Quotes: Portland Timbers vs. Tampa Bay Rowdies
Portland Timbers Quotes
Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
Overall thoughts on the match:
“The goal was to win and advance. As I said from the beginning, we’re going to take it one at a time. We’re happy to be in the quarterfinals, we’re looking forward to that, but we’re filing everything away and looking to the league on Saturday. We’re happy we got through the game, we’re happy we got to the quarterfinals, we’re happy we have a healthy group. We wanted to manage this game and the Saturday game in a way where we’d get the result today, but also where we’d have a fresh group for Saturday and we accomplished exactly what we wanted to.”
On balancing the lineup for the game:
“This was a good result and I’m very happy for the guys who played in the game because some of those guys don’t even see the field, some of them don’t even travel. We trusted our reserves, we brought them here to play, we didn’t bring them here to sit. We knew there would be situations like this where we would need them. We went with some guys that frankly haven’t highlighted, haven’t played much and some guys that have. I thought it was the right mix. In the end, I thought everyone performed like we hoped they would. I’m happy for guys like Michael Nanchoff, who hasn’t played at all, but has been very good every day in training. He’s been very good in the reserve games and his first goal is what opened up the game. That was a critical goal early in the game. I thought it was a great thing for someone like him to get that goal and get rewarded for all the hard work that he’s done. This is a team. Our team isn’t 1-to-11, it’s 1-to-30 and I thought that showed tonight.”
Timbers midfielder Jack Jewsbury
On scoring against Tampa Bay:
“Playing defense I don’t get as many chances, but today [I was] put back in the middle of midfield and I tried to pick my moments about going forward and obviously on set pieces that’s one of the opportunities. It definitely felt good to get that second goal and put us in a good position at the end of the game.”
On how versatility has helped him this season:
“I think over the course of my career, versatility is something that has kept me on the field whether it’s in the midfielder, on the outside playing right back, left back, whatever it might be. I’m a guy who is open to playing any position as long as I’m helping the team. Tonight, I had a certain role when I came in to hold things down with Ben [Zemanski] in that defensive midfield. I thought we did well, got out of here with a win and advanced to the quarterfinals.”
Timbers midfielder Michael Nanchoff
On playing in the match and recording a goal and an assist:
“It feels good. I’ve had a lot of unfortunate circumstances with injuries and that kind of thing and not finding my way into the lineup. When given the chance, you’ve got to take advantage of it and it felt great to score my first goal, especially in front of the Timbers Army. It was pretty special.”
On utilizing the team’s depth ahead of a busy schedule:
“It’s crucial. With all the games coming up with U.S. Open Cup and the league, we’re trying to get into the playoffs – it’s one of our main goals. We’ve got to use all of the depth that we can. Everyone is stepping up to the plate, so it’s really important.”
On playing alongside Diego Valeri against Tampa Bay:
“Playing alongside Diego [Valeri] is an honor. He’s an experienced player. He has taught me a lot. I try to pick his brain in training and in games. To be able to play alongside him and combine off him and do a lot of fancy things with him is a pretty cool feeling.”
Tampa Bay Rowdies Quotes
Rowdies head coach Ricky Hill
On the Rowdies’ U.S. Open Cup run in 2013:
“We were delighted to represent the NASL in this round. We managed to beat Seattle [in the third round], which the players should take great pride from throughout the remainder of the season. I’m hoping that this won’t be a lapse in our season, I hope it will be a beginning again because they should take great pride in their efforts. I’m hoping we can continue to build and grow as a group for the remainder of the season.
“We’re hoping next season we can go even deeper in the U.S. Open Cup. We really enjoyed the event, we really enjoyed coming to places such as Portland and the hospitality that we get and the fantastic crowd. It’s all a good experience for the players.”
On his team’s overall effort:
“I can’t fault the players for the effort that they put in. Fitness wise they didn’t look too bad as a group, so I was happy with those aspects of it. It is what it is, we wrap the cup now, but we need to set that bar as high as we can as a group. The goals, the manner of the goals and the timing of the goals hurt us, because they came at the worst possible time in both halves. Outside of that, I think they should take a lot of belief as a group.”
Notes:
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The Timbers advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup for the first time in the club’s history. Portland had reached the fourth round of the tournament on two previous occasions in 2004 and 2005.
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The goal scored by midfielder Michael Nanchoff in the ninth minute is the fifth-quickest goal scored by the Timbers in the U.S. Open Cup in the club’s history. Forward Frederic Piquionne scored the Timbers quickest goal in a U.S Open Cup match May 29, 2013, finding the back of the net in the second minute against Wilmington.
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Piquionne has recorded four goals and one assist over the Timbers’ first two U.S. Open Cup matches. Over his last four games across all competitions, Piquionne has totaled four goals and four assists.
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The Timbers defense has allowed just one goal in its last six matches at JELD-WEN Field across all competitions. The one goal allowed in that span was scored by Wilmington Hammerheads midfielder Paul Nicholson in U.S. Open Cup play on May 29.
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The Timbers recorded their sixth shutout in U.S. Open Cup play in their history (across all eras).
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In the Starting XI for the Rowdies was midfielder Keith Savage, who played two seasons for the second-division Timbers from 2009-10.
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The history between the Timbers and Rowdies dates back to 1975 and the original North American Soccer League. The two clubs first met in Soccer Bowl ’75, the league’s championship match, and last met July 31, 2010, when both clubs were members of USSF Division-2 Pro League (second division).
- The Timbers are one of five MLS clubs to advance to the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal. The fourth-round match between the Chicago Fire and Columbus Crew was postponed until Thursday due to inclement weather.
