thought we closed them down, we denied them space, we got in areas where we could hurt them. And we probably should have been ahead in the first half."
Defender David Horst
On Vancouver's goal:
"They won the first ball, and we were slow to react on the second one, and he punished us for it. That's the way soccer goes. It's a cruel game. You can play extremely well for 87 minutes, and they punish you in the last five. That's what happened tonight."
On weather delay:
"It kind of gets you out of rhythm a bit. We can't use that as an excuse. Doesn't matter rain delay, hot, we know we got to go out there and play our game. We got to go score goals, defend, keep zeros, and right now, we're not doing that."
Vancouver Whitecaps FC Quotes
Head coach Martin Rennie
Thoughts after going down a goal:
“I think in a number of occasions we fought to the end of games. I don’t think there was ever a moment of doubt by that. We talked about the fact that Portland loses a lot of goals in the final 50 minutes of games. Because of that, I think it stuck in our minds. We just kept going and I don’t think there’s a lot of games you can question the quality of play by these guys. Today they showed it again, they showed the desire right to the end, especially with the amount of Whitecaps fans we had here really shows they believe in us.”
On the team playing its fifth game in two weeks:
“My guys dug deep and I don’t think they’ve been given the credit they deserve for doing that, because over the last spell, that’s a lot of games in this time. My guys really showed a lot of character and coming back from a huge disappointment on Wednesday showed just how the guys could bounce back the way they. Tonight showed that I really believe they deserved the point, if not a little more.”
Thoughts on John Thorrington’s play:
“I think his performance made him the man of the match tonight. He was one of the guys I noticed was most disappointed with what happened Wednesday. He was one of the guys that got everyone together, and I think his performance really gave us that spark. When he plays at that kind of level you saw tonight, it shows he is going to be that great of a player for us.”
Thoughts on the atmosphere especially in a rivalry like the Cascadia Cup:
“I thought it was a great atmosphere. I think that it was an excellent game tonight, and anyone who saw it, saw a great game from the first minute to the last. I think anybody who is into soccer will know that was a very quality game and the players gave the fans everything they had.”
Midfielder John Thorrington
Thoughts on the character of the team to bounce back:
“It’s one point, which is ironic because of the point we got in Seattle. I thought we can be proud of the effort and I’m proud of the result. I think it was a fair reflection of the game. Coming off the disappointment of Wednesday, we showed the right response that we needed, and hopefully we will have our moment to move forward. We’ve had a lot of tired legs and a lot of minutes. To go down one zero in a place like this and to come back really speaks to the character of the guys in the locker room.”
Thoughts on tonight’s performance going into the break:
“It’s a benefit to have this many games. We were able to move on quickly from the disappointment on Wednesday, and have a chance to put things back in order. I thought we did that tonight, and of course you always want to win but I thought a tie was fair. Now we have some time to reflect, and the last thing you want to do is go into the break on a low. With the type of play we had tonight it will help us keep our heads up high. We did learn a lot from Wednesday and hopefully now we will show this character every game from now on.”
What does the rivalry mean to you:
“This is a tough place to play, and they are a handful with their dangerous attackers. We needed to stand up for the battle and I think we did that tonight.”
Did the rainstorm change any mindset:
“It’s not ideal, but I think it’s the same for both teams.”
Forward Darren Mattocks
Thoughts on scoring your first MLS goal:
“It was a fantastic finish. I have to give credit to my coach for letting me get into the game, and most importantly I could not of done it without the help of my teammates.”
Referee Quotes (Questions submitted by pool reporter Geoffrey C. Arnold, The Oregonian)
Referee Jorge Gonzalez
In the second half, Portland midfielder Kalif Alhassan was taken down in the box. What did you see? Why the non-call? Did you rely on your assistant?
Referee did not have an unobstructed view of the incident. Referee did not see an unfair challenge. Yes.
What did you ask the assistant and what was his response?
Referee consulted assistant referee – assistant referee indicated no foul.
Notes:
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Saturday was the Timbers’ first match in the 2012 edition of the Cascadia Cup, a fan-based derby contested by the three Northwest MLS clubs – Portland, Vancouver and Seattle Sounders FC. Vancouver leads the 2012 Cascadia Cup standings with two points on draws with Seattle and Portland. The Timbers are a two-time winner of the Cascadia Cup (2009, 2010).
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The Timbers are unbeaten in their last four matches, posting a 1-0-3 record in that span and recording two shutouts.
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The match against Vancouver ended a run of four matches in 12 days, including three league matches and a friendly against Spanish side Valencia CF. The next MLS action for the Timbers is Sunday, June 17, at the LA Galaxy.
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With the draw, the Timbers finished the month of May with a 1-1-2. As an MLS side, the Timbers are 3-2-3 in May matches.
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The Timbers are 2-0-1 in the all-time MLS series against Whitecaps FC, including a 1-0-1 mark at JELD-WEN Field.
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The goal scored by forward Darren Mattocks was Vancouver’s first scored against the Timbers in the MLS series between the two clubs.
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Portland and Vancouver have been rivals since 1975 in the original North American Soccer League (NASL). The Timbers own an 18-10-9 record all-time against the Whitecaps in matches contested in Portland. Vancouver leads the overall series with a combined 26-33-12 record versus Portland.
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The skies opened up late in the first half, causing a 39-minute break in action between the end of the first half and the start of the second due to inclement weather and lightning.
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Portland’s backline held Vancouver to just a single shot in the first half, an effort from inside the box by Camilo that missed high in the 45th minute; the Timbers out-shot Whitecaps FC 8-1 in the first half.
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With his tally against Vancouver, Forward Kris Boyd has factored in each of the Timbers’ six goals scored since April 7.
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When scoring the opening goal of a game at home this season, the Timbers are 2-1-1. Overall, the Timbers are 13-3-5 as an MLS club when scoring the first goal of a match.
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Midfielder Kalif Alhassan saw his first league action since April 14 against the LA Galaxy, earning the start against Vancouver. Additionally, midfielder Eric Alexander made his first start for the Timbers since April 7 against Chivas USA on Saturday.
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After making his season debut Wednesday against Valencia CF, defender David Horst made his first MLS appearance of 2012 against Vancouver, coming on as a halftime sub for Eric Brunner.
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Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins started his 140th career MLS match on Saturday, and made his 41st consecutive start for the Timbers.
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On Sunday, Timbers midfielder Lovel Palmer and defender/midfielder Rodney Wallace will depart for international duty with Jamaica and Costa Rica, respectively.
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League Pool Goalkeeper Brian Rowe, who has been training regularly with the Timbers, was called up by the Philadelphia Union and was on the bench for the Union’s match against Toronto FC on Saturday.
- Vancouver backup goalkeeper Brad Knighton played for the second-division Timbers during the 2008 season while on loan from the New England Revolution.
