Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On the team’s performance…
“Good performance. I do think it was closer game than 5-1. I said that to Adrian [Heath] after the game. Minnesota, they are going to beat some teams. I thought they showed some real bright spots in their team. To go 2-1 when you look at that margin, it could have gone the other way. That was the one thing for me at 2-0 we have to go for the jugular and make it three and put the game away. But what I will say is the way we managed that last 10 minutes our mentality to not concede another goal and to score three goals ourselves, that shows this group when they want to score, when they play aggressive, it’s scary. But I want to see it a little bit more. There were some periods where we took our foot off the pedal. We let them have the ball, but in saying that they rarely broke us down. They had a lot of possession, but they rarely penetrated. I thought overall the back four did a really nice job of managing the counter attack, which is what we knew we would be dealing with, and managing the runs behind, which is what we knew they would look to do. Overall, very good game.”
On Adi’s performance…
“He was a beast. Even in the first half, he battled, held the ball up. He didn’t get some fouls, but I thought he just wore down their center backs. You saw at the end he kept going. He drew the penalty and he scored two goals. His impact for me was tremendous. It’s always good to get your striker a couple of goals, your 10 a couple of goals. [Sebastián] Blanco an assist. [Darlington] Nagbe an assist. Vytas I think had one or two. Pretty good balance in the attack, but yes it’s good to get your scorers a couple of goals.”
On the progression of Alvas Powell…
“I think he’s had a really good preseason. He looks locked in. He’s focused. It’s always been with Alvas, mentality. When he’s locked in and switched on and has the right mentality he’s one of the better right backs in the league. He’s now been in our team four years and he’s been a starter for three and it’s time for him to be consistent. Consistent on both sides of the ball and he’s shown that and I’m real pleased with him. Really proud of his preseason and he did it for this game as well for 90 minutes and even though he didn’t get an assist probably one of his best performances. And now I want to see it again and again and again for 90 straight minutes.”
On the growing chemistry between Blanco and Diego Valeri and having played together…
“It will get better because they haven’t played together in a long time. Even though they played together it’s been a lot of years not playing together. That timing. Even just Blanco getting used to the turf. It’s different. You could see some little things where the weight of his passes were a bit off. When you go back and watch tape, you’ll see that there were a lot of really good moments out of him. A few of them didn’t quite come off, but he’s involved all the time and every time he gets the ball you think he’s about to pull something off. And he pulled the play to start the second half, which was a really big goal to make it 2-0. That’s a really big play. I think he’s going to continue to get better and better. He showed really good flashes and he will develop more chemistry in time with Valeri, [Fanendo] Adi and Nagbe.”
On finishing their chances in the game…
“It’s great. It’s good to get it from different guys. We are still going to probably get the lion’s share from Adi and Valeri, but we need more goals and assists from the wingers. We are getting those assists and we will continue to get more of that and we will get goals out of those guys as well. It was also great to score a goal on a set piece. We worked a lot on that this week. We worked a few different plays. My staff had some great ideas on that. So they deserve a lot of the credit for that first goal. We need to find goals on set pieces.”
On if he was encouraged with the response in the final 10 minutes…
“The thing that was interesting was that you saw a lot of dimensions in this game. We had less possession than we wanted to have. Now that was a credit to Minnesota. Minnesota had more possession than we wanted them to have. And I’ve talked about this a lot you can draw it up and script and play the way you want to play, but sometimes there is another team that is playing, and they were effective in keeping the ball. They didn’t penetrate a ton, but we had to adapt to them a little bit. You saw by adapting we were able to really to open them up on the counter attack in those last 10 minutes. If teams are going to keep the ball and make it into that game then we will go plan B and we will adjust and open you up on the counter.”
On the flexibility and different dimensions in the attack…
“There’s a lot of things we can do. We can play Darlington and Blanco a little wider some games if we need to. We can switch them sides if we want. We can ask them to play very narrow some games if we want. So there’s a lot of different rotations that we can do. There’s a lot of movement patterns that we can use in the attack. In game we can make adjustments based on what the opponent is taking away. So that flexibility is fun and I’m enjoying working with because it gives a lot of different options and allows me to go into halftime and say, ‘here’s what’s happening. Here’s what we are going to do to change it.’ It makes us less predictable as well. We have real good balance on both sides. The way that we always want to attack is we want to try to open you up right, left and central. So if you take one channel away we are going to try and open you up in another way. That’s the whole philosophy behind the way we attack.”
On if he thinks the team is ahead of the schedule or if there is room for improvement…
“I look at this game and I see of lot of things we can do better. I’m always going to nitpick and look for more, want more. The better you are the better potential you have a team. The more exciting it is because there are always little things to nitpick and improve in. The reason I think we are playing as well as we are playing is you can’t forget we have eight guys in the lineup that have played a lot of games for this club, and a lot of those games together. And a good majority of those guys won a championship. You can see that chemistry and cohesiveness in the core eight guys that have been together some time. And then you sprinkle in three really good players. We’ve gotten better in our 11 than we were last year and we are healthy and we have the top guys in that we want in. And even when you saw the bench [Dairon] Asprilla came in did a nice job, played a role defensively. Was bought in. [Darren] Mattocks brings a little bit different dimension coming into the game. Moving Nagbe central was a little bit different. There’s a lot of things we can do. But I’m disappointed we didn’t go 3-0 and we made the game closer than it should have been. So that’s what I’m going to be nitpicking this week.”
Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi
On the confidence of the team…
“We’re happy with the victory. We were talking about bringing the form from the preseason into the regular season. It was an amazing first game.”
On the talent of the team…
“The chemistry is there. This is a team that has played together for a while. Having [Sebastián] Blanco and [David] Guzmán in has brought a lot of different dimensions to the team. Guzmán is a guy that holds the ball for us, and Blanco is a guy that plays both left and right. They’re amazing additions to the team.”
On the importance of scoring two goals in the opening game of the season…
“It means a lot. I’m pretty excited.”
On Minnesota United FC’s first game in MLS…
“As far as I’m concerned, they’re a good team. They played really well. They had a back four that was very compact.”
Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell
On scoring the first goal of the season off the corner kick...
“The boys left it a little bit later than I would have liked, but obviously went up a level when they got the goal. It was a little bit annoying not to get the clean sheet, personally, for the back four, but it’s good to see the boys score five goals in the end.”
On whether or not anything surprised him by the way Minnesota United FC played tonight…
“It didn’t surprise. I thought they were a very good team. I think they’re going to cause a lot of people a lot of problems this year. They kept the ball very well, and moved the ball very well. The more that they play together and are around each other, they’re going to get better and better. It was our night, it was a good 5-1 victory and we’ll move on to the next one.”
On the impact of starting the season with a 5-1 victory…
“It’s good. Obviously it brings us confidence. We had a lot of confidence coming out of preseason. Getting five goals tonight helps the center forwards and Diego [Valeri] as well. Hopefully they can keep doing that and we’ll keep a couple out for the back four.”
Portland Timbers defender Lawrence Olum
On the chemistry of the team after the 5-1 win…
“It’s something we’ve been working on for a while now. For us to come out and execute and make use of our chances in the game just shows the amount of hard work that everyone has been doing over the course of the preseason. It was just time to pay off in the game.”
On the two goals apiece scored by Fanendo Adi and Diego Valeri…
“It’s not something that’s new to them. They’ve been doing it for a while now. Just to get them going in the beginning of the season, for us as a team and for them in building up confidence gives us a good chance throughout the season.”
On the set-piece play that he scored on…
“It’s something we were practicing. We have designated spots that we try to hit and it just so happened the ball comes in and I got it.”
On the feeling of playing in front of the Timbers Army…
“It’s good to be in front of them cheering for you instead of the other way. It’s been a few years since I played in front of them, and now it’s good to play for them.”
Minnesota United FC Quotes
Minnesota United FC head coach Adrian Heath
On what he saw after they went down 2-0 and then Ramirez scored…
“It’s been a strange evening with how the game ended, because I thought we started a little apprehensive, but we grew into the game in the first half. Second half I thought we started to impose ourselves a little bit. Someone just said we had the most possession, which surprised me, but I thought we were in the game. We played against a really good team, but in the 82nd minute it’s still 2-1 and we’re looking the more likely at that stage – so to finish the game five is a little boorish reflection of how the evening went. We have conceded probably three poor goals, and at this level and against this quality of player you’re going to get punished.”
On the connection between the midfield and the forwards...
“I thought we started a little apprehensive and the crispness of our play was a little slow in the first half. I thought we started a little bit better in the second half and we started to get a grip on the game. We started to see [Mohammed] Saeid and [Collen] Warner on the ball a bit more and obviously, we changed the shape and got the goal. Then within three or four minutes we’ve given the penalty away, I don’t’ know if it was a penalty, and I thought the first goal they scored was a foul on [Francisco] Calvo.”
On the Portland Timbers frontline…
“I read an article this week, and someone was asking ‘Is Portland’s front six the best in the league?’ If they’re not the best, they’re one of the best. They’ve got a little bit of everything. You’ve got the talent and speed of [Darlington] Nagbe, you’ve got the creativity of [Sebastian] Blanco and [Diego] Valeri, the physical presence of [Fanendo] Adi, so they’ve got really, really good players. It’s taken them seven or eight years to put this group of people together. We knew this year was going to be tough for us, but hey, I’m not going to be too down, just like I wouldn’t be too high if we’d have gotten a result. This season is a work in progress, but we’ll go back to work and see what we can do.”
On taking in the magnitude of the first game…
“It’s a great venue to come, first and foremost. It’s not the result we wanted, but certain aspects of our game that quite pleased me. We’ve got things to build on.
Minnesota United FC forward Christian Ramirez
General thoughts on the match…
“It’s a long process of the season. I just wanted to get us some life, down 2-0. I thought that gave us a little bit, then the penalty killed us. Growing pains, but [the goal] felt nice.”
On what clicked with the team when he entered the game…
“I think it gave Johan [Venegas] a little bit more freedom to go and find the ball knowing I was pinning the two center backs. He’s such a great playmaker and [Kevin] Molino was finding himself in good spaces knowing I’m pinning the two guys back.”
On if it’s something you dream of, scoring on your debut
“Yeah, I going to talk to [Minnesota staff] to see if I can get a ball signed by everyone. I’ve been dreaming about this since I was little and for it to happen that quickly, in the first game, means a lot.”
Minnesota United FC defender Jermaine Taylor
On what it was like for Minnesota United at Providence Park for their first MLS match…
“We knew what was expected of us coming here. I think we fought well. We gave ourselves a chance, but at the end of the day we have to look back at the score and the result and we shot ourselves in the leg. We still have to take the points from this. I think we played well, so now it’s all about getting home and getting ready for the next one.”
On what he told his teammates ahead of coming to Portland…
“We know they’re very tactical and they’re good on and off the football. I thought overall we did well. We were aware of our game-plan coming into the game. [Portland] have theirs. But at the same time, when look at the overall performance, I think we performed well. It’s just some goals that were lacking for us. [Portland] took care of their business, took care of their goals.”
On if there were positives to take from the game moving forward for MUFC…
“Yeah, yeah. When we look at the overall performance for the 90 minutes, I think we had a lot of possession of the football and that’s one thing you want to do in a soccer game. You want to get control of the game versus not getting scored on, so at the same time you have to look at the negative and positive side of it. I said before, goals win matches and [Portland] took care of their goals. That’s just the end of the business. We have find chances and be able to win games in terms of scoring goals and defend against goals against us. Yes, it’s a work in progress, a long season, so it’s about getting back to the drawing board and starting prep for the next game.”
Notes:
- Friday’s game marked the 108th consecutive sellout for the Timbers at Providence Park.
- The Timbers are the fourth team in MLS history to score five goals in their season opener, joining the Houston Dynamo (2006), the Tampa Bay Mutiny (2000) and D.C. United (1999).
- For the first time in 103 home MLS regular-season matches, the Timbers scored five goals. Portland's four second-half goals were also the most the club has ever scored in the second half of a home MLS match. Prior to MLS, the last time the Timbers scored five goals at Providence Park was June 19, 2009, against the Minnesota Thunder.
- The five goals scored are the most goals scored by the Timbers in a season opener since 1982, a 5-0 victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC.
- Portland is undefeated in its last 14 home openers, dating back to the USL era, with a record of 9-0-5.
- Lawrence Olum scored his first MLS goal for the Portland Timbers and the first goal of the 2017 MLS regular season.
- Olum scored seven goals in his first stint with the Timbers in the USL era from 2007-2008. Olum's goal was his first with the club since Aug. 22, 2008.
- Diego Valeri scored for the second consecutive home opener for the Timbers. Valeri is the first Timbers player to score in consecutive home or season openers in MLS play.
- For the fifth time in his Portland career, Valeri scored two goals in a single match.
- Fanendo Adi notched a brace for the 12th time in his Portland Timbers career, which is the most in the club's MLS history.
- Since making his debut on May 17, 2014, Adi's 12 multi-goal games are the second-most in MLS play in that timespan behind only New York Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips (14).
- Adi now has the second-most goals across all eras in Timbers history with 43, ranking just two goals behind John Bain (45). Valeri's 39 goals move him into fourth place on the team's all-time scoring list.
- Dating back to last season, Adi has scored in six consecutive home matches for the Timbers. Portland has won all six of those matches.
- Friday’s match was the first time the Timbers have had multiple players score two goals in a single MLS match.
- Friday’s match was the 44th time a team from Minnesota has faced off against the Portland Timbers since 1976.
- Sebastián Blanco and David Guzmán made their regular-season debuts for the Timbers, with Blanco recording his first MLS assist.
