Portland Timbers quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On his evaluation of the match…
“I think you have to look at the first 17 minutes, really. Changed the entire landscape of the game. First 11 minutes I thought we were spot on. Everything was working, we were organized. They weren’t getting chances. We looked lively. The energy was there, everything was being executed perfectly. Then the PK, obviously we are down 1-0. It’s not a PK. If you watch it. We lost the game not because of the PK, but that definitely changed the game. It’s not a PK in the 11th minute. Then to make matters worse now we get the red card. In saying that it’s a lot closer game than 4-1. Look at the stats. We had 12-12 in shots. I leave the game thinking our guys left it on the field. I thought they gave it all they had. I thought there were some very good performances on the day, but the PK and the red card changed the game. In saying that I do think we made some mistakes in our individual defending.”
On the fight of the team…
“Again people don’t want to hear it’s a more even game than 4-1, but it was. So I’m going to say it. I thought their second goal was a key moment, but we came back still to go 2-1 and then I thought the third goal was the back breaker because no doubt about it we would have leveled the game. So we feel low and obviously with the score line it looks a lot worse than it is. I know supporters aren’t happy, we’re not happy either. But I can tell you this we are going to get back to work and we are going to keep fighting. We are going to stay positive and do what we always do, stick together, and we will work ourselves through this.”
On the message to the group heading into the match against Seattle…
“We are not leaving the locker room doing cartwheels, that's for sure. But my message is the same thing I’m telling you 12-12 shots down a man for 73 minutes tells the story. The guys fought. I thought with the exception of a few guys there were good performances on the day. And again watch the first 11 minutes of the game. Watch the fight after we gave up the red card. Look at the chances in the second half that we had. The negative for me was we made a couple of bad individual mistakes that didn’t allow us to get closer than the score lines obviously indicates. For me, individual defending on the flanks needed to be better. But I thought being down our guys kept fighting. And we are going to keep fighting and nothing is going to change. We are not happy giving up points, but we are a lot better team than the score line indicates and we are a lot closer to being the team that we need to be then it feels right now. Best way to make it right is for us to go and get a result in the next game versus our biggest rival.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri
On playing the majority of the match down a man…
“What happened at the start of the game changed the entire game. A red card, a penalty kick. It changed a lot of the game. We couldn’t keep it at 2-1 and score a second goal, but like I said it was a very different game because of what happened at the start of the game.”
On the fight of the team…
“We have great character. But, we came here to get three points and we couldn’t do it. But, we will keep working. We have a very, very important game next weekend.”
On keeping the result in perspective…
“We just have to look at the positive things from this game, and look forward to Seattle.”
Portland Timbers goalkeeper Jake Gleeson
On dealing with a penalty and a red card early on…
“A couple of decisions didn't go our way early in the game. The penalty was a bit of a gut punch and the red card was a second one. It was tough and Montreal capitalized well at the end of the game.”
On the balance of the game…
“If you look at it, I thought we controlled a lot of the game. With 11 players we looked good. Those are moments we need to look and try to do better with. It was just tough, especially going down early on. ”
Montreal Impact quotes
Montreal Impact head coach Mauro Biello
On the work during the week…
“We worked on the balance forward last week. And these things, they did it well. It was a good performance. Now, we know what we can do when we play that way.”
On Kyle Fisher…
“He had a Gordie Howe type of night. He was intense, cut himself over the eye, came back with a bandage. And then he scored. He had a good battle with Adi through the whole game. He took his chance and had been playing well since.”
About the game…
"The message after the game was that we cannot go too high or too low. We have to be balanced. It’s important to understand how we have to work, how we have to be focused in everything we do. When we play well, these moments, these sensations are special. If we can all pull in the right direction, things will fall into place.”
Montreal Impact midfielder Patrice Bernier
On the pressure to win…
“It’s a good win, we’re not last in the standings. It’s good for us to know that when we play like this, we can unsettle the other team. We showed that when we combine, we unsettle the other teams. But we can’t stop there.”
Montreal Impact defender Kyle Fisher
About the game…
“We showed resiliency. Preventive coverage was a lot better, it helped secure the win today.”
About Laurent Ciman…
“He got a lot of physicality. He’s got good technique and a lot of pace too. It’s important that Laurent and I made sure one was in front and one was behind. They still got a few balls in the box, but overall it was a good game.”
Notes:
· Diego Valeri scored his third goal in four career appearances against Montreal.
· Portland scored its sixth headed goal of the season, which ranks second in MLS.
· The Timbers are one of three MLS clubs with multiple players who have scored six or more goals this season, along with Toronto FC and Columbus Crew SC.
· With his goal, Valeri is now tied for most headed goals in MLS with the Philadelphia Union’s CJ Sapong and Minnesota United FC’s Christian Ramirez.
· The goal was Valeri’s 43rd regular-season goal for the Timbers, moving him into sole possession of third place on the club’s all-era goal-scoring list behind Fanendo Adi and John Bain.
· Alvas Powell recorded his third assist of the campaign, setting a new career high for assists in a single season.
