Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
Overall thoughts on the game…
“It’s a win. Three points. I thought we came out really well, confident. Sometimes when you aren’t getting results, you see teams come out a bit negative and tentative, but that wasn’t the way we looked. We looked really good at the start of the game. We got the goal first half. Second half I thought we had a lot of chances to put the game away. [Bill] Hamid kept them in the game. I think we could have managed the game a little bit better at times in the second half. But the bottom line we got a clean sheet and we got three points. So we will build on that.”
On his call to urgency to the team and if they responded…
“Yeah, first half I thought was very aggressive and that’s key. You can lose energy when you’re not getting results. When you do that you are dead in the water. That’s not going to happen here. You will see a good response out of these guys. Our goal was to come in aggressive. We score a goal four minutes in and that was the difference in the match. Like I said I thought we should have had a couple more. I don’t think it was bad finishing. [Dairon] Asprilla had a couple good chances and a few were seriously world-class saves, two or three of them.”
On Will Johnson’s performance tonight…
“I thought he played well. He’s a confident guy. So he brings an edge in the midfield. He’s good on the ball. Obviously at the end of the game his leg was a little sore so we had to get him out, but we are still going to go through that here for the next several weeks. So hopefully he recovers well and continues to be available for us next week, but it will probably be too quick a turnaround to get him in for Colorado.”
On what it felt like to see a player like Will come back after an injury…
“It’s similar to like what I said about [Diego] Valeri, you get close to the players. We spend a lot of time together. When I see my players come back from injuries I’m happy for them. It’s a real nice moment for him. To come back into the fold at home and play well and be part of a win. We haven’t taken care of business at home enough. We’ve got 11 games left. We talked about before the game having 12 games and the goal is three points in everyone one of them. That obviously is a lot of points and if we take care of business at home like we did tonight then we are going to be in good shape. We will still pick up points on the road, but in our final 11 games we need to continue to get three points. That’s what we are going to look to do.”
On if there was any concern about the quick turnaround from the last game…
“Yeah, this is a tough window on the tail end of a really tough month and that’s why we rotated five players into the game, which means to turnaround we’ve got some fresh legs to be able to utilize again for Colorado. And that’s an important game because it’s a conference game. We knew we wanted to get three points tonight, but we didn’t want to go into the Colorado game chewed up because that’s maybe the most important game because they are a conference team and we need to start to distance ourselves from the teams that are around us in the table. We can’t keep giving points to teams like Houston a couple weeks ago. You do that enough times and that’s the best way to kill your playoff chances.”
On the keys to a quick turnaround and getting a win in Colorado…
“They’re in the same situation, same with D.C., which is why they rotated so many guys. Colorado is in the same situation as us. In fact they have to travel two legs because they traveled to Seattle and they have to travel back, we have one leg to Colorado. Tactically, in how we shape up, game plan, personnel that we choose, those are all things that are going to be important, same thing for them as well.”
On the guys that came into the lineup tonight providing a spark…
“Yeah, especially in the first half and that’s a good thing when you rotate your team you know you are going to get guys who are hungry and have something to prove. We talked a lot after Toronto, a few guys that will be rotated this game, a few guys will be rotated the next game, depending on what we see that might determine the lineup choices going forward and who gets the job done. We’ve got a lot of tight positions in terms of depth, which is why we rotate striker positions and some wingers at times. I thought Papa [Norberto Paparatto] did a really good job. So it’s great to know you can put guys in and they will get the job done for you. Maxi [Maximiliano Urruti] scores a goal. Gastón [Fernández] sets up the goal. Asprilla I thought had his best game from start to finish. He’s looked to be a guy who has been better off the bench, but I thought he put together a good performance starting the game, so that’s great to see. And obviously Will Johnson was good like I said.”
On what he can taking from this match heading into Colorado…
“We won the game. So we can take a lot from it because we won the game. We will grow in confidence. I thought we played really well but we will continue to play better. When you get results you play better and you grow in confidence. I thought there were times in the second half when we played a little tight, but I think that’s what happens sometimes when you are not getting results."
Portland Timbers midfielder Will Johnson
On how it felt getting back out on the field…
“That part was awesome, really good. From the minute I got here today it just felt like the same feeling again which I wasn’t always sure was going to happen, so definitely a special game.”
At what point he reflected on his return to the field…
“Probably not until I was coming off there at the end. This was a big game for us and I tried to downplay it as much as I could but it was about winning and my leg. I guess I didn’t really get that feeling until I came off and then that ovation really got me at the end and it was special and something I’ll remember for a long time.”
On what getting the win means…
“Huge. The only thing that matters tonight is not about me, it’s about three points for this club. We needed it badly. We need to get going in the right direction quickly. We spoke a lot about urgency this week and I think that’s what you saw at the start of the game. The start of the second half we had some really good chances and I think on a different night we get a bigger number but hats off to Hamid, he’s a top-level goalkeeper. He won’t be in the league for very much longer. He’s special and he made some amazing saves tonight. It is what it is. We take the three points. I said after the game, you win four or five to zero, obviously everybody feels a little bit better but you still only get three points, so that’s the most important thing. We won the game tonight.”
Portland Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell
On the match…
“Obviously [feeling] positive. I think we fully deserve the win and it’s nice to get the three points but we have to go and do it again on Saturday and we’ll be looking forward to that.”
On how it feels to get a clean sheet…
“I think every game we go into we want to keep a clean sheet. This is positive, especially for us at the back and hopefully we can keep a few more and let the center forwards go and score the goals.”
On the team’s attitude going into the match…
“It was fantastic. I think from day one, from first minute we’ve really been aggressive, really on the front foot. We really wanted to show our presence tonight and I think we did that very well, certainly in the first half and gave us a little bit of a leg up. That was a very big positive, especially from the back looking on, didn’t give us too much to do and hopefully we continue on.”
On seeing midfielder Will Johnson back on the field…
“It was great to see him back out there. I know what he’s been going through and it’s tough. Breaking your leg is never nice and it’s good to see him out there running about and getting stuck in again.”
On what the win does for the club…
“It’s huge. I think a lot of people we’re talking about when our next win was coming and we stayed positive. Tonight we showed what we’re really about being on the front foot and like I said hopefully we’ll continue that on Saturday.”
D.C. United Quotes
D.C. United head coach Ben Olsen
On the match…
“Overall, very pleased with the group’s effort and for a large stretch of the game. Unfortunately you have to weather a little bit of a storm when you come here and I didn’t think we were up to the physicality and the speed that they were early in the game and ends up costing us the goal. Again, overall I think it’s a tough result and we don’t like to lose but whether it’s guys getting experience out there in this type of atmosphere against a good team, whether it’s getting some guys that haven’t had minutes in a while, we’re better for this. I think there’s a lot of positives tonight.”
On what adjustments will be made going against Philadelphia…
“To turnaround Wednesday and fly on a Thursday and play on a Saturday, I’ve said it before, it’s silly to ask guys to do that. So, we decided we were just going to play a separate team and then when it turns around against [Philadelphia], we’ll have some fresh bodies to try and go after them. That’s the thought process but again there will be a lot of changes in the lineup and hopefully we’re fresh for the weekend.”
D.C. United forward Conor Doyle
On the match…
“Disappointed to go down that early. I think that was one of our points of emphasis, to kind of keep it tight and not let them score in the first 10-15 minutes and then bring ourselves into the game. Unfortunately they got their goal, we got into the game we just weren’t able to put one away. We had a few chances we just couldn’t do it.”
D.C. United defender Kofi Opare
On the overall match…
“I thought it was alright, it was a decent performance by the guys. Obviously with the makeshift lineup it was a little difficult to get used to the personnel on the field but I think the guys for the most part did alright. Substitutes that came in made a difference, I thought. Being away from home, cross country having multiple games in three or four days I think the guys did alright. It’s now time to regroup and look forward to [Philadelphia] this weekend.”
On the mentality after the Timbers early goal…
“I think the early goal was a kick in the backside. Obviously you don’t want to give up a goal that early. Once a goal went in I think the mentality kind of changed where we knew that we had to settle down and start to play soccer instead of being tentative and let them do whatever they wanted to do with the ball on the field. I think after the goal the guys stuck in, started winning their matchups and overall I thought the response was good.”
Notes:
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Wednesday’s crowd of 21,144 was the team’s 74th consecutive home sellout at Providence Park since 2011. Portland has sold out all of its regular-season home games since joining MLS.
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Midfielder Will Johnson made his season debut, starting and playing 84 minutes, Wednesday against D.C. United. The match marked Johnson’s first regular-season minutes for Portland since sustaining a fractured tibia and fibula in his right leg on Sept. 27, 2014.
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Defender Liam Ridgewell made his 28th consecutive start on Wednesday night, which is currently the longest streak on the team.
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The Timbers improved their record immediately following a loss to 10-3-6 overall since 2013 with the win on Saturday.
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Portland has earned a positive result in nine of its last 10 regular-season games at Providence Park dating back to the 2014 season.
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Saturday’s win extended Portland’s unbeaten streak against D.C. United to five consecutive games (3-0-2) dating back to 2011.
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Forward Maximiliano Urruti scored his second goal of the season and his 13th for the Timbers in his MLS career, moving him into the top 20 in career goals for the Timbers across all eras.
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Portland is undefeated in Wednesday MLS home matches with a record of 4-0-4.
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Urruti's fifth-minute goal was the earliest goal scored by the Timbers since Urruti scored in the third minute against Vancouver Whitecaps FC on June 1, 2014.
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Since joining MLS in 2011, the Timbers have scored six goals in the first five minutes of a match. Urruti has scored three of those.
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Urruti’s fifth-minute goal marked Portland’s 200th goal in MLS since 2011.
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Midfielder Diego Chara made his 130th career appearance for Portland on Wednesday.
- Midfielder Darlington Nagbe made his 140th career appearance for the Timbers on Wednesday, becoming the fifth Timbers player to reach 140 matches played all-time across all eras.
