Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
General thoughts on the match…
“I thought the second half was very good and that’s what we’re going to build on. Last two games we’ve given up a goal early. On the road, to get points, to get a result – that can’t happen. I was pleased with our spirit in the second half, the energy, the urgency, all the things that you want to see to start a game and for 90 minutes so we need to build on that second half. Obviously not pleased giving up the early goal. Not satisfied that we didn’t find a goal. Obviously not pleased with the result, but ultimately I thought we had a breakthrough in that second half in terms of how we played and the energy. We were a bit unfortunate not to at least get the draw. I thought that was definitely a PK, watched the tape and it didn’t go our way.”
On the improvements in the second half…
“We just did everything we wanted to do better. We were sharper, we switched the play quicker, we were more urgent when we got it wide, we were decisive. I thought our overall pressure and energy was better. Like I said I liked our spirit in that second half. If we do that for 90 minutes we’re going to be in good shape to win games but we didn’t do that for 90 minutes so ultimately that’s why we fall short.”
On the performance of goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey and the defense…
“I thought in the second half he was outstanding and the back line as well. Early in the game we were sloppy and a bit casual for whatever reason. I think when you give up a goal people will look and say that we were flat, but I don’t think we were flat I thought we came out sharp but after the goal, I thought it rattled us a little bit. It took us far too long to respond and fortunately they didn’t respond either. I thought they looked to ride out the 1-0 result. They looked as tentative as we did and I thought in the second half we were better frankly, but we have no points to show for it. We have to move on and have to have a short memory, we’ve got D.C. and then Colorado. We have to move on and get ready for those games.”
Portland Timbers defender Nat Borchers
On his 300th career match…
“You just never know with a professional soccer career how far it’s going to go. I’ve just been very fortunate to play with good players and just have positive experiences at all the clubs I’ve been at. I’m just very fortunate and looking forward to getting more games.”
On the match...
“It was a tale of two halves for us where the first half was really not good enough. We were very sloppy and when you give up an early goal that will definitely put you in a hole and losing Valeri was very tough as well.”
On what needs to be done against D.C. United on Wednesday…
“We got to do the same thing to D.C. as what happened to us on the road, we need to be aggressive and find that early goal. The game is definitely easier from there as we are a possession type of team.”
Portland Timbers goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey
On his performance…
“I think it was a bit messy. We showed a bit of desperation trying to get a goal which in turn gave me a lot to do. I am disappointed we were unable to come up with the three points even though I had a good game.”
On what to take away from the match…
“You are able to build confidence when you are involved a lot, but at the end of the day we did not get anything out of the game.”
Toronto FC Quotes
Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney
Overall thoughts on the performance…
“By the end of the game it did not finish how we had drawn it up. We ended up defending out a 1-0 lead. We had a number of chances had we finished would have made it a little easier on us.”
On Warren Creavalle’s performance in the second half...
“I thought Warren did a good job, I thought he closed people out defensively and he did some pretty good stuff with his one on one defending. He also had a chance to get the second goal which was a great effort on his part so I am pleased with what he did when he came in.”
Toronto FC forward Sebastian Giovinco
On the match…
“I felt we had a better football game last game but it was still a good game. Once we start to win it will start to get easier and easier for us. I am starting to feel more comfortable as I am getting more touches on the ball.
Toronto FC midfielder Michael Bradley
On the match…
“We spoke about ways to win at home and the need to win your games at home. We need to be a team that consistently plays well and wins at home. If you look back to last year, we lost too many point at home. You have to be able to take your points on the road certain days but you have to be consistently good at home.”
Notes:
- Defender Nat Borchers made his 300th career MLS regular-season appearance on Saturday, becoming the 29th player (including goalkeepers) to reach the milestone in MLS history.
- Defender Liam Ridgewell made his 27th consecutive start for the Timbers on Saturday, which is currently the longest active streak on the team.
- Borchers, Ridgewell and goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey each played the full 90 minutes for the 12th straight game (1,080 minutes) this season.
- Midfielder Rodney Wallace made his 115th career MLS start on Saturday against Toronto FC.
- Midfielder Will Johnson was included in the Timbers’ 18-player matchday roster for the first time since sustaining a fractured tibia and fibula in his right leg on Sept. 27, 2014, against Toronto FC.
- Portland’s defensive unit of Kwarasey, Borchers, Ridgewell, Jorge Villafaña and Alvas Powell made their 12th consecutive start this season.
- The Timbers tallied a passing accuracy rate of more than 80 percent (81) for a seventh straight match on Saturday against Toronto FC.
- Portland is 9-3-6 overall immediately following a loss since 2013.
- Saturday’s loss marks just the third time Portland has lost consecutive matches since the 2013 season.
- The loss at Toronto FC marks Portland’s first road loss at an Eastern Conference side in 2015 (2-1-0). The Timbers are 6-3-4 overall on the road against teams from the Eastern Conference since 2013.
