Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers Head Coach Caleb Porter
On the game:
Breaking it all down, the first 15 minutes I thought we had three clear looks on goal. Obviously we hit the crossbar, Valeri got in on a breakaway and (Clarence) Goodson blocked (Fanendo) Adi on a point-blank shot. We looked to be the team knocking on the door. We came out well and had chances and then Wondo does what he does. It was really the first look they got. It’s something we talked about all week and something we trained for all week, but you have to credit him for finding a spot like he does. So that’s their first chance and now we’re down 1-0. Goals change games. I thought our response was good after that. We kept getting chances and I thought we would level it and then they scored a flukey goal. You have to also credit Quincy (Amarikwa) because he took it well. It was a goal out of nothing. It wasn’t an organization thing, but now we’re down 2-0. In the second half we have to try and dig ourselves out of a hole. I was pleased our guys kept fighting and pulled a goal back to make it interesting. In the end it was not enough. It was kind of a sloppy game and in saying that we still had the better chances on the day. The game comes down to what you do in the boxes. They finished their chances and we didn’t. Credit to them. We’ll look at the tape and get back to work to respond with a result vs RSL.
On the impact of the field:
I refuse to make excuses about a field because both teams are playing on it. Again, we had twice as many shots as they did on it. We did enough to get a result in that game but it’s difficult when you give up the first and the second goal. Now they can sit back and absorb. I don’t think we dealt with the field as well as they did but in saying that we still had enough chances and shots to score and make the game different.
On losing Liam Ridgewell Friday:
That’s tough. Those things happen. You never like it. We prepared all week to deal with the way San Jose was going to play. A lot of that was they are very effective getting wide and getting crosses in. We trained all week with Ridgy there and Nat (Borchers). Our last prep day at the very end of training he goes down. We shifted to (Jermaine) Taylor at CB and Zarek (Valentin) in but we don’t get a ton of time to work on that. Like I told the guys, it’s a reminder you have to be ready and stay ready because these things happen. That's why we have a team and depth to cope with injuries.
Portland Forward Fanendo Adi
On generating 16 shots in the game:
We created a lot of chances. If we finished our chances we would have come out victorious. We have to go back and work on our finishing and putting ourselves in the right position.
On the absence of Liam Ridgewell due to injury:
All the guys were ready, even the guys on the bench. It’s sad that we’ll miss him for some time now, but it’s football. It’s a game and things happen.
Portland Forward Jack McInerney
On his goal of the season:
A couple of times Nat (Borchers) was in the box. I know he was just going to battle and head the ball across so I got to the side of him, he flicked one on to me and I finished.
Notes:
- It was just Portland’s second loss in 14 regular-season meetings against the Earthquakes; the Timbers are now 5-2-7 against San Jose since the 2011 season.
- Jack McInerney is the sixth player to score in his debut with the Timbers in MLS play.
- The goal was the 39th of his McInerney’s career, which is the most for any MLS player born in 1992 or later.
- Nat Borchers and Jermaine Taylor were each credited with an assist on McInerney’s goal. It was the first assist in a Timbers uniform for both Borchers and Taylor.
- Wondolowski’s goal in the 30th minute ended Portland’s shutout streak against the Earthquakes at 332 minutes, dating back to Oct. 4, 2014.
- With his 148th appearance for Portland, midfielder Diego Chara moved into fourth place for games played across all eras (since 1975) for the Timbers.
