Quotes & Notes - Timbers: 1, Sounders: 1, September 15, 2012

Portland Timbers Quotes

Timbers general manager/interim head coach Gavin Wilkinson

General thoughts on the match:
“It took us a while to find the game, in my opinion, and once we did, we started stringing passes together. I thought our response after we conceded that goal was first class. I think the next passage of play, we kept the ball moving. We went from side to side, and we started to develop a little bit of rhythm. I think that was an important response by the players, and I’m pleased with that. You always worry how a goal is going to affect the team, and our team responded positively. After that, when we were down to 10 men, it was tough to manage, but I thought we were unlucky not to come away with a little bit more. I think there was one that came across their goal line from the inside of the post. That could’ve changed things a little bit more. But happy with the response.”

On how Donovan Ricketts leaving the match affected the team: 
“I think mentally, again, you go back to we let the ball bounce, we didn’t charge the first one, we got beat on the second one. And Joe [Bendik], it was his introduction into the game … We probably should’ve played with a little bit more of a stronger mentality in that situation. Charge the ball a little bit higher up the field and get him [Bendik] a touch on the ball. The first touch on the ball for him was picking it up out of the back of the net. I thought his mentality, his character showed, and his response. I think he made a fantastic save there, and it was positive from everybody. I think it was an entertaining game.”

On having to go on the road to have a chance to win Cascadia Cup: 
“We’ll accept coming away with a tie. I think coming back from a goal down. If you’re a goal up, and you give that away, it’s three points lost. I think we salvaged a point today. As I said, unlucky not to take all three. I think most of the second half, performance from us was very, very positive. At least we clawed ourselves back into the game. We gave the fans something to be excited about, and kept the Cascadia Cup very, very much alive, and benefitting us, I hope. We’ll go on the road, we have great fan support on the road, and we still get to bring it back to Portland, hopefully, if and when.”

Timbers midfielder Jack Jewsbury

On getting a draw: 
“I think it’s good to see us come back, especially in a huge game like that. Obviously, a bit disappointed, because we wanted to raise the trophy in front of the home fans. But now, we got a little bit more work to do.”

On how the Rodney Wallace goal energized the team: 
“Yeah, it was huge … You want to continue to press. I thought we did that. We had three or four corners there toward the end of the game. We were able to finish that one. There was another one where Bright [Dike] hits the post. I thought we continued to press. Obviously, the last five minutes, when Diego [Chara] goes down, the game changes a little bit, and just trying to preserve the tie. But overall, I thought everybody fought hard. The energy was there, like you’d expect in a game like this.”

On what it meant to come back from a 1-0 deficit: 
“I think we have a belief in one another that maybe we didn’t have earlier in the season, that we’re not going to put our heads down when we go down a goal, and give up a second and third. We have the belief in one another, and this is a confident group. I think we’re playing well, and maybe on another day, we get out of here with three points.”

Timbers defender Rodney Wallace

How it felt getting the goal: 
“Just excited. Just excited that I got this opportunity, and ended on a good note. I think the team played well today, and we just got to build from this performance. Unfortunate that we didn’t get the win, but we just got to keep fighting and keep grinding it out.”

On getting his first goal of the year in this game: 
“Playing in front of these fans, and against a rival like that, it’s a great feeling.”

On the feeling after coming away with the draw after being down:
“It’s always good to get the point. If you’re a goal down, you always want to get a goal. You always want to win the game, but unlucky it just didn’t go our way with the shot at the end that [Bright] Dike hit the post. But overall, it was a good performance.”


Seattle Sounders FC Quotes

Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid

Thoughts on the match:
“For them it was a very emotional game. You saw by all their players that went out that were injured, cramping up and little niggling muscle injuries toward the end that they spent everything that they had. So from that standpoint I’m pleased that we were able to keep them at bay for the majority of the game. Once we got the lead, I thought we played a little better in the second half, finding Andy Rose coming out of the back instead of Ozzie [Alonso] because they were really cracking down on Ozzie, making it difficult for us to play through him. So, Andy got more involved, we got forward, got a good goal to take the lead, but then we just gave away too many corner kicks and gave them a little bit of dominance in the game. When you give away that many corners eventually you get chances, and we were lucky on the one where they hit the post as well. We had a good chance at the end where we could almost steal it. So, I think at the end of the day 1-1 is a fair result. For our team it’s good that we still were able to secure a point in the standpoint of the Cascadia Cup. That’s still all open for us right now, so that’s good.”

On Fredy Montero’s goal:
“I thought it was a great goal. At first when he hit it, I thought it had gone over the goal. The individual ability to turn and hit that and volley it takes a lot of skill.”

Thoughts on a first-time MLS viewer seeing Saturday’s game:
“It’s intense, it’s competitive, the atmosphere was tremendous. The atmosphere is always great here or at our place, the effort of the two teams was fantastic, you can see it was a very competitive game. It’s a man’s game. People have to get out there and battle. It’s got physical elements to it, it’s got its skillful element when you look at the goal Montero scores and when you look at some of the individual play of other players. So, I think it had everything. We always complain about not enough goals, but it’s really about goal scoring chances. The drama was there with them hitting the post and at the end with us having a very good look from Ozzie. It had all the elements of what a good sporting event should be.”

Thoughts on having the lead on the road in a second consecutive match and settling for a draw:
“Each game, like I said, takes on its own emphasis. Dallas game they were a very hungry team. They were coming off a game that was difficult, so for us to hang on, and today we played a team for them, this was their MLS Cup final. They played and expended the energy that a team would expend in the MLS Cup final. You don’t want to expend that energy every time you play, but it’s just a little bit different when you say ‘it’s now or never,’ and they had that now-or-never attitude. So, based on that, it was ok, but I thought once we had the lead we need to do a better job managing the game. We need to do a better job of holding onto the ball. We got complicated sometimes and all of a sudden we’re giving up another corner and another corner when really we could have cleared the ball up the field. Those are little things that you gotta do well in those moments of the game.”

Sounders FC forward Eddie Johnson

On the physicality of the game:
“It was a physical game, but those are derby games. We just wanted to come in here and match their intensity and start out on the right foot. Last game we didn’t have a good start to the game and we went down two goals, which made it difficult to get back into the game. At times, I thought we matched their intensity, we knew they were going to have their home crowd behind them, and I thought 1-1 was a fair result.”

On the collision with Portland goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts:
“In the attacking third we got a good understanding when guys get the ball out wide and for a forward it’s first nature - one guy goes to the near post and one guy goes to the far. I just tried to make a hard run in the box and I was already celebrating. Andy [Rose] crossed the perfect ball, but [Ricketts] came late and I tried to avoid the contact. By that time it was too late, my momentum was going toward the goal and his ribs hit my bicep. I was just trying to be dangerous in the box, that’s been my bread and butter this season, and the guys made it difficult today, but I thought it was a good game.”

On the final match yet to play against the Timbers this season:
“Well the good thing is we get to go back to our home stadium and play in front of our crowd. We know it’s going to be an electric atmosphere, but these games are tough. The Cascadia Cup is something that they’re playing for and something they’re looking forward to achieving because it’s a goal that’s still a realistic goal for them. We know we’re trying to get as many points as we can to secure second place in the Western Conference, so it’s gonna be a big game, but we need to get the three points at home.”

Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero

Thoughts on the result:
“Well we know we can be better, but at the same time we know to tie in this place is difficult. We have one point, which is going to be good for us at the end of the season.”

Thoughts on his goal:
“It came from the goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, and the ball bounced. I tried to hold the defender, when I saw I was in the box, I just tried to hit the ball. It was good.”

On his goal scoring record in Cascadia Cup games:
“It’s always good to score goals in those kind of derbies. Those goals, the people coming from Seattle they enjoy more than me, and I’m happy for them and happy for the team. Let’s keep winning games, and hopefully the next game at home we have the opportunity to win again.”

Notes:

• The Timbers remain on top of the Cascadia Cups standings with the draw against Sounders FC. Portland is unbeaten against Seattle and Vancouver this season with a 2-0-2 (8pts) record. Sounders FC sits in second with a 1-1-2 (5pts) record.
  
• The Cascadia Cup is an annual, supporters-based derby between the three Northwest MLS clubs – Portland, Seattle and Vancouver. The Timbers won the Cascadia Cup in 2009 and 2010.
  
• Saturday’s match marked the 78th meeting all-time between the Timbers and Sounders FC, a rivalry dating back to 1975 in the original North American Soccer League.
  
• As MLS foes, the Timbers and Sounders FC have split the all-time MLS series at 1-1-2, each scoring six goals through the first four matches of the series.
  
• In the four MLS meetings between Portland and Seattle, the Timbers have yet to concede a first-half goal to Sounders FC.
  
• The Timbers are 20-17-3 all-time against Sounders FC in Portland.
  
• The Portland-Seattle match was broadcast across the nation on NBC. It was the first regular-season MLS match broadcast on national network television since 2007.
  
• Portland defender Rodney Wallace scored his sixth MLS career goal and first of the 2012 campaign on Saturday against Seattle. It was his first goal since April 17, 2011, in a 3-2 win over FC Dallas at JELD-WEN Field.
  
• The goal scored by Wallace was the fifth Timbers goal this season off a corner kick play.
  
• Goalkeeper Joe Bendik made his second substitute appearance of the season for the Timbers on Saturday, entering in the 57th minute for an injured Donovan Ricketts. He made two saves in the second half and earned his first MLS point in the 1-1 draw. He also came off the bench in a 2-0 loss to the Montreal Impact on April 28.
  
• The Timbers are unbeaten in their last four home matches, posting a 2-0-2 record in that span.
  
• The four shots by midfielder Jack Jewsbury was the most taken by a Timbers MLS player in a single game against Seattle.
  
• Jewsbury earned his fourth assist of the season on Wallace’s equalizer, which ranks second on the team. It was also his second career assist against Seattle, which is the most by a Timbers MLS player.
  
• Sounders FC forward Fredy Montero scored his team-best third MLS goal against Portland on Saturday. All three of his goals against the Timbers have come at JELD-WEN Field.
  
• The Timbers had nine corner kick opportunities against Seattle, the most by the club since July 28, when they had a season-high 11 corner kicks.
  
• Timbers goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts played in his 100th MLS career match on Saturday against Seattle, becoming just the 20th goalkeeper in MLS history to reach the century mark in regular-season games played. 
  
• Ricketts was one of three Timbers players injured during the match against Seattle. Ricketts sustained a left should contusion when he collided with Seattle’s Eddie Johnson in the 52nd minute. Additionally, midfielder Franck Songo’o sustained a left hamstring strain and midfielder Diego Chara a left adductor strain; all three players left the match due to injury.
  
• Portland was without the services of defender Steven Smith on Saturday due to a one-match, league-imposed suspension for caution accumulation.
  
• Wallace started at left back in place of the suspended Smith, making his first start on the backline since April 7. A majority of Wallace’s playing time this season has come in the midfield, but he started the Timbers’ first five matches of 2012 at left back.
  
• Portland’s Darlington Nagbe and Seattle’s Steve Zakuani were collegiate teammates the University of Akron in 2008 and played under new Timbers head coach Caleb Porter.
  
• The Timbers will play four of their next five matches on the road. The club has two remaining regular-season home matches on Sept. 29 against D.C. United and on Oct. 27 against the San Jose Earthquakes.
  
• Prior to kickoff, the Timbers recognized 2012 Olympic silver medalist and Portland native Galen Rupp. Galen, who attended Portland’s Central Catholic High School and starred at the University of Oregon in track and field, won the silver medal in the 10,000 meter in the London 2012 Olympics. As a youth, he played club soccer at FC Portland and in high school at Central Catholic under current Timbers U-23s head coach Jim Rilatt.