Quotes: Portland Timbers at Seattle Sounders FC
Portland Timbers Quotes
Timbers general manager/interim head coach Gavin Wilkinson
On the result…
“We were playing pretty well then went through a 10-minute spell there where we scored an own-goal and never recovered. It was a shame because there was some decent football being played up until that point and we dug a big, big hole for ourselves. The back line lost their shape and we were lucky for it to not be 3-0 down in the first half. I think Donovan [Ricketts] pulled off a phenomenal save, but once you’re 2-0 down you’ve got a big hill to climb.”
On a communication breakdown on the back line…
“I think maybe there was a little bit of unfamiliarity. Those two [David Horst and Futty Danso] haven’t played together an awful lot. You make a change in the middle of the back obviously there’s a few concerns and chemistry is one of them.”
On how differently Seattle played compared to in Portland…
“They had a lot more mobility in the midfield. They had a lot more freedom and kept the ball moving. They caused problems. (That’s what happens) when you’ve got mature players that understand the game and understand what is expected, and we had problems solving it.”
On if the crowd was a factor at all…
“I think maybe you look at that and maybe throw that into the equation, but we were managing the game quite well. If you start to look at the chances created, they put their chances away, and we didn’t. We gave them the first goal and the second goal was terrible defending. There’s no excuse for that at this level. Eddie Johnson is a player you have to be aware of at all times, especially when the ball goes wide. You look at where most of his goals have come from and they’re from crosses into the box so it’s no different.”
On Seattle pressing up the field…
“We have to move the ball a little quicker. We sat a little bit and our movement off the ball was a little bit slow. In a big environment you want players to play well and sometimes when things aren’t going well, one or two players start hiding a little bit. That’s not a go at the players, it’s just the environment. The score line – we gave them the first goal, poor defending on the second one. We had some decent chances and didn’t put the chances away. Their keeper pulled a few good saves and that kept them in the game.”
On whether his team was ready for this moment…
“Obviously not. It’s frustrating. Coming into the game, we would’ve said yes. Preparation went well and the players were looking forward to it. Today there was a great spirit at the team breakfast and pre-match meal. Coming into it, it was a strange environment, and it was 10 minutes that created the result. You take 10 minutes out of the first half where we were absolutely horrendous defensively and didn’t manage the game well at all and were scrambling. We then started to create some decent movement and decent chances, but I think we handed it to them.”
On the Cascadia Cup…
“It’s very, very important the way our season has gone. Our fans deserve a lot, lot more to be honest. That’s what I’m most disappointed about, to be honest. We have such tremendous support and such great fans – we saw a lot of them here tonight – but they deserve a little bit more. I’m disappointed.”
Timbers defender David Horst
On the team’s performance…
“We didn’t need motivation; we didn’t need inspiration. We didn’t need anything coming into this game, and I don’t think we got the job done tonight as a whole team all over the field. They beat us to a lot of balls; they beat us to balls in our own box and scored. We’re not going to win games when we play like that.”
On second goal…
“On the second goal they had the ball on their left side and they were coming down. Futty [Danso] stepped into the midfield, and a midfielder made a run in behind him so I covered him and I had to go with that guy. That left Eddie [Johnson] open in the middle; they crossed it into him and there was no cover. Eddie had a great finish.
Not winning Cascadia Cup after a second opportunity…
“It’s extremely disappointing. Hopefully, the third time’s a charm two weeks in Vancouver. It’s a good thing we have another shot at it. We can’t get down on ourselves that we just lost to Seattle. But the good thing in the Cascadia Cup is that we have another shot at it. We’re not going to let the same thing happen again in Vancouver. We’re going to go up there; we’re going to be ready this time and it’s not going to happen again.”
Timbers midfielder Jack Jewsbury
On the result…
“It’s very disappointing; I think you can see that on everyone’s faces right now. In the locker room we’re disappointed. It’s a matter of ten or fifteen minutes where we have a lapse and then they made us pay for our mistakes.
On readiness for stage…
“Yeah, absolutely. I think when you’re on the road especially — we’ve talked about this all year — you have to minimize the mistakes you make defensively and when you get chances on the offensive side, make the most of them. I thought we had enough chances on the offensive side to get ourselves back in the game. We just weren’t able to put that first one away so it’s definitely disappointing but the reality of it is that we’ve got another one in a couple weeks against Vancouver and that’s the last bite of the apple there to get the Cascadia Cup and hopefully we can bring it home after that one.
Thoughts on the match…
“I think at times in the first half we settled the ball down especially towards the end of the first half. We knew it was going to be hectic like I said all week. The first fifteen minutes there’s going to be a lot of energy. Coming out of the locker room, there was that. They pinched a lot of guys inside so their midfield was basically a diamond and Montero drops in there as well. Obviously, they’re a good team; a team that’s going to be in the playoffs and take a shot at the MLS Cup. I’m disappointed today that we couldn’t get the better of them.
Seattle Sounders FC Quotes
Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid
On the game…
“We’re happy with the goals, they were helpful on a couple of them. [Donovan] Ricketts’ save on the one that Fredy tried to beat him with far post could have been a goal of the year type of thing. That was tremendous—the whole atmosphere and the feeling. When I walked on the field, as I said to Schmetz, ‘This is what heaven must be like.’ In my imagination of heaven, this is it—packed house, beat Portland by three, fans going crazy, it can’t get better than that.”
On moving into first in the Cascadia Cup standings…
“We put ourselves in the best position possible. We’re in a position now where they have to go to Vancouver and win. Anything short of a victory gives the Cascadia Cup back to us, and in a year where we had four of the six games on the road and they had four of the six games at home, I think that’s a big tribute to our team.”
On his team’s performance…
“I think the guys responded well. I think we challenged a little bit that group of Eddie, Montero, Tiffert, and Rosales because they’re the creative forces on the field for us, but there’s also got to be enough defending that takes place within that group to make it work. I thought they all took turns defending and helping out at the right times. I think each of them covered a good amount of ground, a good amount of acreage out there. When we play like that, it’s great because you have the ability to create chances, you have the ability to go forward. Obviously, we’re trying to pinch the midfield a little bit more so that means the outside backs are able to get forward a more. Adam Johansson was very much involved in goal number one and I thought Leo Gonzalez…he’s got a slight hamstring we think, up until then I thought Leo was very, very good and he got forward probably as much as he has here, which I know he enjoys doing but he’s maybe not as fit doing it as he used to be. I think it’s our understanding of playing together —that’s why we left the main group out there as long as we could, because we wanted them to get more minutes as a group like that.”
On staying with the same lineup…
“It’s important to keep evolving and to keep evolving as a group. I think we played this lineup, as well, against Chivas down there. The more time they get together the better it is. Certainly with Leo dropping out we can bring in a Burch. There’s Steve Zakuani that can still step in and play. Mario Martinez, when he’s still around, can step in and play. David Estrada is coming back, Sammy Ochoa has played well. We still have options that we can bring, but it’s good right now to get ourselves into a rhythm and for that group to get some understanding because they really haven’t had a lot of time together.”
Sounders FC goalkeeper Michael Gspurning
On how big the crowd was at the beginning of the game...
"The atmosphere was great. Nobody wants to go home today, and that was great for us. The Cascadia Cup is still a goal for us so this win was good. It is a great day for Seattle, but we have to stay grounded and look toward the future."
On what you were seeing from Portland, and what they were doing to pressure you...
"I think it was a really good game for both teams. Portland had some really good chances to score, and I think that made it a really good game for all 66,000 fans. We didn't want to disappoint our fans, so shutting them out and our strikers scoring was great."
On the play of Seattle's central defenders today...
"It was amazing what the guys in front of me did today. Even with the head injuries, both central defenders did a great job. Adam [Johansson] was fantastic with his overlapping runs. It was a great
team statement today."
Sounders FC midfielder Mauro Rosales
On the atmosphere...
"It was amazing, and we were getting 100 percent from everybody. It was the last game of the year playing against [Portland], and we were able to win 3-0. That is something we can enjoy until next year. We really wanted to do a great job today, and we did it. I am really happy with us."
On the team coming together at the right time of the season...
"Today wasn't the game that we had to play pretty, but it was the game that our character and our desire would win the game. Today we gave everything we had, and we were able to score three goals. The people are happy, and that is the best feeling that a player can have."
On the play of the offense...
"I think the work effort was there, the running was there, and offensively we created chances. We could have been more patient and created more, but I think everyone was working very hard to score in front of these people. We are going to have to keep working hard. We don't know what is going to happen in the future, but we will just have to keep working hard."
Notes:
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Sounders FC (2-1-3, 9pts) moved ahead of the Timbers (2-1-2, 8pts) in the race for the Cascadia Cup and own a one-point lead in the standings. Portland has one Cascadia Cup match remaining at Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Sunday, Oct. 21, and can win the cup with a victory over Vancouver.
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The Timbers were dealt their first loss in Cascadia Cup play this season, and have a 2-1-2 record in 2012 against their Northwest rivals.
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Sunday marked the fifth meeting between Portland and Seattle in the all-time MLS series between the two clubs; the two sides split the 2012 season series 1-1-1. Overall, the Timbers are 1-2-2 against Sounders FC as an MLS side.
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Sunday also marked the 79th meeting all-time between the two clubs, dating back to 1975 and the original North American Soccer League.
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The attendance for Sunday’s Cascadia Cup clash was 66,452, marking the largest crowd in MLS this season and the second largest standalone (not part of an international doubleheader) crowd in league history.
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The Timbers’ 17 shots and six shots on goal against Seattle marked a season-high for both statistical categories on the road this season. Portland had seven corner kicks on Sunday, also a season high for the club on the road.
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For a second straight road match, the Timbers had the better of the possession against their opponent. Portland had 52.4 percent of the possession against Seattle.
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Portland committed its second own goal of the season in the 25th minute; the other was at FC Dallas on July 21.
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Sounders FC strikers Eddie Johnson and Fredy Montero have combined to score four of the club’s five goals against the Timbers this season.
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Midfielder Franck Songo’o’s six shots and three shots on goal Sunday were the most attempted by an MLS Timbers player in a single match against Seattle.
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Sounders FC scored twice in a three minute span, in the 25th and 28th minutes, in the first half. Portland has allowed a league-high 13 goals during the 16-30 minute interval of matches this season.
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Midfielder Darlington Nagbe made his 50th career start for the Timbers on Sunday against Sounders FC. He became the fourth Timbers MLS player to make 50 career starts for the club.
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Midfielder Diego Chara and goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts made their first starts since sustaining injuries in the Timbers’ last match against Sounders FC on Sept. 15.
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Forward Mike Fucito came on as halftime sub, playing against Sounders FC, the club he played for from 2009-11, for the first time. His 45 minutes of action was his longest run out since July 21.
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Defender Futty Danso made his first start for the Timbers since July 21 at FC Dallas; it was his ninth start of the season.
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Defenders Lovel Palmer and Rodney Wallace, who both featured against Seattle, will depart Monday for international duty with Jamaica and Costa Rica, respectively, for upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
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Wallace started a fifth straight match Sunday, matching his longest consecutive start streak this season. In his last five matches, Wallace has started twice at left back and three times in a midfield role.
- The Timbers wore their Rose City red kits Sunday against Sounders FC.
