Portland Timbers Quotes
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
Overall thoughts on the match:
“We had a good first half and we were up 2-0 with a great opportunity to take three points. We knew the next goal was going to be key, we should have scored the third goal with a point-blank chance, and if we scored that the game would have been over. Through the run of play I didn’t think they had a ton of clear cut chances, but we gave up three set-piece goals. You can understand one happening, but three is very hard to swallow. I didn't think on two of the three that they were well-executed goals, so that makes it even tougher. But, you have to credit Toronto as well, they are really hungry right now, never made the playoffs, and we knew they were going to come out flying. They took their chances and we needed to do better, as winning soccer games can often times come down to set pieces, as I have said before. These are things that we will learn from and correct.”
On his view of the Will Johnson collision and the team’s response:
“I didn’t get a great view, not sure if I’ll watch it again. It was a hard tackle, two guys went in and he got the wrong end of it. It was unfortunate and tough, but I was really pleased with the way the guys responded. Sometimes you lose your captain and it sends your group into a funk, but I thought we responded really well. We certainly feel for Will and will miss him.”
Thoughts on not managing the second half the way the team needed to:
“You’re up 2-0 you have to find a way to get a result, and you have to manage the game better. We weren’t going for the third goal recklessly, we were organized, tight, and didn’t think we gave up many chances through the run of play. For me, it is about managing the key moments that will get you the result, and those set pieces were crucial moments on both sides of the ball. Also not scoring that third goal to go up 3-0, if we do then the whole thing is different.”
On the team’s response down the final stretch of games despite the disappointing result:
“We’ve been doing that all year, we’ve been doing it the hard way. We’ve dealt with a lot, it hasn’t come easy. And this is no different. The guys are disappointed, but we’ll pick ourselves back up, brush ourselves off, and get ready for San Jose. That’s what we’ll do. We don’t dwell too much, we don’t get down, we don’t point fingers, or feel sorry for ourselves. We just keep fighting, keep grinding. That’s a big reason we’re in a playoff position is because of that, a lot of teams would have crumbled with all we’ve been through, the disappointment we’ve dealt with, and we’ve brought some of that on ourselves as well with some inconsistent performances. The one thing that’s clear is that we always respond positively, and that will be no different with recovering from this game.”
Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi
On the team’s performance in the second half:
“We underrated the opponent in the second half…and this is what happens in soccer when you do that. They took the chances when they came, you can see they didn’t create many chances on us, it was just crossing and the goals. But you have to give it to them.”
Portland Timbers defender Pa Modou Kah
On the match:
“It is very disappointing as we did have some chances to finish the game off, but you know that is soccer when you don’t take your chances. In the second half they did take their chances and they won the game.”
On managing a two-goal lead:
“If we had scored a third goal the game would have been different of course, but you can never be sure. Even at 3-0 the game can still be difficult but the chances are less of you losing. At 2-0 they scored and are right back in the game, they took their momentum with that and that is why they have three points and we don’t. Plain and simple, it is a game where you have to take your chances, they took theirs. If you don’t take yours, eventually the other team is going to get some and that is what happened.”
Toronto FC Quotes
Toronto FC head coach Greg Vanney
On the match:
“It felt great, the guys were committed, and I felt like once we got out of that first period where we gave up the couple goals we needed to be more aggressive. I felt we followed through with being aggressive and even in the first half we were able to create come chances and create some dangerous moments. At halftime, the discussion was to be aggressive and believe you can do it. I told them to keep moving forward, keep looking forward and continue to put their back line under pressure and things will happen for us. All of the credit goes to guys for all the amount of work they put in together collectively and to make it happen was fantastic. It was the kind of stuff you can really build on and make a serious push towards the end of the year.”
On the team’s mood at halftime:
“There was a little bit of frustration in there to be down 2-0 going into the half. I think they believed that we were getting chances and I did not need to convince anybody of anything. I think the group is definitely believing in what they are doing but it was a little bit quiet. For me, it was about getting the guys to believe in each other and take small bites.”
Toronto FC defender Nick Hagglund
On what was discussed at halftime:
“We knew that Portland was great offensively as a group. They have a lot of pieces that were good but we knew that defensively they had struggled this year and we knew that we were always going to be in the game no matter what. Our first half wasn’t good. We weren’t connecting passes and we knew that if we came together and played the way TFC knows how to play and play tough and be hard, we eventually would score some goals.”
Notes:
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Portland’s two goals in the opening 16 minutes of Saturday’s match marked the quickest two goals to start a match in the team’s MLS history.
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The Timbers tied their MLS-club single-season record in goals (54) with two goals on Saturday against Toronto FC. Portland is on pace to register 61 goals this season.
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Forward Fanendo Adi has tallied a goal in consecutive matches, netting three goals over the last two games for the Timbers. His 13th-minute goal on Saturday was his ninth of the season, tying him with midfielder Diego Valeri and forward Maximiliano Urruti for the team lead.
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Midfielder Diego Valeri has directly factored on a Timbers goal in 10 of the last 13 league games. On Saturday, Valeri forced a Toronto FC own goal in the 16th minute.
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Midfielder Diego Chara netted his fourth assist of the season on Saturday, tying a personal MLS career high in assists set in 2011.
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Chara also became the first Timbers MLS player to surpass the 10,000 minutes played milestone in his Timbers career.
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Midfielder/forward Darlington Nagbe made the 123rd appearance of his Timbers MLS career, moving into sole possession of eighth place on the all-time list across all eras and one appearance shy of tying Timbers general manager Gavin Wilkinson (124) for seventh place on the list.
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Portland has tallied two goals or more in six straight league games (seven consecutive matches in all competitions).
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Over the last two seasons, the Timbers have earned a 4-2-4 overall record on the road against Eastern Conference teams.
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Saturday’s match marked Portland’s first match at BMO Field in 774 days, dating back to Aug. 15, 2012.
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Despite the loss, Portland (39pts) remained two points clear of the red line, ahead of Vancouver Whitecaps FC (37pts) in fifth place in the Western Conference standings. Vancouver is set to play host to Real Salt Lake on Saturday night.
- Midfielder Will Johnson sustained a fractured tibia and fibula in his right leg in the opening seconds of Saturday’s match at Toronto FC.
