Quotes, Stats and Links: Houston Away Edition

by Ryan Gates on Aug 15, 2011 12:59 AM PDT

Quotes:

Portland Timbers Quotes

Head coach John Spencer
On the match:
"I was disappointed for 15 minutes. I think we had an opportunity to score a goal. We had a great chance by Eddie Johnson from a back pass that could have put us one-nil up. I keep telling the guys that chances win goals, and goals win games. They then go 2-0 up, and then I think from then we get in at half-time, we reorganize a bit, and we have a chat. In the second half, I don't think I'd be too far away from saying that we had some great chances to possibly tie the game, if not win it. I think we were very unlucky to not come away with something tonight."

On playing in Houston:
"I think it's a very difficult place to come and play. Not just with the climate, but Robertson Stadium is a real fortress and they make it very difficult for the opposing players on the team. Tonight, I don't think we were out-played. I think we matched them stride for stride, and I was really disappointed."

Midfielder Jack Jewsbury

On the match:
"Yeah, I think we knew coming into the game that both teams were going to have to face the heat. It's not just hard on us; it's also hard on them. I think it's more mental than it is physical coming in here, and I thought as a group we did a good job. We had a little spell there in the first half, a 15-minute spell where they got their two goals, that maybe we weren't as sharp as we would have liked. Overall, we thought we had a pretty good performance and if we finish a few more chances on the offensive end, I think we at least get one and maybe even three points out of the game."

Defender Mike Chabala
On the match: "I think for 60 minutes we took it to them, and I think they could agree with that, too. I think as the game went on, it was going to open up. There was a stretch of about 15-20 minutes where we let those two goals in. You know you can't rest with that team. Brad Davis, Brian Ching, Colin Clark, all guys we highlighted coming into the game; we didn't stay with runners and we were punished for it."

Houston Dynamo Quotes

Head coach Dominic Kinnear
On the match:
"I'm happy. This is another good win for us. We scored two great goals. It was a great goal by Adam Moffat and good team play for the second goal. Overall, I'm happy with the effort. We have leapfrogged some teams in the Eastern Conference and put ourselves in a pretty good spot. We will move on from this one and move on to Wednesday's match."

On the impact of Adam Moffat's goal:
"We came out pretty well, and then we had a little bit of a miscommunication where Eddie Johnson got through. I think that changed the momentum a little bit, but then after Adam scored, I think the guys really got a boost and knocked the ball around a bit."

On playing against former assistant coach John Spencer:
"It's great to see him. You always know his teams are going to give a great effort, because his players play for him."

Forward Brian Ching
On the game:
"We started off extremely well. We were all over them. I fault myself for not putting the game away in the first half. If I score that third one, it's not that close in the end. I thought it was over the line, that I saw some green between the ball and the line, but there is no way the refs could see that. It was a good start, but it was a humid night. The first 60 minutes took a lot out of us, but a win is a win. We have a tough week ahead, and we don't want to pat ourselves on the back, yet, but we are climbing the charts and that's where we want to be."

On the team's level of play:
"This is the way we should have been playing all year, especially at home. We are playing some good soccer, and this is going to be a test of our character with the games coming up back-to-back-to-back and ending with arguably one of the best teams in the league in Real Salt Lake. It's a good test to see where we are at the end of this week, and hopefully we continue to play well and put our stamp on the Eastern Conference."

Midfielder Adam Moffat
On tonight's game:
"It's a big game for us. First and foremost, it was a chance for us to get three points, and we did that. Personally, I'm happy to score against my old team."

On playing against his old club:
"When you are out there against your old teammates, you want to get stuck in. I had a couple challenges to let them know I was there as well. It was a good strike that went in. I was happy and delighted, but like I said, it was the three points that mattered."

Stats:

Houston Dynamo		Portland Timbers
15	Attempts on Goal	11
5	Shots on Target	5
5	Shots off Target	3
5	Blocked Shots	3
6	Corner Kicks	3
9	Fouls	6
12	Open Play Crosses	16
1	Offsides	2
1	Yellow Cards	1
0	Red Cards	0
19	Duels Won	24
44%	Duels Won %	55%
433	Total Pass	366
81%	Passing Accuracy %	80%
53.9%	Possession	46.1%

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Comments

Of all the frustrations I felt from the game last night

and there were many, the most frustrating player to me was Nagbe. So many times, he got the ball, and either stopped running entirely or slowed down to the point where he may as well have stopped, and it killed the flow the Timbers were trying to create. They still can’t get the ball out of midfield to save their lives, they struggle to understand that a forward pass is actually legal in soccer (If I were Spencer I would fine every midfielder that makes a sideways pass in midfield after receiving a sideways pass – it’s that bad), and they just show absolutely no imagination or creativity right now.

Mofftat’s goal was a screamer, but why on earth wasn’t there at least one Timber out there covering him? There were 10 Timbers crowding the box. This isn’t eighth grade soccer – hold your damn position.

by pdb on Aug 15, 2011 8:11 AM PDT reply actions