Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On his overall thoughts on the match…
“We were there for 60 minutes. At 0-0 we had a very good chance to go up and another on a set piece to go up. Then we gave up a penalty kick and then we had another clear chance to make it 1-1 on a breakaway. I know it seems like I say it every week, but these are goals and then we got punished on the other end. They scored on a penalty kick and a free kick, and obviously the one from the run of play. We have to do better on all three, but it’s a lot closer game than 3-1. Ironically we played much better in the second half, but we end up giving up the three goals in the second half. If we score the first goal, we go up and the game is different. We don’t give up a penalty kick and the game is different. If we scored the goal that we should have scored to go 1-1, the game is different. We were there for 60 minutes knocking on the door, but we’re falling short. We’re giving up the first goal and we’re not capitalizing on the good chances that should be goals.”
On why Fanendo Adi wasn’t in the starting lineup…
“I'm not going to comment on that. I never comment on team matters like that. It’s between me and the player. There’s reasons for why he didn’t start and he was a late scratch, but that’s something that I’ll handle privately.”
On switching back to a 4-2-3-1 for tonight’s match…
“It’s our preferred system. The only reason we really played two up front was because we felt the guys we had healthy fit in a 4-4-2 with Jack Mac [Jack McInerney] on the field. The plan was always to go 4-2-3-1. Obviously there was one decision that was changed. Other than that, we trained all week to play 4-2-3-1 and I thought again all I can tell you is what I see. What I saw today was we were in the game. The game was tight. We expected it to be a tight game. We made it a tight game and 60 minutes we’re sitting there knocking on the door getting chances. The PK was unlucky. It’s a PK. That certainly changed the game. The first goal always changes the game in soccer, but this was a lot closer game than 3-1. Anybody that knows the game can watch that and see it. That’s clear. If you look at the stats, they tell that exact same story.”
On defender Steven Taylor’s debut performance …
“I thought the backline was good today. It doesn't seem like that giving up three goals but only one was through run of play. Again, the PK… [Vytas] probably shouldn’t leave his feet. It’s close. It’s right on the edge, but probably a PK. But I thought overall, against a very good attacking team, we limited their chances. I thought Jordan Morris and Dempsey got in a couple of times. [Nicolas] Lodeiro had some shots from distance. They got around us wide a couple of times, but other than that look it’s an even game. We had chances, they had chances and we’re falling short finishing. No doubt about it and because of that we’re losing points.”
On what the late goal from Fanendo Adi can do for the momentum heading into next week’s match…
“It’s great to see his response for him to come into the game and score the goal and give what he gave. We have a chance to redeem ourselves next weekend and that’s what we’re going to do. It was a much better game than D.C [United]. The effort was there. The attitude was there. The organization was there. Everything was there. You’re sitting there for 60 minutes on the road 0-0 against Seattle, you’re feeling pretty good and you’re seeing the chances and you’re thinking that you’re going to score. At the very least you’re going to get a draw and the whole game turned on that PK. But we’re going to go back to work. We’re going to train hard like we always do and no doubt the guys will respond and redeem ourselves next weekend.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Jack Jewsbury
On the game …
“Yeah obviously we are disappointed and we realize we have to be better on certain circumstances. You know for us it was an interesting game. When you look at the two halves and you look at the second half we actually probably played better and created more chances than we did in the first, but we got punished at the other end with the PK, set pieces … so it has to be better and I think we realized that. It sounds like a broken record from what we talked about earlier in the week but on the road when you get your chances you have to make the most of them and we were not able to do that tonight.”
On the second half being a stronger half for the Timbers …
“Yeah I think we were a little bit more on the front foot. We were able to possess the ball. I think we came in at halftime and even though we were able to create some great chances on the counter in the first half, we wanted to have a little bit more of the possession of the ball and play on our terms. I thought we were able to do that quite a few times in the second half and got some great looks. Unfortunately we were not able to capitalize on them and if you do not do that you are going to get punished.”
On the mood of the team after the loss:
“Obviously we are disappointed in it. It is tough. It will take a day or two to sink in but then that is behind us and we will realize we have them back at our place. If you get three points at home we will be going in the right direction and that is what we plan to do.”
Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell
On the attitude of the team currently:
“We are still confident. I think we played fairly well tonight in periods of the game. It just came down to the final moments. Obviously Clint Dempsey came up with the moments to put the ball in the back of the net. Obviously it has come to the business end of the season. We just need to start turning out results and start winning games. That is the main thing now.”
On what they can take from tonight's match going into next week's game against Seattle:
“We played very well in points of the game and had our chances. We have to take the positives from the game. We opened Seattle up a few times. We need to try that a few more times and put the ball in the back of the net like they did tonight. It makes for a good second game next week and we will be looking forward to it.”
Seattle Sounders FC quotes
Sounders FC interim head coach Brian Schmetzer
On if there was any doubt surrounding who would take the penalty kick…
“No – not any doubt, at all.”
On Stefan Frei’s big save on the 1-on-1 chance…
“Stef had a very, very good game tonight. He is a great goalkeeper. That save was a massive turning point in the game – 1-1 is miles different than us getting a little bit ahold of the game. In those moments after we had scored, I thought Portland did a good job of putting us under pressure. There was a disparity in shots, like 10-3, then during that 10-15 minute period, it jumped very quickly to 10-8, 10-9. So credit them for giving a good response after we scored our first goal, but Stef came up big time.”
On the play of the outside backs…
“It was a good performance overall as a team. If I am going to single anyone out, I am going to say both Joevin [Jones] and Tyrone [Mears] have had very good games as of late. I think the way we play, with Andreas [Ivanschitz]’s position a little wider and Nico [Lodeiro] coming in, we need our outside backs to go. We worked on that this week in training. The timing wasn’t right in the first half. I think derby games are hard to play – it was hard for us to find any kind of rhythm, but in the second half they found their rhythm and both Tyrone and Joevin have done great jobs.”
On changes that have led to the unbeaten run…
“I think I have gone on record many times to say that group is a committed group. They needed some spark. Nico’s arrival, the obvious [change] of a coaching change, whether it was me or not – the team is going to get a little bump. When you have a committed group of players that are committed to each other and committed to winning…that is a proud team. Their response has been tremendous. Starting with [Clint] Dempsey coming back after missing a penalty – that is leadership. Ozzie [Alonso] has been playing great. Cristian [Roldan], what a fantastic performance by that kid. All of them – Brad [Evans], Chad [Marshall], Stef like we talked about – that is a committed group. When you have that, it makes my job much easier.”
Sounders FC midfielder Clint Dempsey
On the team’s performance…
“I thought the team performed really well. I thought the game was really tight in the first half. Once we got the goal, it opened things up. They tried to press forward to get the equalizer and we were able to pick them apart. We pretty much put in a perfect performance except for conceding that one. I’m happy in the direction the team is going – I think you can see that we are dangerous in the attacking third, doing a better job at keeping possession and having solid play.”
On the team’s form…
“It’s back to everyone having fun. I think we are circulating the ball well and people are getting good looks, it’s not just one person or the other. I think everyone is getting good looks. When you’re doing that, creating good chances, and having opportunities in-game to get the right results, that’s when you’re having the most fun and that’s the run we have right now.”
Sounders FC midfielder Cristian Roldan
On his goal…
“Brad got a flick on it. I think when I picked a guy for Chad Marshall, I was free because they were more worried about him. I was in the right spot and able to get a head on it.”
On his recent run of good form…
“No, I think it’s the team. We’re connecting at all different levels. We’re defending together as a group and we’re attacking almost six guys. It’s a change in dynamic in the team and I think it’s working for us.”
Notes:
- Sunday’s match was the 94th all-time meeting between the two clubs.
- For the first time in 2016, the Portland Timbers have recorded a passing accuracy of 80 percent or higher in consecutive matches.
- The 13 shots attempted by Portland in the second half were the most the club has attempted in the second half of a road match since July 27, 2013.
- Timbers defender Steven Taylor made his debut for the Timbers, becoming the 83rd different player to play in an MLS match for the club.
- Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe played against Sounders FC for the 17th time in a regular-season match and 21st time in his Portland career, marking the most matches played in the rivalry by a single player between both clubs in the MLS era.
- Alvas Powell registered his first assist of the season. Powell is the 10th different Timbers player with an assist in 2016.
