Quotes: Portland Timbers vs. LA Galaxy
Portland Timbers Quotes
Head coach John Spencer
On the overall result:
"I think that we took on opportunities at the right moment. I asked the guys from the first minute to try and out-run them every inch of the field and I think we did that tonight. It's a very pleasing result, obviously, after the way things have been going. I think we showed a massive amount of character tonight mentally after what happened to us at the weekend, when everybody expected us to blow Toronto away for some reason. I keep saying that there are no easy games in MLS. It's a very unpredictable league, as you've seen tonight. We've played very well and beat a team that is possibly the best team in the country right now."
On missing captain and midfielder Jack Jewsbury due to a hamstring strain:
"I think that Jack's been great for us. He's been influential. I think James Marcelin came in there and did a good job for us. I don't think there was one player on the field tonight that we couldn't say put in a fantastic performance, but you can't forget what Jack Jewsbury has done for us from the start of the season to now. He was missed, but I don't doubt for a minute that if he played tonight it wouldn't be the same result."
On the team stepping up defensively and holding LA without a shot in the first half:
"I think that the guys have really taken a lot of the criticism in the last few weeks personally. I [told] them a few times that if I didn't think they had the ability, they wouldn't be here. Our concentration, at times, has let us down. Landon (Donovan) is a world class player ... I think Landon is the best player in the country by a mile. We tried to force him wide and keep him out of the middle of the field because he's so dangerous. I think we did a great job of that. I think the guys were up to really prove a lot of people wrong, that we could keep clean sheets. But now we have to enjoy it tonight and look forward to the San Jose game at the weekend with the same mentality. You can't get up for the bigger game and drop your standard for the game you think you should win."
On winning at home:
"We've beaten some quality teams here. We beat the Crew, who are sitting at the top of the East, we should've beaten New York, we beat Philadelphia and Salt Lake. We've beaten some quality teams. What we have to do now is follow this up with a real good performance this weekend."
On managing the game better with a 2-0 lead:
"I think at 2-0 I was trying to tell them to relax. Pass the ball, keep the ball, don't force it unless you have to force it. [LA has] done a little bit of traveling this week, so make them run. We knew that they were going to possibly leave three at the back and flood the midfield ... You always run the risk of them punishing you on the counter-attack, but you can't then fall into a negative mindset where you're running too much with them. If you play it forward and get your fullbacks to join in, then Landon (Donovan) and David (Beckham) have a decision to make: Do they hang high or do they track back? Tonight, they were tracking back and we pulled them back into defensive areas where they didn't really want to be."
Midfielder Sal Zizzo
On the result:
"It was a lot of fun. One of the best games you'll see from us, hopefully you'll see more. It was the most fun I've had all season."
On getting out of the gate quickly and playing a full 90 minutes:
"We needed an early goal and we got it. Mike (Chabala) hit a great strike, luckily it deflected and went into the corner. Going up 1-0, and even going up 2-0 and then 3-0, we don't think the game is over and we were able to close it out and that's what we've been working on."
On playing without Jewsbury:
"He's our captain, he's our leader out there. We've got a lot of leaders on this team who, in his absence, were able to put in a good performance."
Goalkeeper Troy Perkins
On the result:
"It was good. It certainly buries some demons tonight and got rid of that bad mojo of not finishing games out. Obviously, the third goal helps a lot, lets a lot of pressure off of us in the back, but the guys fought for 90-plus minutes tonight and put out everything they had."
On keeping LA without a shot in the first half:
"[We] just stayed compact and organized. I think we really made it tough for them to play early on. They couldn't find their rhythm and [we] forced them to play long balls. On that surface and the guys we had matched up it was to our advantage."
On closing out a game:
"I think finally someone struck us in the back of the head with a hammer and the idea finally stuck. I was a little more vocal about little things like keeping the ball and keeping guys back instead of looking forward."
Midfielder Darlington Nagbe
On managing the game better than in the past:
"In this game, when we got the two goals, we didn't give up and we went and got the third one. Once we got the third one, I feel like we defended well. Everyone was on it defensively and I feel like that was the big difference. Against Toronto, we laid back and we didn't push to get the third goal. In this game, I feel like we did."
On carrying the momentum into this weekend's game with San Jose:
"We know we're confident. We just beat one of the best teams in the league, so we know that we can do it. So, we've just got to go on the road now and do it against San Jose."
On whether or not playing a star-studded team like the Galaxy helped boost the team's excitement:
"I feel like it came from us. We just wanted to win at home since we gave away points against Toronto. I feel like the motivation just came from us wanting to get a win."
On playing without Jewsbury:
"I feel like a lot of guys stepped up vocally and a lot of guys stepped up leadership-wise. He is our captain, he is our leader on the field."
LA Galaxy Quotes
Head coach Bruce Arena
On flow of the game:
"We were dominated in the first half and it was the story of the game. I don't think we made adjustments for the size of the field and the surface and we were really outplayed in every position on the field. We were dominated, we were beat. I don't think there's anything sophisticated about the analysis of this game. We were beat all over the field."
On moving on from the loss:
"You have to throw it behind you – if you dwell on this, you're not going to win any more games. We were beat tonight and there's absolutely no excuses."
On if players were looking past Portland to FC Dallas:
"We haven't even mentioned Dallas yet, so I don't think it was that. I think we just didn't start the game off well and didn't make any kinds of adjustments to the speed of the surface and the field dimensions. They were a step quicker on every play in the opening 30 minutes of the game and they beat us soundly."
On halftime adjustments:
"Obviously if we played the first half like we played the second half we would have had a better chance in this game, but we were soundly beat."
On what the team was lacking:
"There was nothing we had. We were lacking in every area. Technically we were poor, physically we were dominated and [we were] out-competed. If there's any game where you can point to 10 field players and say you lost your matchup this is the game."
On the atmosphere at JELD-WEN Field:
"It's nice. It's a wonderful setting, obviously, with great support and tonight's a night where you give your opponent all the credit they deserve."
Forward Landon Donovan
On atmosphere at JELD-WEN Field:
"The atmosphere was excellent. We've seen it from afar on TV and even walking off the bus a lot of their crowd was already here. It was loud and I'm sure they're pretty happy tonight."
On unbeaten streak coming to an end:
"It's hard to go through a long stretch of the season unbeaten, especially in our league, where there's a salary cap and teams are playing with the same rules. It was a good run. There were probably a couple times where it could've been broken up but tonight we didn't deserve to win and we paid for it."
On difficulty of the game:
"We made it hard on ourselves. We knew they were going to come to play and this would be the biggest game they played all year and we weren't ready for it. If you're not ready to play in this league, you'll get beat."
On looking past Portland to FC Dallas:
"I think we were just not prepared and that's down to every one of us on the field. We know what our jobs are and we were prepared well by our coaches but we just didn't get it done."
Midfielder David Beckham
On atmosphere at JELD-WEN Field:
"It's a good atmosphere, obviously something you want to play in front of. You want to play in front of fans that are passionate about their team. It's a great night for them tonight. They needed a result like this and I'm pleased with John Spencer because obviously he's a man that has great experience in the game, so it was a great atmosphere but obviously tough for us to lose."
On whether this is was their worst performance of the season:
"No I think we've played worse, but other times we've just come out of it with a great play or a great goal. But I think the first half is what killed us – we were out-worked, out-played, out-hustled, and for a team as good as us, that should never happen."
On being surprised at result:
"I'm surprised at the way we played, but if you perform like that, you deserve to lose like that. We go home a little bit embarrassed because of the result, but at the end of the day, it's the first game we've lost in three months. We've been on a good run, [but it] had to end somewhere."
On if Portland looked like an expansion team:
"They looked like a good team. At the end of the day, they looked like a team that was passionate about winning. They want to win in front of their own fans and they did them proud tonight and the fans did the team proud because it's a good atmosphere to play in."
On the city:
"Everyone's been great. It seems like a nice city, a passionate city about this team and it's nice to be around, it's refreshing."
On improvement he's seen in the Timbers since the April 23 game at LA:
"They seem more hungry. I'm sure they always want to win because they're professional players and I'm sure they love playing for this team but they were hungry tonight. They didn't want to lose this game, especially in front of their own fans, and they did well, so congratulations to them and they deserved the win."
Notes:
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Prior to Wednesday night’s victory, the Timbers’ last league win at home was May 21 – a 1-0 victory over the Columbus Crew. Eric Brunner also scored in that match. Portland went 0-4-2 during its six-match stretch without a win league win at home.
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Brunner's second goal on the 2011 season gives him a career high.
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Timbers captain and midfielder Jack Jewsbury missed Wednesday’s match due to a hamstring strain. With his absence, Jewsbury’s streak of 20 consecutive starts for the club comes to an end, setting a new MLS Timbers record for consecutive starts. Perkins, wore the captain’s armband Wednesday, now holds the team’s longest active stretch of consecutive starts at 15.
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Forward Eddie Johnson was scratched from the Timbers’ Starting XI following pre-game warm ups due to injury (concussion) and was replaced in the lineup by Kenny Cooper.
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Both defender David Horst and midfielder Sal Zizzo started for the Timbers against the Galaxy, each making consecutive league starts for the first time this season.
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The combination of Diego Chara-to-Jorge Perlaza produced its second goal of the season for the Timbers. The two, who were teammates for several seasons while playing in their native Colombia, first connected for a goal against Seattle Sounders FC on July 10.
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Diego Chara received his fifth caution of the season in the match against the Galaxy and as a result, will miss the Timbers’ road match at San Jose this weekend while serving a one-game, league-imposed suspension for caution-accumulation.
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The Timbers have scored first in eight of their 12 league matches at JELD-WEN Field. When scoring first at home, the Timbers improved to 6-1-1 this season and remain unbeaten (4-0-1) when taking a lead into halftime at JELD-WEN Field.
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The Timbers split the season series with the LA Galaxy with a record of 1-1-0.
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The win over the Galaxy was the Timbers’ first league match on a Wednesday, putting the Timbers at 2-0-0 in mid-week games this season. Portland plays three other Wednesday matches during the remainder of the season.
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Wednesday’s match marked the third time in league play in which the Timbers have worn their “Rose City” kits (May 14 at Seattle; June 11 vs. Colorado). Portland is now 1-1-1 against MLS opponents in its secondary kits.
- Galaxy goalkeeper Josh Saunders played four seasons in Portland with the second-division Timbers from 2003-06. Additionally, midfielder Bryan Jordan played his rookie season for the USL Timbers in 2007 before being transferred to the Galaxy prior to the 2008 MLS season.
