Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On how the team performed:
“I thought the players and the team as a whole today were outstanding, from start to finish. Some games you get three points and maybe you dodged a few bullets and maybe it was a bit fortunate. I think the last time we took three points off RSL last time we were here I wouldn’t say we stole one but they definitely had the better of it. Today I thought we had the better game. In the first half we came out aggressive and didn’t just come out to sit back and let them come at us. We came out to attack. Obviously our lineup and our game plan reflected that. We pressed up the pitch. We had a lot of the ball and I think we were rewarded in the second half with the goal.”
On the tactical plan working tonight:
“Yeah sometimes you get it right. I think we got it right with the system that we played and with our plan. But you only get it right if the players execute and perform. The players deserve all the credit. But I thought playing Nagbe in middle and second half moving Melano to the left and having Rodney lock up Beltran and having Melano go at Allen a bit unlocked the game.”
On the defensive effort from Kwarasey and the back line:
“Yeah, he made two saves and they were big. You need your goalkeeper to do that. We didn’t give up too many chances. We are very good defensively. We’ve shown that all season long. In terms of chance creations and shots we’ve been up there with the top teams in the league but we’ve had some games where we haven’t found goals. But we found a goal today and we grinded out the win. I thought we managed the last 25-30 minutes of the game very well, which is always important even if you are up a man. We knew RSL would push and throw numbers late and I thought the guys managed the game very well to get the win."
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri
On the overall feeling of the club right now:
“The feeling is very nice. We worked a lot and we got the three points. That is a very good result for us. It is now in our hands to make the playoffs. We are fighting for that place and the feeling is great.”
On overall performance against RSL:
“We controlled the ball against a very good team who has very good possession players and we had a lot of the ball so you have to be happy about that performance.”
Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi
On controlling the game as an attacking unit:
“From the first we did very well. Everyone was playing in shape. We were just trying to come out with the three points today. We just believed in ourselves that we would have to play very well and defend very well, as well as attack. We had some chances but our finishing was kind of poor but lucky for us we got a PK. That’s the thing about the game of soccer is that the three points is all that matters.”
On the team’s defensive effort:
“Today was just excellent from the back four to the front four. You could see that everyone did very well today and we just want to enjoy this moment.”
Real Salt Lake Quotes
Real Salt Lake head coach Jeff Cassar
On how the team played tonight:
“No, I’m not frustrated with the way we played. It was two teams battling. Their goal came off a long clearance but I thought we moved the ball extremely well. We missed the final ball again, but I’m not upset with the way we played, absolutely not.”
On Portland’s goal:
“[We] fell asleep on one long clearance. After looking at it, it should’ve been dealt with better but the foul was outside the box. Everyone’s been looking at it. Everyone sees the exact same thing. I think the referees know that it happened outside the box. After that our players played with urgency and passion. And we didn’t get the result. It feels really tough, it’s at an awful time in the season, but I’m definitely proud of my players. It was a red card. It was a long clearance, we didn’t deal with it well, and we were forced to that. If you look at the replay it’s just a gruesome play. It’s something that we talked about. They are very direct, win the second balls, everything. You take a little play off and you have to react.”
Real Salt Lake defender Tony Beltran
On the game:
“A lot of emotions. Dejected, frustrated. We knew what we had to do. We failed. I’m proud of the boys’ fight. Difficult circumstances playing a man down. I felt in the second half we were really pushing, you know really putting them under pressure, but again I keep coming back to opportunity, and we didn’t capitalize.”
On why the team could not capitalize:
“Maybe not one clear cut reason that I could put my finger on. It’s never one thing in soccer. It’s always a number of things, so we’ll try to figure that out and move on to Saturday.”
Real Salt Lake midfielder Javier Morales
On not getting the win:
“I think that we needed to play the game that we thought before the game where we attempt to control the ball and try to score goals and win the game, but I think we couldn’t do it today and it wasn’t a good game for us, but I just want to say that I am proud of my team. Even down a man, we fight until the end.”
On not getting things going for RSL:
“Yeah I think we couldn’t figure it out, because Valeri was there and winning second balls. And I think that we tried to attack and we didn’t defend when we went with the ball, so then they win second balls and they control the game pretty much and second half we went out with another mentality, then penalty and red card happened. It wasn’t good for us.”
Notes:
- Wednesday’s match marked head coach Caleb Porter’s 100th career regular-season game. Porter's record of 39-25-36 ties him with Dominic Kinnear for fewest losses in an MLS head coach’s first 100 career games.
- The victory marked Portland's 13th on the road since the beginning of the 2014 season, which is a league best over the last two seasons.
- Midfielder Darlington Nagbe made his 158th career appearance for the Timbers on Wednesday, moving two games shy of tying NASL midfielder Willie Anderson (160) for first place on the team’s all-time leaderboard for games played across all eras.
- Portland is 5-0-2 in matches immediately following a home loss since 2013, with each of the seven matches coming on the road.
- The Timbers are 13-3-9 overall immediately following a loss since 2013, including a mark of 6-1-4 this season.
- Portland has held Real Salt Lake without a goal in four consecutive regular-season matches, dating back to the end of the 2014 season.
- The Timbers earned their third consecutive regular-season win at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday night. Since 2014, Real Salt Lake has lost just four regular-season home games, three of which have come against the Timbers.
- Portland has held Real Salt Lake without a goal in regular-season play for 427 consecutive minutes, dating back to June 7, 2014.
- With the clean sheet, the Timbers registered their league-leading 13th shutout of the season, while Goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey registered his league-leading 13th shutout, moving him into sole possession of second place on the team’s single-season shutouts list. Kwarasey is one shutout shy of tying the club’s single-season record (14) across all eras, jointly held by Donovan Ricketts (2013) and USL goalkeeper Josh Wicks (2007).
- Portland has won consecutive road games, including a 2-1 win against Columbus Crew SC on Sept. 26.
- The Timbers improved their record at Rio Tinto Stadium to 3-4-1 overall since 2011.
- Forward Fanendo Adi registered his 13th goal of the season on Wednesday, tying USL Timbers Dan Antoniuk (2005) and Mark Baena (2001) and NASL Timbers player Ron Futcher (1982) for seventh-place on the team’s single-season goal-scoring list across all eras.
- Adi’s 22 career MLS goals is one shy of tying midfielder Diego Valeri (23) for the Timbers MLS-club career record.
- Defender Alvas Powell registered his 50th career MLS appearance for the Timbers since joining the Timbers as a 19-year-old in 2013.
- Since 2013, the Timbers have posted a record of 11-3-7 overall during the months of September and October, including a mark of 5-1-3 on the road.
- Portland moved three points clear of the San Jose Earthquakes (44pts) and into a tie on points with Seattle Sounders FC for fifth place in the Western Conference standings with Wednesday’s win. The Timbers are just three points behind Vancouver Whitecaps FC (50) in third place.
- Portland’s 35 clean sheets since the start of the 2013 season rank as the most in MLS over the last three seasons.
