Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On getting the result on the road…
“We showed a lot of character. Our backs were against the wall and we showed what I’ve seen from these guys time and time again. When you need more you get more out of these guys and that was a huge result. I thought the guys executed the plan to a tee. They came in with confidence. We didn’t play a reactionary game, we pushed the game and tried to make it uncomfortable for the Crew. It’s not easy. Sometimes those types of things sound like great plans and it doesn’t work in the game but it worked to a tee because I thought we really disrupted their passing game and that was a big part of getting the result.”
On the team’s character in an important match…
“We showed a lot of character and we wanted to come into the game and fight and that’s a part of winning. The minimum standard in this club will be to go into every game and fight and work and grind and stick together and I thought we did that.”
On if the original strategy coming into the game worked as envisioned…
“We wanted to have a combination of high pressure and low pressure. If you just sit back all game and let [Crew SC] get on the ball and do what they do, eventually they’ll break you down. We wanted to make it difficult on them, disrupt their rhythm in the build-up, not let them get at us in back half as much as they want. Overall, I felt that we did a really good job defending them through the run of play, defending the flanks and cutting out crosses. I think, coming into the game, we knew if we were aggressive and pressed correctly, that they would have a hard time dealing with it. We created a lot of turnovers with our pressure and were dangerous on the counter all game.”
On if Darlington Nagbe’s play on the left side of the field was planned…
“There were a few rotations we worked on this week in terms of where we felt we could find space. With [Diego] Valeri, we wanted him to overload more on the channels and Darlington [Nagbe] as well. I thought Darlington was very good today. It’s kind of interesting, [Crew SC] play a lot like my team at Akron in the way they drop Wil Trapp in, one of my [former] players. I had a few ideas on how to deal with that because obviously I know that style of play very well. I felt if we could disrupt their passing game and disrupt their ability to dictate the game that we would have success.”
On if playing Rodney Wallace was a defensive tactic…
“We wanted to make it a direct game early on. We felt that we could use our size advantage on their back four. That’s why we went pretty direct into [Fanendo] Adi and into Rodney’s channels a lot. Then we were able to pick up second balls. One thing I know about Rodney is he’s a fighter. So, I knew I’d get fight in this game. I knew I’d get good defending as well. That’s a big part of playing [Crew SC], the wingers have to defend outside backs. I thought he did a really good job on [Harrison] Afful, keeping track of him. If you don’t, you’re in trouble. If your winger doesn't track, then they’re going to have a 2-v-1 all game long and then they get service into [Kei] Kamara which is their bread and butter. So, I thought his defending and his fight, his work rate, all the intangible things were a big key in the game. Plus he set up the second goal by outrunning their back. That's the type of play it takes to win games.”
Portland Timbers midfielders Darlington Nagbe
On tonight’s victory…
“It felt great; I thought it was a good response from the whole team. It felt good to get out here and get this win.”
On Portland’s ability to bounce back following a defeat…
“It’s a great team with great coaching; we weren’t satisfied with our performance last time.”
On the importance of playing a full 90 minutes…
“It’s really important for me to step up and help us win the game. Everyone came out here fighting.”
On having friends and family in attendance…
“It felt great, nothing beats playing in front of family. I’m excited about it. We’ve never won here before, so it was a great win for the club.
Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi
On tonight’s victory…
“I think we played against a very good team, we must give them credit, [Columbus] did very well. It was a very high intensity game. In the first half, we came out flying and they did as well, so both teams did very well. I can say that it was a good game, but we came out with a very strong mentality. That’s just helped us win the game.”
On beating a team like Columbus on the road…
“We came into the game knowing that we were playing against a very good team. Of course, at this stage of the season, you have to win. We knew it was going to be difficult to play our kind of game, but we picked up the points. Coming into this game, last game we did very badly at home, that gave us extra motivation to go into the game. We did very well, we defended very well and I think playing for each other helped us the entire game.”
On what Portland needs to do to continue picking up points in October…
“We know Sporting Kansas City, they are a very good team of course, going back home we just have to do what we do every week in and week out, we just have to prepare very well. Sporting Kansas City is a very good team and they have a very good coach. We just need to come out to the game and do the same thing that we did today.”
Columbus Crew SC Quotes
Columbus Crew SC head coach Gregg Berhalter
On potentially missing an opportunity with results around the Eastern Conference…
“I would say that. I think our expectations are to win this game. It’s disappointing in front of a fantastic crowd, record number crowd, it’s disappointing not to give the fans a win. So we’re disappointed, the heads were hanging low in there.”
On the offensive movement…
“I don’t think the execution was completely there tonight. I think there was a number of times where we could have been sharper, where we could’ve finished off the attack and made a better decision than the one we made on the ball. It cost us. I think particularly in the first half when we had space that we were opening up, and that final ball wasn’t there, or the final shot. We weren’t aggressive enough on that. At the end of the day we get hurt for not being able to execute.”
Columbus Crew SC defender Michael Parkhurst
On if tonight’s loss felt more disappointing given the playoff implications…
“No, it’s disappointing of course. It was a good opportunity, especially given the results around the League, but we’re still in a good spot and we’ve got a few games left to solidify a position going into the playoffs on a high. It’s a loss, it hurts, especially a home one in front of a big crowd but we got a big one of Saturday, so we’ll bounce back.”
On Portland’s go-ahead goal and how it changed the match…
“We know it’s difficult when we go down a goal, especially at home. It’s difficult – teams drop back and stay compact and play on the counter-attack and make it difficult for us. It stings to give up that second goal, it’s a long way up hill from there. It just seems like it was a good counter-attack by them. [Fanendo] Adi’s a fall in the box, we could’ve prevented it in a few places, but we’ll look at it on film. It’s things we need to correct, but once we do that we’ll be alright in the playoffs.”
Columbus Crew SC midfielder Wil Trapp
On if tonight’s loss was particularly disappointing…
“It’s disappointing. I wouldn’t say it’s any worse than others. Obviously you want to show up for the fans, the crowd was excellent tonight and we’re disappointed.”
On if tonight felt like a missed opportunity…
“For sure. You look at Montreal winning, Toronto winning – those teams are on hot streaks. So this would’ve been a good one for us, especially with the Red Bulls losing last night. So like I said, disappointing.”
Notes:
- Since the start of the 2013 season, Portland is 12-3-9 following a loss, including a record of 5-1-4 in 2015.
- The Timbers are 4-0-2 in matches immediately following a home loss since 2013. All six of those matches have been played on the road.
- Saturday’s match was the final regular-season match against an Eastern Conference opponent in 2015. The Timbers finished the campaign with a 6-4-0 record against the Eastern Conference, which is a club-high for wins. Portland finishes the season with a 3-2-0 record on the road against the Eastern Conference.
- Portland tallied its 12th win of the 2015 regular season, marking the third consecutive season the Timbers have registered at least 12 wins.
- Midfielder Darlington Nagbe moved into a tie for second place on the Timbers all-time appearance list across eras with USL defender Scot Thompson, appearing in his 156th MLS match.
- Defender Nat Borchers made his 315th career MLS appearance in the match.
- Midfielder Rodney Wallace made his 155th career MLS appearance on Saturday.
- Forward Fanendo Adi set a Timbers MLS single-season club record for goals in a season (12), breaking the previous record (11) set by Diego Valeri in 2014.
- Adi tallied his fourth multi-goal game of the 2015 season, which ranks tied for third in multi-goal games in MLS this season. It marked his eighth multi-goal game since joining MLS in 2014 – more than any other player in MLS over the last two seasons.
- Adi has scored 20 career goals for the Timbers, becoming the 12th player in club history (all eras) to score at least 20 goals.
- Wallace registered his 15th career assist for Portland, which ties him with Jack Jewsbury for 11th place on the Timbers all-time assists chart across all eras and third place in the Timbers MLS era. In addition, the assist was the 20th of his MLS career.
- Saturday’s match marked just the sixth meeting in MLS regular-season play between the Timbers and Crew SC since 2011, including the third visit to Columbus and the first since 2013.
- Portland improved to 9-2-5 when tied at the half and 5-0-2 when scoring two goals this season.
