Quotes: Portland Timbers vs. Chivas USA
Portland Timbers Quotes
Timbers general manager/interim head coach Gavin Wilkinson
On scoring chances in the first half:
“I think we had a lot of chances in the second half, as well. We could have scored three, I think, in the first half. We had a couple of good chances. I think [Kris] Boyd had a few. It is what it is. It can be a cruel, cruel sport at times. I think some of the football we played was very productive, and ultimately you’ve got to finish your chances.”
On players pressing to score:
“I think right from the start, we were pressing. We played the three up top, and it was an honest three up top. Part of that was to stop them from playing out, and I think that the numerous chances that we did create in the first half were from us winning the ball in their half and looking to break quickly. I think we were pressing the entire game. The urgency was definitely there, and they feel the responsibility just like I do, just like the other coaches do. Something has to change. You can’t fault the effort, you can’t fault the mentality … It’s about putting your chances away, I think.”
On team goals moving forward:
“I think you’ve always got to reassess. It was something that we were using to try and inspire the group to look at, saying, ‘Here’s where we would like to be.’ Is it out of reach? No. Would we need to go on a hell of a run? Yes. But when Merritt [Paulson] put me into this position, he said, ‘Start to try to find out more about the group.’ I think we have made some strides in certain areas. You could see the system that we were trying to play tonight. You could see what we were trying to do, how we were trying to create things. And again, I just think we missed that final product, but we will continue to reassess and find different ways to motivate the players.”
Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins
On reassessing the team’s goals:
“We have thirteen, fourteen games left, and anything is possible at that point. There’s a lot of points still, and it just depends. We got to take it week by week. We keep going down this road, than yeah, but I don’t think we’re going to [make the playoffs].”
On positivity of team going forward:
“I think it’s the overall attitude of the guys. The guys are upbeat, they’re giving everything they have. At this point, many teams would just hold it and say forget about it, let’s just see what we got. But the guys are fighting every day, and we’re constantly working to get better and better.
Timbers midfielder Franck Songo’o
Difference between result last week and today:
“Against Dallas, we all think they deserved to win. They were better than us. But today, I think we were better than Chivas USA. We created more chances, we were really dangerous … It hurts. It hurts in front of our people even more.”
On how team looked tonight:
“We would pressure them, we would try to … I think we should have been winning by 3-0 by the first half. But today, it just didn’t want to get in. It’s one of those days, and we got to put our heads up, and come into tomorrow and start preparing for the next game.”
Chivas USA Quotes
Chivas USA head coach Robin Fraser
Thoughts on the game:
“I don’t think we played as well as we would liked to have, but every point counts and I’m really proud of the effort. I think we fought to the bitter end and as I said the soccer wasn’t great, but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter, it’s three points. A well earned three points by a hard working group.”
On the game plan:
“I think you always have to or want to play a certain style and play in a certain manner. We had moments where we did OK, but for the most part we didn’t connect as well as we needed to, we didn’t keep the ball in certain areas of the field where we needed to, and at the end it just became a bit of a street fight for us. To the player’s credit, they really hung in there and fought.”
On goalkeeper Dan Kennedy:
“Dan’s been very good all year. Obviously he made the All-Star Team because of it. He’s playing with a lot of confidence, and I’ve been saying this all year and hopefully can stop saying this at some point. As you’re building your team you need to make sure you stay in games, and as you’re building your style of play, you need to make sure you stay in games, and certainly Dan’s done a great job of allowing us to do that.”
Chivas USA defender Danny Califf
On scoring the goal:
“It’s fantastic. The couple times I’ve been here before have not turned out very well at all for me, so it was great to come out tonight and get on the score sheet. It’s been a while, the first game [I have scored in] since last year, so it feels great to come in, in a really difficult place to play and be able to get three points.”
On getting the win despite Portland’s statistical edge:
“You see it in soccer sometimes where teams can throw everything and the kitchen sink and have lots of opportunities and lots of shots on the night and nothing will fall, and the other team can have one or two chances and put them away and walk away with the victory. That’s the cruel best sometimes.”
On having played the Timbers twice in quick succession:
“It helped to have played them recently. I think the personnel they put out tonight didn’t change much from when we played [on July 18], maybe just one or two changes. So that was good in knowing how to match up with them and things like that, but coming in here and playing them is completely different than at your home place. It’s an intimidating atmosphere, it’s a great place to play, there’s so much energy, so for us it’s an incredible result.”
Notes:
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The Timbers and Chivas played Saturday for the second time in 11 days. The two sides recently met July 18 at The Home Depot Center.
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The two clubs finished a three-match, regular-season series Saturday, with Chivas USA sweeping the series with a record of 3-0-0. In the all-time MLS series against Portland, Chivas USA is 4-1-0.
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For Portland, Troy Perkins, Diego Chara and Jack Jewsbury are the only players to have played in all five games of all-time MLS series against Chivas USA.
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The Timbers’ 19 shots against Chivas USA matched a 2012 season-high, first recorded earlier this month in a 2-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on July 3 at JELD-WEN Field.
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Portland’s 11 corner kicks against Chivas USA also matched a season-high, which was also reached May 20, in a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire at JELD-WEN Field.
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Chivas USA’s goal by Danny Califf was just the fourth goal allowed by the Timbers off a set piece this season.
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Califf was the fourth different goal-scorer for Chivas USA against the Timbers in 2012.
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Center back David Horst made the 20th start of his MLS career Saturday against Chivas USA, 18 of which have come for the Timbers.
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Forward Kris Boyd attempted six shots against Chivas USA, matching a season-high he set previously in a draw against the Columbus Crew on May 5 at JELD-WEN Field. Boyd’s shots total also matched a Timbers-high against Chivas USA, which was first set by Diego Chara in a 1-0 win on Aug. 24, 2011, at JELD-WEN Field.
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Of Boyd’s six shots, three were on goal, matching a season-high for shots on goal in a single game. The feat has been achieved five times in 2012; three times by Boyd.
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The Timbers concluded their busiest month of the season Saturday against Chivas USA. Portland had seven matches in July – six league and one friendly.
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Goalkeeper Troy Perkins made his 50th consecutive start for the Timbers on Saturday; his run dates back to April 23, 2011. Perkins is also approaching the 150 MLS games played milestone; Saturday marked his 149th MLS appearance.
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Homegrown Player Brent Richards made his first MLS start Saturday against Chivas USA; it was his second straight start across all competitions. He played 74 minutes and registered four shots against Chivas USA.
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Richards became the second former member of the Timbers’ development team, the Portland Timbers U-23s, to make an MLS start for the first team, joining goalkeeper Jake Gleeson, who made his first MLS start for Portland on April 14, 2011. Richards was a member of the Timbers U-23s from 2009-11, while Gleeson played for the team in 2010.
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Forward Danny Mwanga made his 70th MLS appearance on Saturday against Chivas USA, entering as a second-half sub.
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New assistant coach Sean McAuley experienced his first Timbers MLS match from the sidelines Saturday. He arrived in Portland on Wednesday.
- Away with New Zealand at the London 2012 Olympics, goalkeeper Jake Gleeson and the Oly Whites square off in Game 2 of group play Sunday against Egypt at Old Trafford in Manchester, England.
