Portland Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese
His thoughts on the game…
“Very tough one from my part, and the players. The only thing I have to say is to apologize to the Timbers fans because it wasn’t good enough today. The first half display wasn’t good. The effort…just they were better than us and they deserved to be up 3-0 in the first half. In the second, yes we did do some better things, but a little too late, and unfortunately you have to live with what you didn’t do in the first half. So for my part, and I think from the players’ standpoint, the only thing is an apology because it’s not good enough, this performance today.”
On if there were any surprises from San Jose…
“No. No surprises. I actually told the guys that if we don’t work we are going to lose this match like this. We have to work. We have to be better. We have to make sure that our performance is better…we have to step it up because this is not good enough. We had a very good game last game against the Galaxy. And today we deserve to lose. We deserve to lose 3-0. And this is the reality of the match.”
On how the team turns things around…
“I have to analyze this match first. Right now what I can tell you is that it’s not good enough. That’s why I said my apologies to the Timbers fans. Every game is a new performance. We cannot live on the little, the good things, that we do every game. And today, just in the second half we brought a little bit more energy, but the first half wasn’t good enough.”
Portland Timbers goalkeeper Jeff Attinella
On how to process the game…
“I think it’s just one of those games that is extremely difficult. We knew that this was an important game, just like they all are, and for whatever reason it took us 45 minutes to show up. And by then, it was too late. I think, at the end of the day, the way that we process it is realizing whatever we did in the first half, whatever we did to prepare this game mentally, it just wasn’t right and it just wasn’t good enough. If you don’t show up teams are going to play you off the field, and that’s what happened in the first half.”
On if there are any silver linings to be taken away from a result like this…
“There’s not really many positives to take away from this one. Hopefully, we can just kind of learn what not to do, the approach not to take. At the end of the day, it’s just a lesson learned again. We’re learning these lessons. We’re learning them the really hard way, but eventually we’ve got to start taking what we’ve been learning and putting it on the field. There’s another tough one coming up. We head to Dallas Thursday, so it’s another opportunity to get that win.”
On anything specifically to work on in training this week…
“Listen, the coaches have done a good job of breaking it down and getting us ready to know what we are in for. Dallas is a team that we are familiar with and I think, at this point, it’s just making sure we are approaching it with the right mentality and being locked in from minute one.”
San Jose Earthquakes head coach Matias Almeyda
On the overall match…
“Before anything, today really is a good evening. I think the team understood well, they all played equally. We proposed what we were looking for. I think we played a great first half. We scored at the right moments. But yes, I did like the awareness of everyone and the convictions. It’s not easy to come from a lot of losses and play such an important match for everyone, above all since there were a lot of changes. I’m happy for the fans that were able to celebrate this match and happy for the players and us since we dedicated a lot of time and passion to this.”
On holding back Diego Valeri and the rest of the Timbers’ offense…
“People think that our whole system is man to man, and that’s not true. We play mainly with one free player at the back and depending on where his forward is, he goes and marks and the other defender becomes free. The defenders were used to playing in a line, and honestly, I don’t like that. I think it’s like playing at risk all the time. So, with this change in system, it will take some time to adapt. I used to be a player and I understand. Also, I feel that [Anibal] Godoy played a great game, very smart. Where he cancelled out [Diego] Valeri, which isn’t easy since he is a great player. He is one of those players that makes a difference, but Godoy played well too. I told my players to be reversible, they should play but also mark their players. So that responsibility was shown by everyone.”
San Jose Earthquakes forward Danny Hoesen
On the team’s performance in the game…
“I think we started very well with a lot of energy in the first half. We scored three goals. Obviously, it was very exciting for us. In the second half, we could have done a little better, but we gave so much energy in the first half that sometimes you have to see out the game. We’re all very happy with this.”
On what was different in today’s game…
“We were a little bit more positive on the ball. We knew we could hurt them. They were in a tough spot as well. We attacked with a lot of positive energy and went after them. Sometimes it just clicks.”
Notes:
- Foster Langsdorf made his MLS debut in the match. Langsdorf is the third Homegrown Player to play an MLS match for the Timbers, joining Marco Farfan and Brent Richards.
- Langsdorf has now played two competitive matches for Portland with both coming against the Earthquakes (U.S. Open Cup match on June 6, 2018).
- Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella made 10 saves in the match, which is a career high. The 10 saves are tied for the most in MLS this season and the second-most ever by a Timbers goalkeeper.
- The match marked the 45th time the clubs have met in league play across all eras since the first meeting on June 14, 1975 in the NASL. Portland currently leads the all-time series 23-15-7, and leads the all-time MLS series between the two clubs by a 10-5-7 advantage.
