Portland Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese
On tonight’s match...
“A result that definitely wasn’t one that we wanted; we were looking every game to play for three points. First half it was difficult, LAFC was better than us. We had a few moments, but we suffered in others. But the guys came into the second half with a different mentality, a different feeling, and we could’ve won this game. Even though we got a little lucky in the first half, we feel that they got a little lucky in the second half. So a very good performance in the way we finished, coming back in a stadium like this, against a team like LAFC is always a good sign, and to keep on fighting towards the end, the way my guys did, I’m extremely proud. Now we feel that hopefully we can go in this momentum and in this mentality that the guys have into the playoffs. We have to see who we face, and we will be very ready to perform and to play. We’re the team that with Orlando, has played the most games this season, we finished all of our games as we intended to, and that is because of the discipline of the players and that’s another reason why I’m so proud of this group.”
On flipping the script of late game goals...
“There’s a huge belief in the guys that we’re very strong to overcome anything that is in front of us, and sometimes there’s going to be moments in which outside people can worry about some things, but I know that the players are always working to make sure that we become better in every area of the game. The way we closed the game today was very important, because we felt that we put a good fight in the second half to try to win the game. As I said, in the first half we got a little lost in some moments, because it did create some opportunities, but we had the better of the second half, and I think it’s a very good thing for us to finish this game this way, and now we can be ready for what is coming in the playoffs.”
On if the recent lack of shots on target is a concern...
“It’s no worry at all. If one game you don’t find the goal enough because of some reasons that you needed to be sharper, and the way that we spoke about Colorado, to be able to be better in that decision at the end, it’s been probably one of the very few games that we haven’t had shots on goals. I think if I remember it goes back to Nashville at the beginning of the season, and in Colorado. Yes, this game was tough, as I said the first half was difficult, but we found a way in the second half. So this is not a concern at all. For a team that scores the amount of goals that we score, second in the entire league, if there is one thing that we are not worried about, it’s getting to the opposite goal.”
On the significance of hosting the first round of playoffs...
“We’re excited because we will be playing in this new format. This game at home is crucial, and then we will see what happens after. We’ll see who the team we have to play next, and then we’ll keep on going forward. But the fact that we can host this match is very important for us. We have to think one game at a time, we cannot be ahead of ourselves. We know that every game is going to be very difficult, but the mentality of the guys is very strong, and especially for being one of the two teams that played the most games this season because we completed all of our games, it is a moment to be proud of the group and how much everyone has contributed to be where we are. We always want more. We’re always going to fight for more. We didn’t want to finish third, we wanted to finish first. So there’s always a desire to be better, but for the amount of things that we have gone though this year, incredible, the group, and how much they have put in.”
On the halftime adjustments that were made...
“So what we did is coming into the second half, we tried to make sure that Eryk [Williamson] was able to find better spaces in the middle. Sometimes he was a little bit too high, sometimes he was a little bit too low in the first half, and there was an in-between space that we were able to find in the second half with him understanding where he could be a little bit more dangerous. [Cristhian] Paredes did a great job today to make sure that he played a little bit deeper, and from there we found Eryk after. Then when we had to make the substitution for Paredes when he felt a little bit of muscle tightness, Eryk sat deeper and [Andy] Polo came in and the balance was exactly what we needed. They found the gaps that we needed to find and I felt that in the second half we played very strong in the things that we needed to do and in the assignments that we asked the players to do, that gave us a better possibility to find higher spaces, and create the chances that we created.”
On Jorge Villafaña’s role with the team...
“Once we changed with a back three and we gave a little bit more freedom for Villafaña at the end to go a little bit higher, he took advantage of the space and he scored a phenomenal goal. We knew that we needed to find the second post, and he went into the area that we asked him to, and then he finished in a great way, like his times when he used to play as a winger. I think if we date back, the last goal he scored was on Decision Day in 2015, so he picks good times to score good goals, and even though it was a long time ago, today the goal was very important for us.”
Portland Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark
On preparing for FC Dallas, a team they haven’t played in the 2020 season...
“We’re pretty familiar with all the teams that we’ve played three or four times, so seeing FC Dallas for the first time will be a lot of work and training to prepare for them.”
On the save he made leading up to Portland’s equalizer…
“It felt good to kind of make a big stop and then go down the field and score, I was pretty excited about it. It’s really incredible how often after a goalkeeper’s big save, a team scores, so it’s really weird. But I think everyone played really well tonight and that it was a good game. That was a hell of a game. That was a fun game to play in, it was really back and forth and so I think we deserved a point. We could have got all three, but we’ll take the point.”
On weathering pressure from LAFC in the first half…
“They were pressing high and what you couldn’t see on… which was probably the most difficult part was the weather. The wind was really difficult in the first half for us, so that makes building out of the back a little more challenging. I thought we did quite well and certainly, they were pressing very well, it was a good challenge for us mentally to keep getting on the ball and wanting the ball within that pressure. I think it was an important aspect. Although we went down in that period, I think it was an important aspect for us as a team.”
On leaving the game with a draw rather than with a loss…
“I think that when you kind of score late, it feels more like a win than a loss. Obviously, you don’t get the points, so I mean I think that’s spot on. These games are tight and the West, there’s a lot of good teams. It’s about getting on the other end of these draws and we’ve been getting better as a team, I’ve said that the last time I spoke to you guys. We’re getting better as a team and that’s a great sign for a team. That means we’re well-coached and we’re believing in what we’re doing. And we have some time to rest. The other factor that should be talked about is how many games we’ve played. We’ve played more games than anyone in the MLS besides Orlando and we’ve done really rwell within that and I think that today you see a team that was on its fourth game in a very short period of time and traveling and it’s a pretty good performance.”
Portland Timbers defender Jorge Villafaña
On scoring his first goal in five years…
“I’m happy that I scored, but also that I’m tying the game in a tough place. I think the group was… we started a little bit slow but in the second half we came back stronger and I feel really happy and on top, happier because I get to score a goal."
On what this result does for the team heading into the postseason…
“It shows that our team is mature. It shows what are we capable of doing so I think coming back from a 1-0 lead, not getting desperate, we knew that if we stayed composed and we do the things that we needed to do and we did it in the second half, we could get the result. We got the tie and I think this gives us confidence going into the playoffs.”
On preparing for FC Dallas, a team they haven’t played in the 2020 season...
“We haven’t played FC Dallas this year. I think we are not going to do anything different. I think we’re going to focus on ourselves, focus on what we want to do, focus on what we need to do on that game and when the time comes, we’re going to be prepared for them.”
On what changed in the second half that allowed Portland to be on the ball more…
“I think first half we did what we always try to do – try to have the ball, try to create from the back. I think the chances that they created were from some of the mistakes for trying to play out the back. I think we gave them those opportunities by us trying to play out the back. But I think the team never quit. Second half… well into the second half we tried playing again out the back, we continued playing out of the back. I think we never stopped doing what we always try to do and I think on the second half we were more clinical in our pass, more precise in our pass… but for me, we did the same thing in the first half than in the second half.”
- Jorge Villafaña scored his first goal of the season and his first goal since Oct. 25, 2015.
- Villafaña’s goal was the third headed goal of his career with the others coming 2008 and 2013 for Chivas USA.
- Villafaña is the 14th different player to score for the Timbers this season.
- Diego Valeri delivered his seventh assist of the season.
- Valeri has recorded seven or more assists in each of his first eight seasons with the Timbers, joining Brad Davis, Preki and Marco Etcheverry as the only players to record seven or more assists in eight consecutive seasons.
- Valeri has 88 regular-season assists for his Timbers career, which is 10th-most in MLS history.
- Valeri has tallied 38 career road assists, which are eighth-most in MLS history.
- Andy Polo delivered his second assist of the season and the fifth of his MLS career.
- The Timbers return to the playoffs for a fourth straight season – the longest streak in club history.
- Portland will be the No. 3 seed for the second time (2015) in club history.
- Giovanni Savarese is the first manager in team history to advance to the playoffs in three straight seasons.
- The Timbers finished the regular season with 21 goals in nine road games for an average of 2.33 goals per road match. That is the second-highest road goals per game average in MLS history behind only the 1998 LA Galaxy.
