Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On Lucas Melano and the team’s overall performance tonight…
“It’s good to get him his first goal in a Timbers uniform. Strikers when they start scoring goals they score more goals. That has a funny way of happening. It was great for him to get his first goal in that fashion and he looked fit and sharp and caused a lot of problems. He should have had one earlier in the first half. We score that, the game is different. The three things that will happen from this game, the first one is: we will learn from it. That first half, the five-minute period where we gave up two goals, that can’t happen. We started out very well the first 35 minutes we were sharp, we were aggressive, we were on the front foot. They were hanging on. We had chances. They started to soften up and we gave up a goal against the run and that happens in football, sometimes you give up a goal against the run of play. What can’t happen is the response, giving up the next goal. And that has happened in a few games this year, LA, first half we gave up multiple goals and Dallas as well and in the second half against Philly. In all three of those games we gave up the goal, then we gave up the next one and the next one. So we’ll learn from that tonight and we haven’t been able to learn from that prior to this game. The second thing is we’ll grow from the second half. That second half might be the most important 45 minutes this season because we had to dig deep as a team and do what we hadn’t done all year and that’s come from behind. We were able to come from behind and we weren’t able to do that in the three games I mentioned. In those games we gave up the third goal, then the fourth and in LA, the fifth. So we will learn from that second half, we will grow from having to claw and fight and dig and I thought we were outstanding in the second half. We were aggressive, we were hungry, we were relentless, we were ruthless. So we will grow from that and that’s going to make us a better team. Then the third thing is we will build on this. It’s not three points, but Houston’s a team that’s in the playoff hunt and instead of them getting closer now in the point total, they stay at the same spread and psychologically we leave the game, like I said, having grown and been lifted and they leave it a little bit gutted.”
On Diego Chara’s red card and losing him for the Seattle match…
“I didn’t see it. I saw it live, but I didn’t see the video. I feel for Chara because everybody in that second half, guys that started the second half and the guys that came in the game, it took everybody and we pulled two goals back. I thought we should have had a third actually had a couple chances to win it. It took everybody and it took the guys in the back, digging deep and putting out counters. I thought Chara he was outstanding, tracking back and breaking up plays. I really feel bad for him because I don’t think he deserved to get red carded. I didn’t watch the play but I don’t see much in that.”
On the sub decisions...
“I think it’s all about momentum. As a coach you’ve got to feel the game. You have to feel the flow. There was a period where I was getting ready to put [Dairon] Asprilla in and maybe take off a holding midfielder, but I just felt that the game was going in our favor and one of the worst mistakes you can make as a coach, and I’ve learned this because I’ve coached for a lot of years, is when you have the flow and the momentum sometimes a sub disrupts that. So I wanted to ride that because I felt like getting Asprilla in and going with three in the back to give us that final push was what we needed and the reason to be patient on another sub. We scored two goals obviously so it worked out tonight."
On what he told the team at halftime…
“That’s between me and the team. It was a little bit tactical, probably 10 percent tactical and 90 percent mentality check.”
Portland Timbers forward Lucas Melano (through a translator)
On getting his first goal…
“Very happy to score a goal especially here at home in front of the Timbers Army. More importantly just to rescue a point here at home that we more than deserved. Just happy that my goal was able to help the team in that way.”
On what it felt like to play in that game and make a comeback…
“Very good. I think it was all about the team effort today. We realized in the second half that we were down, we didn’t feel like we should have been, but as a group we came together and I think the whole collective team played really well and it was thanks to that effort that we were able to achieve the tie.”
On if what he learned from tonight’s game will help him score more goals in the future…
“That’s absolutely the idea. I’ve had a few chances in past games and I wasn’t able to convert maybe just because I’m new to the team, learning the squad, but today the goal opened up to me and I was able to convert and I think it will really help. The idea is to keep progressing with the team and scoring goals as I feel more and more comfortable with the team.”
Portland Timbers midfielder Darlington Nagbe
On his second goal this season…
“I don’t quite remember. I just brought everyone over to the right side. We were on that side a lot in the second half. I ended up dribbling through the space. Lucas [Melano] took the ball and gave me a nice pass and I just finished it. It was good we got the tie.”
On the mentality of the group making the comeback…
“We were disappointed with that first half. We came out and I thought we had good energy, but we had 10 minutes or so when they got those two goals. We came out second half and had a lot of energy. Everyone was playing for each other and working hard for each other and I thought we separated ourselves from the other team.”
On what it meant to the team to “dig out of that hole”…
“It means a lot for me. Obviously you don’t want to go down 2-0, but you come back from 2-0 down and get a tie. That’s a situation we’ve been in before and didn’t come away with a tie.”
On if there is any deeper satisfaction to get a tie from coming back…
“I think so. Obviously it’s a different feeling if we are up 2-0 and tie the game since we are down two we managed to tie the game, which we haven’t done this season, being down by a couple goals. For me, it’s gives me confidence.”
Houston Dynamo Quotes
Houston Dynamo head coach Owen Coyle
On if he’s disappointed in giving up a two goal lead…
“I don’t think there is any doubt that given the circumstances that we feel we’ll have dropped two points tonight. We had fantastic possession in the game to go and see the game out. I’ve got to say Portland comes in as a fantastic side. It’s a magnificent stadium. The supporters really buy into it. It’s a terrific arena, but my players stood up to that. We scored two wonderful goals in the first-half and truth be told the first 50 minutes in the second half we had the best chances to get that third goal and when you don’t then you obviously leave yourself open to the Portland Timbers as they are, keeping coming, resilient and keep pushing forward as they did. My disappointment is that I certainly feel that both goals are avoidable. [Darlington] Nagbe, he’ll feel it’s a wonderful goal, but we feel three or four players easily could put a challenge in. I’ve got to say [Lucas Melano’s goal] was a wonderful finish, just like that an ordinary cross, nothing really of any note. He just came from 40 yards out. That’s why he’s a [Designated Player], that’s why he’s played in the Argentinian league and is a wonderful goal scorer and it was a wonderful finish."
Houston Dynamo goalkeeper Tyler Deric
On the overall match…
“You know for being up 2-0 and letting them back in the game like that is disappointing. We gave up two soft goals. But you know you have to give credit to Portland. They fought, they had a great crowd behind them and they fought back and made it a good match.”
On what the difference maker was…
“I think we went through spurts where we each had possession of the ball. I think at the beginning of the first half they had the majority of the possession, then we had a flow going towards the end of the first half and then second half we came out playing pretty well then it was back and forth. Once they got that first goal they had a lot of momentum behind them and then they pushed for a second goal, which they got. It’s very disappointing to give up a 2-0 lead and we feel as if we gave two points away.”
Notes:
- Friday’s crowd of 21,144 was the team’s 81st consecutive home sellout at Providence Park since 2011. Portland has sold out all of its regular-season home games since joining MLS.
- Forward Lucas Melano scored his first goal since joining the Timbers on July 17. Melano is the 36th different player to score for Portland in a league match since the club joined MLS in 2011.
- Melano is the third Timbers player this season to have an assist and goal in the same match, joining Darlington Nagbe and Rodney Wallace, who both registered a goal and an assist in a 4-1 win against Seattle Sounders FC on June 28.
- Midfielder Darlington Nagbe notched his 20th career goal becoming the second Timbers MLS player to reach to 20-goal milestone for the club (Diego Valeri, 23). Nagbe also joins the Top 10 on the Timbers all-time goal-scoring chart across all eras, tying NASL-era midfielder Stewart Scullion.
- Midfielder Diego Valeri notched his fifth assist of the season, which is a team high. Valeri recorded his 78th career point (23g, 32a) for the Timbers and is just one point shy of tying NASL Timbers great Willie Anderson for fifth-place all-time on the Timbers leaderboard across all eras.
- Portland’s streak of consecutive minutes without conceding a goal was ended at 313 with Houston’s goal in the 40th minute. The stretch is the fourth-longest shutout streak in MLS this season.
- For the fifth time in MLS, Portland overcame a two-goal deficit to earn at least one point in a match. The Timbers last overcame a two-goal deficit to earn at least one point in a 3-3 draw against San Jose on Sept. 7, 2014, at Providence Park.
- The match was just the third time in the MLS era that the Timbers have overcome a two-goal halftime deficit to earn at least one point. Portland has earned a draw after trailing by two goals in a match in each of the last three seasons.
- Portland leads MLS for goals scored (14) in the final 15 minutes of matches. Half of Portland's 28 goals this season have occurred in the final 15 minutes of matches.
- Midfielder Diego Chara made his 140th career MLS appearance on Friday.
- Defender Alvas Powell made his 45th career appearance for the Timbers on Friday and his 40th career start.
- Defender Liam Ridgewell registered his 40th career appearance and start for Portland on Friday.
- Defender Jorge Villafaña made his 130th career MLS appearance on Friday.
- Over its last 14 matches, Portland has compiled an 8-3-3 record (27pts), which ranks among league leaders.
- With the result, Portland extended its home unbeaten streak to nine consecutive matches (6-0-3) since May 2.
- The Timbers improved their home record against Houston to 2-1-1 all-time since 2011.
- With the draw against Houston, the Timbers have 40 points through 26 games, marking their highest point total at that juncture in any of their five MLS seasons.
