Portland Timbers quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On the result…
“To come on the road and play the best team in the league last year, and obviously the last unbeaten team in the league this year, I thought for us to do what we did, score two goals. I thought we deserved three. The first goal was a wonderful strike and you have to tip your hat to Maxi (Urruti) on that one, and then the second one Alvas [Powell] slips on. But, really pleased overall and we had a few guys out as well and I thought our performance from start to finish was really good.”
On scoring two goals against FC Dallas…
“We’ve had a pretty fearsome attack this year, and we showed that again today especially with one of our top players, in Diego Valeri, being out. I thought our team, as a whole, played really well. It was a difficult game against a very good opponent. It’s tough to get points here. Not many teams come here and get points and for us to get a point was very good. I thought with a little bit more luck maybe we get three.”
On the adjustments coming into the game…
“I thought tactically and mentally we were very good. This was a tough game. The conditions weren’t ideal. The wind. The rain. It was never going to be a rhythm type of game, the way they play on the break and very direct. But, I thought we managed the game extremely well. Going into the game, if you would’ve said we got a point we would’ve been pleased with it, so that’s the way I look at it.”
On the team stepping up without Diego Valeri…
“That’s kind of been the theme all year. We’ve had a lot of injuries and guys have been out and the next guy steps in and gets the job done and we saw that again tonight. I thought Blanco was really good in that role. [Darren] Mattocks, when he came into the game, set up the second goal."
On Sebastián Blanco’s goal…
“It’s good for him. He hasn’t scored yet so for him to get his first in the Timbers uniform that never hurts, and his confidence will continue to grow. I thought he had a very good game.”
On the injury status of Darlington Nagbe…
“We don’t know yet. He had a little bit of a hamstring that got tight, so that’s why we took him off. We’ll evaluate that and give an update next week.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Sebastián Blanco
On the Game overall…
“Overall happy because we were well-grounded. Obviously, we played against a difficult rival that will certainly continue to fight until the end to be first in the conference. So we’re happy overall, we just have to work on the errors we made tonight.”
On scoring his first goal for Portland…
“I’m very happy for that. It was a goal that I was able to celebrate for my family. It also added to the many goals my team has so far, and that’s a very important factor.”
On the team’s performance…
“We were close to winning it tonight, we made [some] errors that we have to work on, and luckily we still have a long season ahead. But we had a good match, we dominated for the majority of the match and that shows the potential that we have. So it’s important for us that we continue down that path.”
Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell
On getting a point at Toyota Stadium…
“It was disappointing not to get the full [three points] but, obviously, it was good to get a point here. I’m sure we would have taken that before the game. With the conditions it made it a little bit difficult.”
On guys stepping up in Diego Valeri’s absence…
“Seba [Sebastián Blanco] played very well in the hole and, D [Darlington Nagbe] and [Dairon] Asprilla played very well. Obviously, Diego [Valeri] is a very good player and we’re going to miss him every time he’s out, but the boys who stepped in did very well.”
Notes
- The Timbers became the first team in 11 matches to score multiple goals in a game against FC Dallas.
- The Timbers have scored the most goals in MLS this season with 20.
- With the draw, Portland finishes the month of April at the top of the Western Conference standings with 17 points.
- Ten different Timbers players have scored in 2017, three more than any other MLS club.
- Forward Fanendo Adi scored his sixth goal of the season, which ranks tied as the second-most goals in MLS this season.
- Sebastián Blanco recorded his first MLS goal.
- David Guzmán notched his third assist of the season. The Costa Rican midfielider joins Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe with three or more assists. Portland is one of two clubs (New York City FC) with three players with three or more assists this season.
- Alvas Powell and Adi both notched their second assists of the season.
- Diego Chara registered a season-high for tackles with six. Chara is the fourth Timbers player with six tackles this season, joining Marco Farfan, Alvas Powell, and Amobi Okugo.
