MLS POST-GAME QUOTES
Portland Timbers vs. FC Dallas
June 11, 2014 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Final: Timbers 2, FC Dallas 2
Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
About pulling out results late:
“I’m torn. There’s a good majority of the guys I couldn’t have asked anything more from. We set a club record for shots, 30 shots [most in MLS this season]. They gave everything they had, couldn’t give anything more. Got that on one hand and on the other hand, just a lot of disappointment. Poor defending in the first half, but there was a good majority of guys that deserved credit for bailing us out, got us that draw. First half was disappointing, embarrassing, abysmal defending, but that will be corrected, no doubt about it. The positive thing is we have a good team, all the makings of a championship team except for a few things that have to be better. We didn’t allow Dallas to get three points, so they didn’t make up any ground on us. Under the circumstances, to do what we did second half down 2-0 to get the tie, you have to feel not satisfied, but it was a positive result under the circumstances.”
About the different groups in the backline and the inconsistency:
“It hasn’t been good enough. You don’t normally change your backline – in fact that’s the area of your team you usually never want to change. I don’t like to change my backline. I like to have continuity. Some of the changes have been predicated on injuries. Obviously with this game we had our hands tied a little bit with injury, [Norberto] Paparatto. There have been other games where injuries certainly played into the decisions to change, but the majority of the time it’s been because it’s not been good enough. Plain and simple, that line has not been consistent enough, and we need to change and correct it, and we will.”
Reaction to Gastón [Fernández] and Will [Johnson] on the penalty kick:
“I’d much rather have two guys that want to win the game and score the goal than nobody. I love it that we have guys in that attacking group that want to score goals and want to win games for us. I think that’s great. You know obviously you don’t want them to fight over a PK, but I don’t see that as a major issue.”
Thoughts on going into the World Cup break:
“It’s midseason. It’s been a long first half of the year, we’ve gone through a lot. This team has grown, they’ve built a lot of resiliency. In the end, I think it’s actually going to help us get to where we want to get because of what we’ve gone through. We’ve grown, we’ve gotten stronger. We’ve gotten humbled, we’ve gotten hardened, we’ve gotten even a little bit more hungry because of it, and we are still right there. We’re not out of the race, we’re right there below the red line. There are a lot of games left, and I know what this team’s capable of and you’ve seen that what they are capable of, so there’s a lot to be optimistic about. But there are certainly some things that need to change if we are going to be a team that’s in the playoffs and making a run to raise a trophy. I think it’s a couple moves and we’re there.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Will Johnson
On the result:
“At this point in the season, where we’re at, we have to win these home games. We’re disappointed in the mistakes we made in the first half and how we came out. Our energy wasn’t right and we made mistakes that showed that. We came out in the second half and it was much better. But it’s still bittersweet. We obviously had a lot of chances out there, good chances, too. On one hand it’s difficult to come back from two goals and get a draw, but at the same time it’s tough because there were some really good chances out there that we missed.”
On his discussion with Gastón Fernández prior to the penalty kick:
"It's two passionate guys going for the ball wanting to do the right thing for the team. I don't know exactly what was said. You lose track of things in the heat of the moment. Once we got back in here I gave him a big hug. I respect him as a teammate. I think he's a great addition to this club. I can't speak highly enough about him and when he came on, he brought a big spark.”
On if changes need to be made in defense:
“That’s not Caleb being mean. He’s just being honest. If you look at the goals against, where we stand in the league and goals for and shutouts, it’s not been good enough. It’s not just the back four, it’s the whole team. That needs to be said. If the front guys aren’t pressing well and the midfield guys aren’t winning balls, that puts more pressure on the back four and the goalie. So it’s something we have to correct. It’s halfway through the year, not even. We still have another half to get this right. We know it’s a problem. It’s been a problem for a long time now and we’re working desperately hard to try and fix it. It’s the main thing, the only thing that’s holding this group back.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri
On the World Cup break:
“It’s in a good time because we won some games on the road, we are going up. We need to rest because the last two or three weeks have been very tiring. This is a good time to rest. The U.S. Open Cup is very important to us. We will rest and rehab.”
On Portland’s defense:
“I think the team is a team. The same team is attacking. The same team is defending. I think we missed some chances in the first half. Maybe it would be different at 2-1. We know that we have to fix that situation like a team.”
Portland Timbers defender Danny O’Rourke
On moving up in the late-game push:
“Caleb and I have an understanding that I will play wherever I need to, in whatever formation, to win. I think there are a lot of guys on this team that can do that. So whether it’s in a four-back, in the center or out wide, or holding midfield or three-back or whatever spot it is, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m just going to give 100 percent.”
On his block to deny Fabian Castillo late in the game:
“Caleb stressed the importance of in order to win this game, we’re going to have to pitch a shutout in the second half and give our offense a chance to score two or three goals. I think it came off a corner kick, so we were pushing. I just saw them breaking and I just ran back. Moffat played a good ball over and I had a read on Castillo. I knew he was going to try and fake me and go inside. So I just turned my hips and tried to get a block on it. Tried to force him to one side to make it easier for Donovan [Ricketts] and I just got my foot on it. I think it was a good play for us and I’m glad I did it.”
FC Dallas Quotes
FC Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja
On the difference in control between the halves:
“It was a normal reaction in the second half. Portland threw many bodies up front. We were organized, but we knew that we would have some chances going forward. That is a normal reaction from a team that is losing. We played a great half, the first one. In the second one, we tried to control the game. That was what the game came up with. A team in the second half trying to push, trying to send some numbers up. We were leading the game and the plan was working.”
On the significance of the penalty kick decision for Portland:
“Of course it is something that will have some implication on the game. It’s not the same, leading 2-0, than leading 2-1. We knew that the pressure was coming higher. So it was normal. Part of the game. Obviously, we didn’t want to give up the penalty, but that gave them a little more strength."
On how FC Dallas responded to conceding a goal and the red cards:
“We kept fighting against many factors. It was good that everybody saw it tonight. I don’t need to make any comment on that, but people saw it. It was very clear.”
On gaining a point on the road:
“We are disappointed. We [had] the three points and coming out with a point doesn’t make us happy. At the same time we have to have pride in the players, they gave it all today and had great opportunities going forward. People enjoy how our team played tonight and that’s important. We [will focus] on that. We take the point because we have to, but everybody saw that it was not fair.”
FC Dallas defender Andrew Jacobson
On the positives of getting a point on the road:
“I thought we deserved three points. We came in, we did what we wanted to do, implemented what we set out to do. We got one point instead of three.”
On how the penalty kick for Portland affected the flow of the game:
“They were throwing everything at us at that point. It gave them a little bit of hope. Everything kind of affects you. Guys getting thrown out, stuff like that.”
On still pressing offensively despite being down to 10 men:
“I thought the team’s effort, the reaction, the whole night was fantastic. We put in a solid shift and this is something we can build off of for sure.”
FC Dallas midfielder Adam Moffat
On the match:
“We’re disappointed. I thought we came out in the first half and executed our game plan exactly how we wanted to. [You] see that a lot in this league. You have a lead, they were lumping a lot of balls in. We’re very disappointed not to win the game. We had our chances to score some more at the other end. It was a great effort from the team.”
Notes:
· Portland’s 30 shots attempted on Wednesday ranks as the fifth-most all-time in a single game in MLS history, while also marking the most shots in a match of any MLS team this season. The last team to record 30 shots in a match was the Miami Fusion during the 2001 season. In addition, the 30 shots set a new Timbers MLS-club record, surpassing the previous mark of 22 shots.
· Portland’s 19 second-half shots set a new Timbers MLS-club record for most shots in a half, surpassing the previous record of 17 set in the second half against D.C. United on Oct. 19, 2011. The 19 second-half shots ranks tied for fifth all-time in MLS history.
· The Timbers have registered at least one point in eight of the last nine matches, dating back to April 27.
· Midfielder Diego Valeri set a new Timbers MLS-club record for most shots in a match by an individual player with eight attempts on Wednesday. Forward Fanendo Adi finished the match with seven shots, tying the previous record set during the 2012 season.
· Adi tied a Timbers MLS-club record with three shots on goal.
· Wednesday’s crowd of 20,814 marked the 60th consecutive sellout at Providence Park. The Timbers have sold out every regular-season match at Providence Park since 2011.
· Midfielder Diego Chara made his 100th career MLS start as a member of the Timbers on Wednesday. Chara has made 101 appearances for Portland since joining the team in 2011.
· Midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe has appeared in 83 of the team’s 84 regular-season matches since the start of the 2012 MLS season.
· The Timbers have struck the woodwork 12 times this season, which ranks as the most by far in MLS. The next closest teams (Seattle Sounders FC and Toronto FC) each have hit the frame eight times.
· Portland gained 61.84 percent of possession on Wednesday against FC Dallas, which ranks as the most possession the Timbers have earned in a match this season.
· The Timbers saw 11 shots blocked on Wednesday, the most blocks Portland has sustained in a match this year. Midfielder Diego Valeri is tied for the league lead, sustaining 17 blocked shots in 16 games.
· Midfielder Will Johnson has tallied a penalty-kick goal in consecutive matches.
· Defender Pa Modou Kah’s goal was the fourth second-half stoppage time goal to earn a result for Portland this season, all of which have come at home.
