Portland Timbers quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese
On today's game...
“It's important away from home to get points, and this point against a good team, is important for us. Especially finishing the game with 10 players. I was pleased with the discipline that the players showed. They played united and I think we had some good moments offensively. Overall, I think very positive. From last match to this match, a big difference.”
On being down a man in the second half...
“It's tough because it was very hot, but that's when you see a team that wants to fight for each other. Especially that they played disciplined, smart, and they know when to run, what areas to cover, and that helped us a lot today because everybody knew they had someone to covering their backs. That was very important.”
On Sebastian Blanco's goal...
“Beautiful goal in a perfect moment for us. Usually, the start of the second half is the moment they come at you with everything they have and finding that goal was crucial for us to understand that we're having a good game, that the plan was good for them to be patient. It was excellent the moment when Seba scored the goal.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri
On today's game...
“It was an even game. I think we tried to surprise them with our formation, and at some point we did it. They found a goal and the game changed a little bit, but in the second half we played a much better game until we were down to 10 men.”
On Sebastian Blanco's goal...
“It was very important. It was important because it gave us confidence to keep doing what we tried to keep doing in the first half. I think we did it much better in the second half, until the red card.”
Portland Timbers defender Bill Tuiloma
On making his MLS debut..
“It felt great. I'm truly blessed to make my debut in MLS. I went into the game with the right attitude and right mentality to work for my [team]. We came out with a point and it was a good result for us.”
On the defensive performance...
“All the players felt the rhythm and had the right mentality going into the game to defend for one another. We went down to 10 men and we knew we had to protect the goal and each other.”
On getting their first point of the season...
“It took a little bit of a weight off of us and getting that point was very important, especially against a good team in FC Dallas and away in the weather was kind of difficult for us. We stuck to our game plan, worked hard, defended for each other, and got a good result.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Chara
On today's game...
“The game was tough because we started the first half trying to control the game, but Dallas scored and that changed the game. In the second half we were better and tried to create opportunities to score.”
On going down to 10 men with the score 1-1...
“We didn't panic. After the goal, we tried to keep the ball and create more chances to score. We were very smart trying to defend well, keep the ball and create something different in the game.”
Full quote sheet to follow.
Notes:
- The 1-1 result against FC Dallas marked head coach Giovanni Savarese’s first point as a manager in Major League Soccer.
- With the draw, the Timbers are unbeaten in their last three league games (1-0-2) played against FC Dallas, dating back to April 29, 2017.
- Midfielder Sebastián Blanco scored his second goal in three career regular-season games played against FC Dallas, previously scoring his first MLS goal in the team’s 2-2 draw at Toyota Stadium on April 29, 2017.
- Blanco also recorded his second goal of the season, with the midfielder currently leading the team in scoring.
- With the goal in Saturday’s match, the Timbers have scored in 15 straight matches against FC Dallas, dating back to July 21, 2012.
- Forward Fanendo Adi recorded his second assist of the season, which ranks as the most on the team.
- Midfielder Diego Chara made his 2018 season debut in Saturday’s match. With the appearance, Chara recorded his 205th start, which ranks as the most starts in club history across all eras (since 1975).
- Defender Bill Tuiloma made his MLS debut in Saturday’s match, starting and playing 90 minutes at center back.
