D.C. United assistant coach Chad Ashton
On the result…
“It wall-aroundaround good effort. The guys put in a lot of mileage and a lot of work. Portland's attacking pieces on the other side are real, so to put up a shutout against them is a big statement. Just a credit to the entire team for putting in a pretty complete effort.”
On the importance of picking up three points…
“It was vital. I think we felt like overall we’ve let some points get away a little bit, so to put up the full three is a big deal. But for our mindset, we need to basically start and finish off games. To know that we’re capable of doing that, and to do it against the reigning champs, it’s a big deal. I think we felt like we were moving forward, and this feels like another step forward, and hopefully we can build on that.”
On Steve Birnbaum’s performance…
“Excellent. [Fanendo] Adi’s a monster up there, so to have to deal with them and then have to deal with guys running off of him is not easy, it’s not fun. But [Steve] gets a goal obviously, and overall I thought he had an excellent game. I think you can say that with everybody…defensively, it was just an excellent effort by everybody.”
D.C. United goalkeeper Bill Hamid
On what three points means going forward…
“It’s a big confidence booster to get three points, especially against the reigning champs. We’ve got to take it in stride and bask in it tonight, but once tomorrow morning hits we have to reach in and focus on the task ahead because New York (Red Bulls) is coming to town and they are not an easy team to take advantage of.”
On how he thinks the team did as a group…
“I think as a group they have done fantastic. Over the past three games, they’ve had very difficult forwards to deal with, Drogba and Sapong, and now Adi who is a big boy, and they’ve dealt with them fairly well. We put out a lot of fires and today we finished our chances, so we got three points.”
On the emphasis of three points…
“Yeah there was an emphasis because their front line is a bit older than most teams, so we knew that through film on this team, that once we bypass their first block we can have a little freedom to play. We did that fairly well, with Marcelo and Lucho, and JJ had one heck of a game so what we have to do is take away the positives and move forward.”
D.C. United defender Steve Birnbaum
On needing and getting three points…
“Yeah, we needed it. Hopefully, we can keep getting three points. We need to get above that red line, so we are pushing for the playoffs.”
On pushing forward…
“We had a lot of good service and have been working on some set plays and it worked out tonight. So hopefully we can keep getting on the end of those.”
On matching up with Adi in the middle…
“Yeah, he is a good player. But Bobby [Boswell] and I had good communication and kind of kept him in check so, we’re happy with that.”
D.C. United midfielder Lloyd Sam
On getting a second goal in the first half…
“That was so important. I think that was crucial, the timing of the second goal, right before that little break we had. That meant a lot to the team. I think it knocked a bit of the stuffing out of them, and I think that was a big part of why we won.”
On the extreme heat conditions…
“It’s probably one of the hardest games I’ve played in my time over here [in the States]. I think it affected both teams, but once you get your nose in front, it probably affects the other team a lot more when they’re chasing the game.”
On next week’s matchup against the Red Bulls…
“I’m well aware of next week and I’m just excited about the game. More than that, right now we’re above the red line, so there’s bigger fish to fry than the Red Bulls. We just need another three points, so it doesn’t really matter who it’s against right now. Obviously, it will mean even more if we get the win against them, but we need another three because we’ve still got a bad taste in our mouth over the last two home games that we haven’t got wins from. We need another win next week.”
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter
On the result of tonight’s match…
“Disappointing result. We felt this was a game that we could get three points in. No disrespect to D.C. [United], but we felt if we played the way we’re capable of playing, this was a winnable game. We knew the conditions would be difficult. I thought we compounded the conditions by giving up a goal seven minutes in. I thought we should’ve leveled it 1-1 when we hit the crossbar on a breakaway with Jack Mac (McInerney). If we score that, I have to think the momentum swings, but we didn’t score, and then we give up another goal that I thought was on another mistake, so now we’re chasing.
I thought the second half was much better. We made some tactical tweaks, which I thought helped, but I just thought the overall push was better. I thought we should’ve gotten the goal to make it interesting, but could’ve, should’ve would’ve. We fell short today. We made some mistakes defensively, which led to us giving up two goals, so on that side of things it wasn’t enough. We all play a part: the staff, myself, and the players in a result. The key is we need to correct it. We need to move on from it and get ready for Seattle [Sounders]. It’s one game. Obviously it’s disappointing, especially when points are at a premium right now. This is one where you have to have a short memory. You can’t dwell on it and let it hang over into the next game."
On the effect of conditions…
“I hate to make excuses. It is what it is. You gotta manage it. Obviously we don’t want to play in this humidity. Ever. So it’s not ideal. But for me, if we don’t give up the early goal, I think it’s a different game. You give up a goal, then another goal. Now in the second half, you saw the effort was there. The guys never quit. I was pleased with that. I thought we deserved a goal to go 2-1 to make it interesting. In the end, I’m not gonna make excuses about the heat today.”
On the team’s mindset heading into their next match vs Seattle Sounders…
“We’ll be fine. This is a resilient team. We have a good culture, a good locker room. Like I said, we’re not going to play the blame game. There’s a lot of blame to go around, myself included. We’ll take responsibility, we’ll correct it, and we’ll move on from it. We’ll keep our ‘lows’ high. We do that and we usually rebound and respond because we could watch this game ten times, we could find all the mistakes, we can point fingers at everybody, and that does no good. We’ll reflect on the things that need to be better and improve on those things in the week, and we’ll be ready to go against Seattle.”
On Jake Gleeson’s performances this season…
“He’s been outstanding. You look at the second half, everybody was pretty good. I have to look at that first half, and I gotta figure out why it went the way it went. But the first thing I’m going to look at is myself.”
Portland Timbers forward Fanendo Adi
On the loss…
“It was a tough game. The weather played a massive role in the game today, and I think D.C. played very well. They deserved to win. I think they’re used to the weather, used to the environment, and it was a bit tough for us, but credit to them because they got two early goals and they kept their cool… It was a tough one for us, and again, I think D.C. deserved to win.”
On moving forward after a tough defeat on the road...
“We have a quick turnaround back home and to Seattle. We need to get points, and if we can go to Seattle and get some points, that would be massive for us. We just need to focus on the positive things, and in the second half we played very well. We hit the bar and couldn’t get a goal, but at least we created some good chances in the second half.”
On hitting the crossbar...
“You can’t do anything about that. That’s the game. Sometime you’re just an inch close, and sometimes in that inch you don’t score a goal. Today we weren’t lucky enough. We created some good chances, but even though McInerney got a good chance in the first half, they saved it…we just couldn’t get a goal out of it.”
