Quotes: Portland Timbers New England Revolution
Portland Timbers Quotes
Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
General thoughts on the game:
“It’s not what we wanted. We expected to win as we expect to win every game. It was a good reminder that it’s not just going to happen. We certainly had enough chances to score the goal to win the game. In the end, you’ve got to credit their goalkeeper, he made some great saves. I also felt a part of that was us maybe not being as sharp as we could’ve been in-and-around the final third. This is soccer. There are games when you can’t find the goal and I thought that was the case today. We’ll move on from it, obviously it’s not a loss it’s a tie and we get a point and yet we’re feeling like we let two points slip away. If you don’t win, you’re not going to be satisfied. We’re not satisfied with a point, but it’s also not the end of the world. We’ve played nine games now and we’ve only been beaten one time, so that’s a real positive.”
On the team’s missed chances:
“We had plenty of shots. We had a lot of chances. We missed a couple breakaways and there were some point blank saves. It very easily could’ve been a different result. We were a touch off on a few finishes and their goalkeeper made some great saves. In the end, that’s soccer. You leave the game and you think you’re not good enough on the attack, but in the end 22 shots is a lot on goal.”
On the resiliency of the back line dealing with injuries:
“I don’t know the situation yet with Mikael (Silvestre), we’ll evaluate that. We’ve had a bit of bad luck with injuries in the back line. It’s been the case where guys go in and do a great job. I’d be remiss if I didn’t commend Donovan Ricketts. He made a world-class save at the end of that game to keep us level. He has been absolutely tremendous. There are going to be days when our attack digs us out of a hole. That has been the case in a few games when we’ve given up goals and our attacking side has bailed us out and scored goals. Tonight, I thought our defending kept us level and Donovan probably saved us in the end.”
Timbers captain Will Johnson
On the match:
“We played well enough to win. You get a certain amount of chances at this level and you have to put them away. I’m not as concerned about the defensive chances we gave up because we’re pressing – at home you’ve got to win your games. That’s our mindset. We’re disappointed with a draw. We did enough to win the game and even though we weren’t at our best you’ve got to find a way to get goals and grind out results and we came up short.”
On New England’s defense:
“No one has really taken into account that they’re a pretty good road team. They come in and park the bus. They sit everybody back and try to hit you with some of their more athletic guys on the counter. It’s pretty effective. It’s not the first place that it has worked and it’s not the last. It doesn’t have as much to do with us as what they did. The way you get them out of their shape is to punish them and we let them off the hook and it makes it easy for them.”
On the team’s missed chances:
“It’s just one of those games. You create all the chances and it’s hard to say we got shut out. We shut ourselves out. We had the chances. They were there. You’ve got to score them and if you get that first then they come out of their shape and you get the second and the third. We’ll move on. It’s not the end of the world. It’s a point. We’ve just got to keep positive and keep going.”
Timbers midfielder Jack Jewsbury
On unlocking New England’s defensive tactics:
“As the season goes on we’re probably going to see that more and more, especially here at home. Teams know we’re pretty dangerous going forward so if they sit back behind the ball, we’ve got to break lines first and foremost. We’ve got guys in the attacking third that are very dangerous and we’ve got to get them on the ball more. It’s a matter of the back four and the holding midfielder to break lines and not just play around the back and play a little quicker. I thought they did a good job of frustrating us at times, but we had enough shots tonight. We created enough chances and just have to put one or two in the net and they open up a little bit.”
On continuing to generate offense:
“I feel if we continue to create that many chances we’ll be all right. It’s just a bit frustrating after a big win in KC we wanted to keep it going. We were a little slow out of the gate, but the second half was good and we just need to finish a few chances to get out of here with three points.”
New England Revolution Quotes
Revolution Head Coach Jay Heaps
On the play of goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth
“Bobby did a nice job. It’s the second game in a row he’s played really well. It’s not an easy environment. I think he’s reading the game well. It wasn’t like he was making spectacular saves, but he was making saves because of being in the right position, which is better than a spectacular save for me.”
On the team’s approach to the game
“We wanted to take away the middle a little bit more than last week; we didn’t want to get stretched. As the games go I think we are going to get a little bit more comfortable.
On the play during the last 15 minutes of the match
“We were getting stretched some there because we still went with five guys up front with Saer [Sene] and Kelyn [Rowe] and Lee [Nguyen] getting forward. Unfortunately we didn’t finish those chances and they made some breaks on us.”
Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth
On the play of his team
“I think we were super organized in the back tonight; we all kept our lines, kept our shape and were able to keep a clean sheet. I think it shows the depth we have on this team. Jay [Heaps] has done a great job of creating the competition and creating depth. You can see guys are coming in and doing really well; we aren’t missing a beat.”
On keeping his focus during play
“I’m trying to always stay connected to the play, talking to [Stephen] McCarthy, talking to Jose [Goncalves] and just keep myself mentally in the game. If I don’t see a shot for 30-35 minutes I’m still engaged in the play.”
Thoughts regarding upcoming homestand
“I think this is a big stretch for us. I think we need to go home and take care of business and make it difficult for teams to play us at Gillette.”
Revolution defender Bilal Duckett
On coming to Portland and getting a point
“It’s one of the most exciting places to play in the country and its real important to battle and get a point like we did in Seattle earlier this season. Credit to everyone; Bobby made some great saves, the whole back line made several key stops.”
On making his return to the team after being called up from the Rochester Rhinos on Tuesday
“It’s been a crazy week. I couldn’t be happier to be up here. It’s exciting to get out here and rejoin the guys. It was a little bit tough jumping right back in but it was more exciting to play.”
Notes:
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The capacity crowd of 20,674 on Thursday marked the Timbers 39th consecutive sellout at JELD-WEN Field since joining MLS in 2011.
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Eight-year-old Atticus, who starred in the Timbers Make-A-Wish match on Wednesday at JELD-WEN Field scoring four goals, enjoyed a one-of-a-kind match day experience on Thursday as part of his Make-A-Wish experience. Among the highlights, Atticus helped capo the Timbers Army, joined the team for its post-game walk around the field to thank the fans and participated in the post-game log ceremony with the players and mascot Timber Joey.
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With the draw, the Timbers extend their MLS-club record unbeaten streak to seven games. The Timbers are tied with FC Dallas for the longest unbeaten run in MLS this season.
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The Timbers and Revolution met for the lone time during the 2013 regular season. The two sides have split the all-time MLS series at 1-1-2, and Portland remains unbeaten (1-0-1) against New England at JELD-WEN Field.
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Portland matched its MLS club record for shots in a game (22), first set Oct. 19, 2011, at D.C. United.
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The club’s seven first-half corner kicks marked a season-high for corner kicks in a single half, and the nine total corner kicks Thursday was also a season-high.
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The Timbers’ 12 shots in the first half were the most shot attempts the club has taken in the first half of a match this season. The total was one shy of the club’s season-high for shots in a half – 13 in the second half against New York on March 3.
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In the draw against New England, the Timbers recorded a third straight shutout at home. The club has held opponents at JELD-WEN Field scoreless for 300 consecutive minutes dating back to March 9 against Montreal.
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Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts recorded his third shutout in six career matches against the Revolution and his clean sheet on Thursday marked the 35th shutout of his MLS career.
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The nine saves by Revolution goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth equaled an all-time high for an opponent against the MLS Timbers. Toronto FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei also recorded nine saves against Portland on July 30, 2011.
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Thursday’s scoreless draw marked the first time in nine games this season in which the Timbers were held scoreless. The Timbers entered the match as one of two clubs in MLS yet to be shutout this season.
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Darlington Nagbe’s five shots against the Revolution were one short of the season-high by a Timbers player this season. Diego Valeri holds the mark for most shots in a single game this season at six – done twice.
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Defender Mikael Silvestre left the match early in the second half with a knee injury and will be further evaluated.
- Defender Jack Jewsbury made the 265th regular-season appearance of his MLS career, making his second consecutive start at left back for the Timbers this season in the match against the Revolution.
