Portland Timbers quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese
Overall thoughts on the match…
“We’re taking it one game at a time. I thought that the guys did a fantastic job. This is a difficult team. They play very direct. We knew that they were going to try to find spaces behind our defenders and we did a great job to be able to cover those spaces. But, it was hard work and when we had the ball we were smart when to go forward and also when to keep it. Overall, I thought the guys did a fantastic job and I’m very proud of the guys.”
On adjusting to Colorado’s man-marking tactics…
“As soon as we saw that we were being marked man to man, we told (Diego) Valeri and (Sebastián) Blanco to be able to make runs short to create space up front for (Samuel) Armenteros to be in one-versus-one situations. And, that’s why we tried to play the ball in behind and that’s how the first goal took place because Armenteros was man to man in the last area of the field.”
On the Timbers’ defensive performance…
“The Rapids are a tough team. They work hard. As I said, they are very direct and sometimes when teams play very direct with fast players up top you have to be very alert. You have to cover each other and overall I thought the guys did a fantastic job. And when we found the spaces going forward, we were clinical.”
Portland Timbers forward Samuel Armenteros
Overall thoughts on the match…
“It was an awkward style of opponent tonight; it took some getting used to. We did a great job in the first half to take control of the game and get the lead. Obviously, I’m happy with the two goals that I scored in the first half. We had a lot of chances. I thought they did as well. Me, as a striker, and having missed that last chance that I had, I expect more from myself. It was a long run and I started cramping and it was a tough finish but I could’ve made it easier for my team by putting us up 4-1.”
On his thought process during the first goal…
“I made a shimmy as if I was going deep behind his back and then asked the ball to my feet. So, Blanco played it quite hard and then I felt that the defender was coming but he was a bit too late, so I was able to flick it around him. It was just a spur-of-the-moment type of thing. Sometimes it’s intuition I guess. You have that as a player. It’s just what feels and comes to your mind at that moment. You don’t think about it.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri
Overall thoughts on the match…
“I’m so happy for this win and this result. This is not an easy stadium and team to play against. They needed a win and we performed really well from the start of the game until the end and we are in a good run of games.”
On maintaining the winning streak…
“We don’t think about the past. I think that’s key. Think about the next game and prepare well and perform for 90 minutes and improving on things that will make us better.”
Colorado Rapids quotes
Colorado Rapids Head Coach Anthony Hudson
On the responding with a goal immediately after being scored on…
“They kept going, they kept working and we’re better than the results are showing recently. We’re a better team than that… disappointing night.
On the impactful performance of Edgar Castillo…
“Eddie has been good. What he gives us is a lot of energy, he wants to go forward, he wants to attack and that part is great, we just need more confidence in the final third.”
On the two substitutions at halftime…
“I personally don’t think there was much between the two teams tonight other than making a couple of mistakes that cost us. Late in the game we’re going for it, we’re pushing bodies forward and it’s opened up. The changes were changes I needed to make.
Colorado Rapids Midfielder Jack Price
On their quick answer after going down 2-0…
“Yeah, that was exactly what we needed, we went a goal down and it was a good team goal, and we got straight back in it, that just shows the character we’ve got in the team, but we need to show more of that in the ninety minutes. You know everyone sees these spells at the moment, but we need to keep working hard and results will quickly change because we are better than the performances and the results at the moment.”
On how close the team is to getting back in the win column…
“I think it’s actually one game, we get one win now and I think we go on a good run. We’ve got a good month ahead of us now, we’ve got a few games at home, winnable games that we need to enter with confidence, we don’t need to let our heads drop, we just know the results at the moment, they’re not reflecting on how we’ve been playing games and we know it will turn for us.”
Colorado Rapids Midfielder Edgar Castillo
On how close the team is to getting back in the win column…
“The truth is we are always there, we start the games well, but in the end we gift goals that give the other team life, and what is happening at home is that we don’t take advantage of what we have and we do not score, and then they score two or three, and there goes the game.”
On if he feels that he is a leader to the younger players…
“They brought me to play and I am doing what the coach is asking and what my teammates are asking and what I need to contribute on the field, and every game I am doing better and I feel a lot better, but it is not just me, we are together, and if we do not win, no one is going to be happy, but I tell you the victories are coming.”
Notes:
- The Timbers’ six-match win streak is tied for the longest in MLS this season with Orlando City SC and also ranks tied as the second-longest in a single season by an MLS team since Sporting Kansas City notched a seven-game winning streak in 2012.
- Across all eras, Saturday’s victory marks the fifth time that the Timbers have won six or more matches in a row (1975, 1978, 2004, 2007).
- Samuel Armenteros scored two goals in the win over Colorado. The brace was the first multi-goal game this season by a Timbers player and the first road brace for the club since the 2015 season.
- For just the third time in the Timbers’ MLS history, a player scored two goals in the first half of a road match, with Armenteros joining Fanendo Adi (June 7, 2014 at Real Salt Lake) and Diego Valeri (Oct. 26, 2013 at Chivas USA).
- Diego Valeri scored the match-winning goal, his fifth goal of the season.
- Valeri has scored 63 goals for his MLS career, 10 more than any other player in club history across all eras (since 1975).
- Sebastián Blanco recorded two assists in a single match for the first time in his MLS career.
- Diego Chara tied the club record across all eras for games played, notching his 214th appearance.
- In May, Portland's win total (4) and point total (12) are the most in each category by the Timbers in any calendar month since becoming an MLS team in 2011.
- The three goals by the Timbers scored are the most Portland has scored at Dick's Sporting Goods Park in 11 matches at the facility.
