Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On if there’s a concern that the team hasn’t won a road game in 2016…
“No, because we’ve been one of the best road teams, historically speaking, and we’ve been very close. So, if it was a pattern of us not winning on the road when we weren’t playing well or close to winning then I would be worried. But, we’ve scored the first goal in the last five road games and been in a position to get three points in all of them. The four games prior to this, we were up a goal in the second half, but we just haven’t found that breakthrough. We've also taken 3 draws out of last 5 road games so we're still getting results. But, I’m confident that the win will come.”
On how the team managed Chicago's game plan...
“Good at times, not so good at times. They came out with kind of a four-four-two diamond and clearly they wanted (David) Accam and Kennedy (Igoboananike) to run the channels. I thought for the most part we read things well and managed the situations where Accam and Kennedy found space to run. We had planned all week to exploit them on the flanks, whether they played a diamond or 4-5-1. Chicago has been very organized defensively, clearly they prioritize that side of the ball in game planning and looking to stop the opponent first and looking for counters, trying to generate whatever they can generate on the attack. I thought this game was no different, with a game plan to try and stop us, and for the most part they did. We could’ve done a better job of switching play a little quicker and creating on the flanks.”
On the team dominating possession…
“I think that’s why we’ll take this point. We have a lot of guys out, and it’s on the road. Anytime you go on the road, you’ll take a point. Also, I’m not sure we deserved three points. If you look at that second half, I thought Chicago was the better team. They put us under pressure and when things aren’t going your way, that’s the mark of a good team, you grind and you put the point in the bag and you get out of there, and that’s what we did. Jake Gleeson came up big a couple times, and we really weren’t clicking in the attack second half. Part of that is, Darlington Nagbe is a very big player for us, in how we look to play and (Fanendo) Adi was only available for about 30 minutes. We knew that going into the game, so that’s certainly a factor. But, the guys who played did a good job overall and we’ll take the point. It keeps us moving and sets up a big game for us Wednesday when we play San Jose and we need to take care of business.”
On Jake Gleeson’s performances in relief for Adam Kwarasey…
“We've been managing that all year. But, I’m real proud of the depth, guys have stepped in and we’re not happy with where we are in the table but it could be a lot worse. If Jake Gleeson wasn’t as good as he is coming in, if Zarek Valentin wasn’t as good as he is to replace Alvas (Powell). If Jack McInerney didn’t score in a couple games to replace Adi. The list goes on. So, we’ve had guys that have stepped up for us, and it’s not always been pretty. That second half isn’t what we want, but that’s a part of any season. When you have injuries you grind and when guys are called upon, they have to step up, and we have to use our depth. Our depth has been tested. Our character has been tested, and we’ll be a stronger team from it.”
Portland Timbers Goalkeeper Jake Gleeson
On what he takes away from this match…
“Obviously, first and foremost, it’s just good to get a point away. Going on the road, especially on a long trip like this, it’s never easy. To come away with a point, that’s the main thing. Obviously we want three but we will take a point and we move forward to Wednesday.”
On the Fire’s aggressive attack…
“I think Nat [Borchers] and Liam [Ridgewell] did a really good job in the middle there, kind of really shutting down most of the attack that we were under a little bit. They did a really good job of cutting through and fighting through and made my job a little easier. I think the credit goes to them.”
On staying sharp…
“It’s your job. You have to keep concentrating and make sure the boys are doing their job and you’re doing your job. At the end of the day, it’s ninety minutes and you better be concentrating from the first until the 90th. You can lose it in a matter of seconds. It’s just part of the job.”
On hosting San Jose before the international break…
“We’re hoping to get three points. That’s it. We’re going to win. We have to pour it on and the last time we played San Jose, we played them at home and put on a good result against them. We just have to keep doing what we are doing.”
Portland Timbers Midfielder Diego Valeri
On his goal salvaging a point away today…
“I think it was an important goal. Because we get the point [away from home]. I think we couldn’t manage the defense. We score the first goal and it was very important for us. We couldn’t manage from the kickoff, they score and tied the game. It was bad. I think we have to manage that situation better. And then I think it was a very aggressive game. They were intense in the second half, the first twenty minutes and we couldn’t manage the ball well. I think they had chances to score a second goal, they couldn’t, and we managed that situation. We got a point. It’s a good point to take back to home. We want three points next game. It will be an important point today.”
On facing San Jose next…
“It’s at home, it’s a Western Conference team, they are three points above us. It will be an important game. This next game will be tough but if we can get three points, it will be important for us.”
On dominating possession but not creating shots on goal…
“I think we couldn’t create from the flanks. We had the possession but we got the spaces on the flanks but we couldn’t get a good ball or [build] a good play from there, make something more creative. I think we had one situation in the second half. In the first half, we had enough but we couldn’t match the defense. We had the possession which is good but we have to be more aggressive and more creative at times when we get good position to create a chance.”
On rectifying that issue against San Jose…
“I think it will be a different game, a different system. I think we know them, we know that they are a very aggressive team too. We will try to get those three points at home. It’s important for us.”
Chicago Fire Quotes
Chicago Fire head coach Veljko Paunovic
On the team’s performance…
“I think it was one of the best performances we’ve had this season. Of course, we are getting better and the only thing is that I think you get what you deserve. I think we can say we had a great gamebut you have to win the game so we have to learn to do that. But I can only say that I’m proud of our guys. I think they had a great performance, great game until the end. We tried hard, we were close so all we can say now is that we have to keep this spirit and continue to improve and believe.”
On the connection between David Accam and Kennedy Igobonanike…
“Of course it’s part of the plan. What we are looking for is to have associations in the team. They are two of them. They work very good together. We can see that in the first game when David was fit; in the second game also when we had a healthy line of guys on the field, but since then David was injured. He is important, not only because of his individual quality but how he improves our team and how our team improves better on the field and the offense has a little more potential. On that side we have to improve more association between our guys where we can connect better, where we can create and be more dangerous and I believe that’s the game process: working hard and doing.”
On the changes in the midfield…
“Well we started with three midfielders who are very good and three holding midfielders to close the paths through, especially to the first half when McInenery with Melano and Asprilla, all those guys were very narrow so we wanted to close that space in front of our defense and I think we did that great. So in the second half, as they got tired, we had to do some changes and it also worked well so we’re very happy. I think we have reasons to think we have a very good team, very good guys who work hard. They believe, they understand the game plan. I think it went very well it was just that we need to score that second goal which is just very important for us but, again, we are building the momentum, we are very close to win this game today and we had a good performance.”
Chicago Fire midfielder Matt Polster
On the team's progression…
"I think we're finally putting full 90s together as a team. During the beginning of the season, we were getting used to each other, putting in a good 65 to 75 minutes in a game. As we're growing as a team now, I think we're putting a full 90 together, we're playing hard on both sides of the ball."
On what the team did well in a draw…
"The whole game, I thought we defended really well as a team. I think we worked both sides of the ball, we won the ball in good areas, and we found outlets to David Accam and Kennedy Igboananike, and then from there, we tried to counter. I think we have the pace, we have the players, to do so. We did it very well. Easily could have had three points tonight, so that's just unfortunate."
Chicago Fire forward David Accam
On the recent improvement in form…
"I think we continued from where we left last week. I think today was a much better performance than what we did last week. Obviously, we played against tough opposition today, and for me, I'm really impressed with the way we are going, especially the last three games. In the last two games, we started to play the way we want to play, and for me, it's been much better. We conceded one goal in the last two games, and we created more than five clean chances, so for me, it's getting better.""
On Kennedy Igboananike and the goal…
"Obviously, we play up front together, so I know when he goes wide, I need to be in the box. I know he has a good left foot to put the ball in the box, so I was in the right position when the ball came."
On playing different formations…
"I think we have a dynamic squad, and the coaches try to use formation depending on the game. You can see this team has used a lot of different formations, and it depends on the opponent we play, but at the moment, we felt more comfortable playing 4-3-3."
Notes:
- The Timbers are one of four MLS teams to have multiple players with five or more goals this season, (Fanendo Adi – 8, Diego Valeri – 5).
- Portland has scored in all 14 of its league games so far this season, marking the longest streak in club history across all eras (since 1975) and the longest active streak among MLS teams. Dating back to the 2015 season, the Timbers have scored in 17 consecutive regular-season games.
- Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson recorded five saves, marking the third time Gleeson has recorded five or more saves in a single match in his career (May 7, 2016 and April 3, 2011).
- Midfielder Lucas Melano is the only Timbers player to appear in each of the team's 14 matches this season. Dating back to last season, including the 2015 MLS Cup playoffs, Melano has played in 33 consecutive matches since making his Portland debut on July 25, 2015.
