Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
Thoughts on a draw against Colorado:
“We'll take it, it’s a point on the road. Keeps us moving on. Vancouver lost today, so it sets up that game next week. Whether we won, whether we lost, that game was going to be crucial. So, we make up a point on them. I thought, obviously 1-0 we were in control. The PK changed the game for sure. Gave them life, kind of revived their spirit a little bit. They scored a great goal, I thought, on the second goal. For me, it was a great goal out of them. Deshorn Brown gets up on the back post, I'm not sure there is anything more [Villafaña] could have done on that. He can't jump 40 inches high. So, you take your hat off to the guy for scoring a good goal, but I did think the PK definitely changed the landscape of the game. I won't comment on that, you guys will watch it, it's pretty clear, what I see, but I'll let you guys watch it. Maybe you can talk to [Liam] Ridgewell and ask him where the ball hit. But, regardless we get a point, I was really pleased, Gastón [Fernández] came off the bench, found a goal for us, and that's huge, and I thought the big man, Ricketts, came up for us at the end, and we are still in a great spot. That game next week is key. So we'll stay even keel with this, we will take the point, we'll get back to work, obviously shift gears with the Champions League game Tuesday then get ready for Vancouver."
On attacking options on the bench:
“I think it says a lot about their buy in and overall attitude. A lot of guys on teams, when they're not playing or starting, they mope, and then when they go into the game, they don't perform well. I think it says a lot about the attitude of our entire team, that we get guys that come into the game and they do a job even though they didn't start the game. That makes my job tough, because obviously we get goals off guys coming in off the bench, and then they're motivating you to play in the next game, which I'm fine with.”
On [Ben] Zemanski starting:
“I thought [Ben] Zemanski had a good game. Going into the game, we decided to rest Will [Johnson], he's played more minutes than anybody this season. He had a busy week, a long week. He didn't sleep much because his wife gave birth. We knew Zemanski would do a good job. We wanted to give Will rest to gear him up for Tuesday, [Johnson] will start the Champions League game. It's good to have your captain in those types of games for their experience. We knew he could only play two games, and looking at it, obviously we could've played him Saturday-Saturday, but we decided Tuesday-Saturday is just as good. It works out a little better with him having a really long week and not sleeping much with the baby.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Ben Zemanski
On how he thought he played in his third start of the year:
“It was a big opportunity for me, with the game being as big as it is with playoff implications and everything like that. I thought it was an average game for me, I thought I did some things well, and did some things that I could've done better. I thought it was a so-so game and we'll take this tie and we'll move on and we know how big next week is.”
On the Rapids coming out strong in the second half:
“Obviously we knew they were going to be desperate with them sitting where they were, and down a goal with 45 minutes to go, and we were ready for that. We faced some adversity, and I think we maybe could've handled it a little better, after giving up the goal. I thought we let the game kind of get away for a little bit, but we responded with a goal, and hats off to Gata [Gastón Fernandez] for coming in and scoring a huge goal for us and getting us a tie and setting up next week.”
On nearly scoring the game-winner:
“I wasn't expecting it at first. I was still shaking off that knock and I just took a touch and saw the guy coming at me kind of hard and decided to cut it and have a go with my left. Unfortunately the keeper was there.”
On managing Deshorn Brown:
“We knew he was dangerous and we knew how he was dangerous to get behind and like I said I think giving up that first goal kind of stung us a little bit and it shouldn't have. We should have dealt with it a little better but it riled us to the point where we let him get free a little bit.”
On having trouble winning in Colorado:
“You can blame the altitude but I thought tonight was a beautiful night to play soccer, the weather was perfect. You could run forever out there and I thought we played well enough to win tonight. Like I said, we faced some of adversity and kind of let it get away a little bit but we battled back and we'll take a tie right now and we look forward to next week playing Vancouver at home.”
On their mentality coming into the game:
“I thought that first half was a really good half for us, I thought we were really composed defensively and organized and forcing them to play a lot of balls long. We were picking them up and once we got past that first 20 minutes where it was kind of hectic and put the ball on the floor a little bit, we were able to find space through the switch and on the outside flanks. I thought we really played well that last 20-30 minutes of the first half and unfortunately we couldn't carry that momentum over to the second half.”
Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell
On getting a point on the road:
“I think we're a little disappointed to not get the three points because we were so in control of the game. But looking back at it, anytime you get a point on the road you've got to look at that as a positive. Going away from home is never easy and coming here is never easy either. I think you've got to look at it positively and take the point as a positive.”
On the penalty call:
“I think everyone has seen every play. I couldn't believe it was even given, it felt like it hit me on the chest and if it miraculously hit me on the arm, if I had my arm up in the air and I didn’t know I was doing it, then that’s another thing. But I felt like it hit me on the chest it didn't feel it was going to be given a penalty kick, and I thought it was actually banned for offside. So I think that was as much of a penalty kick and I think you can see from [Colorado’s] reaction. No one has even gone for the penalty kick, they’re not even jumping up in the air. They were one-nil down, and if you're going to go for the penalty kick you're going to jump up in the air and try to get one, I think everyone is annoyed about it and it just summed up the night really.”
On tying the game with a goal from a sub:
“I think the guys were tough tonight and coming off the bench and scoring – Gata [Gastón Fernández] was fantastic coming on to get that and we got a well-earned point. We thought we should have three points but it ended up being a well-earned point and some people might not think they’ll get on [the pitch], but we really want to come off the bench and it saves us from being too angry about tonight.”
Colorado Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni
On getting the point:
“I liked just about everything. There were a lot of great things that happened tonight. One: the start was great; the energy was great; playing forward was great. Obviously conceding a goal right before halftime wasn’t so good. But then, flip side of that, we came back and charged back and found spirit and energy, and a bit of calm and class to go up two-one. And then, gave up a late goal there. It wasn’t for lack of opportunities; it wasn’t for lack of chances; it wasn’t for lack of having a great mentality after being on the skid that we’ve been on. The game of soccer is fickle, but what’s most important for me is that those guys battle so hard for one another. And I think that’s a testament to the type of players we have."
"We’ve battled injuries left and right this year. Thomas Piermayr is playing out of position and doing a great job. Shane, having one week of training, stepped on the field and played 90 minutes. There are a lot of guys sacrificing for the better of the team. And tonight the effort and the attitude was tremendous."
Colorado Rapids forward Deshorn Brown
On finally getting a result:
“We’ve been trying to get a win for the last seven games, but we got a point tonight so that’s a good thing. I had a couple of chances that I should have put away, but I've just got to put it behind me and focus on the [next] game.”
Colorado Rapids defender Shane O’Neill
On whether he feels fully fit:
“I was alright first half. I was feeling a lot worse in the second half. The second half just kind of grinded me. The first half was more like catching my breath but by the end of the second half I really was just trying to make it through. At the end of the day, I thought we defended well for a lot of the game and they got a couple of breaks here and there. We didn't do a couple of things properly but overall it's a positive but we should have gotten three points.”
On their chances of getting into the playoffs:
“I think everyone realizes that it's three points or bust at this point. From here on out, we're just going out with no worries and for a lot of the game we were playing it and we were feeling really good on the ball. Just a couple of mistakes, [Portland] didn’t really have a whole lot of chances tonight. Just have to fight for the whole 90 minutes next time.”
Notes:
-
A draw by the Timbers combined with a 2-1 loss for Vancouver Whitecaps FC on Saturday moves Portland one point shy of fifth place in the Western Conference standings.
-
Midfielder Diego Valeri tied his own Timbers MLS-club record for assists in a single season (13), assisting on the game-tying goal. Valeri is one assist short of tying the all-time single-season club record (14) set by John Bain in 1980.
-
Portland has registered at least one point in seven of its last nine regular-season games.
-
With the draw, the Timbers extended their road unbeaten streak to three straight games (1-0-2).
-
Portland is 3-1-2 against the Rapids since the start of the 2013 season.
-
Valeri, who tallied a goal and an assist on Saturday, has recorded at least one point in eight of the last 11 regular-season matches for Portland.
-
Portland improved its record to 3-0-2 this season when leading at the half.
-
The Timbers are 16-2-9 when scoring the first goal, dating back to the start of the 2013 season.
-
Midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe made his 122nd career MLS appearance on Saturday, tying former NASL Timbers defender Graham Day for eighth place on the all-time career list across all eras.
-
Midfielder Ben Zemanski made his first start since May 24 on the road against New York.
-
Portland has battled back to earn at least one point in 14 matches this season.
-
The Timbers have faced a league-high 10 penalty kicks this season, including three against the Rapids.
- Portland is 5-5-4 on the road this season with three regular-season away games remaining on the schedule.
