Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On the match:
“This team – they’ve been through a lot this year, and we never quit and we’ve kept fighting and grinding and because of what we’ve been through, we are one of the most mentally tough teams in MLS right now, because we’ve had to do it the hard way. I think you saw in that second half, when in a football game the margin between winning and losing is very slim, I thought we found another level, another gear. I think our belief, our toughness and our grit is what pushed us through.”
On pushing for the win:
“For us, this was three points or bust. It’s one of those games where you’re not playing a conference team with it being a six-point swing; you try to win those games, but if it looks like you can’t win, then you don’t lose, because at least you hold the points. We’re going to gamble in these non-conference games, even if it means risking a loss, we’re going to go for it. We took out a [defensive midfielder] the last 10 minutes, and played with two attacking mids, got a little bit more adventurous, and I thought it was the key to getting the winning goal.”
On taking risks:
“Figuring out the balance in a soccer game is always a key to winning. You set your team up to defend and you’ll be in every game but you probably won’t win many. If you set your team up to create and you don’t have balance, then you might create chances but you’re probably going to give up goals. There have been some games we haven’t gotten the balance right between the two sides of the coin, the attacking and defending, but I thought overall even in the first half where we gave up two goals, I thought we were the better team; we were controlling the game. [Montreal] were opportunistic – give Montreal credit, they scored two goals on three chances. Montreal’s got some good players, we did not take them lightly. We were not thinking about their position in the table, their record. Because if you look at some of their players, they’re dangerous. And they showed that tonight with a couple plays that they made.”
On Jack Jewsbury reaching his milestone 300th game in MLS:
“He’s in an elite group of guys. There’s not many, 25, that have played 300 games in league history. What’s nice is it’s a win. If we lose that game, I don’t think he cares if it’s his 300th game. When you make it a win, then now it becomes more memorable and he’ll remember the 300th game because we won the game on the road.”
Portland Timbers defender Jack Jewsbury
On playing his 300th career MLS game:
“It’s a nice accomplishment to have under your belt. It feels a lot better with a win, so I’ll remember this one. It doesn’t feel too long ago when I played that first one, so it goes by quick.”
Portland Timbers midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe
On if the team is starting to play better:
“I think we have. We’ve been playing very well, especially the last few games and we’re looking to get the points we deserve. So we’re excited by it and hopefully will keep it going.”
On the game:
“It didn’t start off the way we wanted to, even though we had a good first 45 minutes. Then in the second half we came out, did our thing and scored the [game-winning] goal. We were moving the ball tonight and working for each other, everything was clicking for us tonight except for those two goals we gave up [in the first half].”
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri
On the win:
“It’s a good feeling. We needed that, so we’re close to the red line and to making it to the playoffs. It’s a good time for us but we know that it’s only a start.”
On moving forward:
“It’s the second half of the season and we know it’s the most important time. We know we can beat whomever, wherever we play. Tonight we played like a team; we played well and got the win, which is the most important.”
Montreal Impact Quotes
Montreal Impact assistant coach Mauro Biello
On the match:
“Portland is a good team, they were well placed and caused us a lot of trouble today with their movement and their wing players. We weren’t moving the ball well and we lost 70 percent of our one-on-one battles today. We knew at the start of the match that we had to win our one-on-one battles to win the game and it showed in the end result that we didn’t perform well in these battles.”
On staying motivated despite recent results:
“It’s normal that we have frustrations at this point. So we need to keep working and tell the players that we have to be ready every game to give our 100 percent. We have the Champions League matches that are coming up that are very important and Toronto next week so we have to give it our all in every match.”
On giving up late goals:
“We’re very fragile right now. As much as it’s on the field with the ball it’s also in our heads. You try to tell the players to focus on things they can’t control. Obviously it’s unacceptable to give up three goals when we’re playing at home. I think it’s a mindset and that mindset is going to have to change if we want to win a game.”
Montreal Impact midfielder Patrice Bernier
On the remainder of the season:
“We still have a couple of games left this season. To look ahead too much isn’t good at this point. We’re not getting three points, not even getting one point, but in this league things can change very fast, but we have to find a way to get some points on the board.”
Montreal Impact goalkeeper Evan Bush
On the last goal:
“I don’t think it was miscommunication, I think that we got stretched a little bit, putting too many of our players forward, trying to score the third goal ourselves. I felt like I was almost there, got a finger or two on it but wasn’t able to push it out.”
On turning the season around:
“We have to help ourselves. We can’t rely on anyone to do it for us. We gave up the penalty tonight that didn’t help but at the same time I’m not sure it was necessarily called for. As far as getting out of the rut, as I said it’s a mentality, it’s something we have to do on our own, it’s going to stay this way until we have the right mentality.”
Notes:
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Defender Jack Jewsbury made his 300th career MLS appearance on Sunday, joining an elite list of just 25 other players (including goalkeepers) in MLS history to reach the milestone.
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Portland’s 20 shots on Sunday night at Stade Saputo marked the most shots on the road this season for the Timbers and the third-most in a road match in Timbers MLS history.
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Midfielder Ben Zemanski made his first appearance since May 24, entering the match as a substitute in the 87th minute.
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With the win, Portland improved its overall road record against the Impact across all eras to 5-2-2, including 1-1-0 in MLS play.
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Portland has earned a positive result in six of its last seven regular-season away matches and 11 of 14 regular-season matches overall.
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The victory set a new Timbers MLS club record for most road wins in a single season (4).
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Portland suffered 20 fouls on Sunday, marking the third time this season the Timbers have been fouled 20 or more times in a single match.
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Midfielder Diego Valeri netted the game-winning goal for the second straight game. Valeri has tallied at least one point in six of the team’s last nine regular-season matches.
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Valeri’s game-winning goal on Sunday moved the midfielder into first place on the Timbers MLS all-time career list for game-winning goals (4).
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Valeri has registered a goal in three of Portland’s last four regular-season matches.
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Forward Maximiliano Urruti tallied his team-leading eighth goal of the season on Sunday.
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Goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts registered his 60th career regular-season appearance for the Timbers on Sunday.
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Midfielder Diego Chara notched his 105th career MLS appearance for the Timbers.
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Coming on as a substitute and helping set up the game-winning goal, midfielder Rodney Wallace made his 115th career MLS appearance on Sunday.
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Portland’s 35 goals are tied for most in the league.
- The Timbers have battled back to earn at least a share of the points in 11 matches, earning a 4-5-7 record in 2014 when allowing the first goal.
