The boys in Old Glory Red are currently in the midst of a three-game winning streak and Saturday night’s opponent is a side SRFC has already downed once before in 2020.
Portland Timbers 2 visit Papa Murphy’s Park this weekend in search of the Pacific Northwest club’s first point in 2020 but T2 shouldn’t be overlooked, as Head Coach Cameron Knowles’ side is a tricky team loaded with quality and talent.
Before the two Group A rivals square off this weekend, it’s time to take a look and see what the Indomitable Club had on their minds heading into the ninth regular season fixture.
The boys in Old Glory Red are currently in the midst of a three-game winning streak and Saturday night’s opponent is a side SRFC has already downed once before in 2020.
Portland Timbers 2 visit Papa Murphy’s Park this weekend in search of the Pacific Northwest club’s first point in 2020 but T2 shouldn’t be overlooked, as Head Coach Cameron Knowles’ side is a tricky team loaded with quality and talent.
Before the two Group A rivals square off this weekend, it’s time to take a look and see what the Indomitable Club had on their minds heading into the ninth regular season fixture.
Head Coach Mark Briggs
Head Coach Mark Briggs
On following a strong week with three wins:
“We’ve had a good week of training, we’ve had a good week of looking at our group tactically, getting their legs back from a hard week so they should feel fresh. We’ve tweaked a few things from a tactical sense to improve us in and out of possession so hopefully we can build on what we did last week and produce a stronger performance which is always the aim to get better each game.”
On what makes T2 a tough matchup:
“They have ability, they have players that can hurt you if you allow them to play. They’re a strong team and we won’t be taking them lightly. We have to be prepared mentally, we have to be prepared physically and we need to make sure that once we cross that white line and we step out here, we need to be ready to go, no matter who the opponent is.”
On the squad heading into the second half of the season…
“We have to continue to build, continue to grow, continue to evolve as a group. We’re not in a bad spot right now but we have to continue to focus on that next game, continue to focus on that next opponent which tomorrow is Portland so let’s get that one right and let’s put in a performance we all can be proud of and happy with and then we will focus on the following game – which is at this point Portland! But we’re at the halfway point, we’re in a decent spot but you’re never happy as a coach, there’s always areas we can improve on so let’s just keep going in the direction we’re going.”
On following a strong week with three wins:
“We’ve had a good week of training, we’ve had a good week of looking at our group tactically, getting their legs back from a hard week so they should feel fresh. We’ve tweaked a few things from a tactical sense to improve us in and out of possession so hopefully we can build on what we did last week and produce a stronger performance which is always the aim to get better each game.”
On what makes T2 a tough matchup:
“They have ability, they have players that can hurt you if you allow them to play. They’re a strong team and we won’t be taking them lightly. We have to be prepared mentally, we have to be prepared physically and we need to make sure that once we cross that white line and we step out here, we need to be ready to go, no matter who the opponent is.”
On the squad heading into the second half of the season…
“We have to continue to build, continue to grow, continue to evolve as a group. We’re not in a bad spot right now but we have to continue to focus on that next game, continue to focus on that next opponent which tomorrow is Portland so let’s get that one right and let’s put in a performance we all can be proud of and happy with and then we will focus on the following game – which is at this point Portland! But we’re at the halfway point, we’re in a decent spot but you’re never happy as a coach, there’s always areas we can improve on so let’s just keep going in the direction we’re going.”
Rodrigo Lopez
Rodrigo Lopez
On preparing for this week’s match:
“We’ve had a great week of training preparing for Portland. When you’re winning, things change and there’s a different vibe out at training. There’s a little less pressure and guys are expressing themselves a little more. When you lose a game, especially as a Sacramento Republic player where the standards are high, always a team that contends for the title – so when you lose a game, things are down.”
On hosting a hungry T2 side:
“They’re young, they could have a few first team players with them. And being part of such a great organization like Portland Timbers, I was fortunate to play there for three years, it’s such an amazing city, amazing support. Just being a part of that franchise, they’re playing for a lot, playing to impress to make that jump to the first team and when teams like that are young and haven’t won a game, there’s no pressure. They’re well managed. They’re going to work hard and they could come out and have a good day and beat anyone. In this league, there’s no weak team, it’s going to be a tough game for us. We want to get a goal early to be able to control the game."
On what the final stretch of games mean to the team…
“We’re on a high. We’re building and we keep getting better and better. I feel like our team is only getting stronger. I still think we have a couple things to get better at but that will come and I feel like the team that usually win the championship are the teams that finish well so these next eight games are going to be like finals to use, we need to win most of them and get as high a seed as we can to hopefully get homefield advantage.”
On preparing for this week’s match:
“We’ve had a great week of training preparing for Portland. When you’re winning, things change and there’s a different vibe out at training. There’s a little less pressure and guys are expressing themselves a little more. When you lose a game, especially as a Sacramento Republic player where the standards are high, always a team that contends for the title – so when you lose a game, things are down.”
On hosting a hungry T2 side:
“They’re young, they could have a few first team players with them. And being part of such a great organization like Portland Timbers, I was fortunate to play there for three years, it’s such an amazing city, amazing support. Just being a part of that franchise, they’re playing for a lot, playing to impress to make that jump to the first team and when teams like that are young and haven’t won a game, there’s no pressure. They’re well managed. They’re going to work hard and they could come out and have a good day and beat anyone. In this league, there’s no weak team, it’s going to be a tough game for us. We want to get a goal early to be able to control the game.”
On what the final stretch of games mean to the team…
“We’re on a high. We’re building and we keep getting better and better. I feel like our team is only getting stronger. I still think we have a couple things to get better at but that will come and I feel like the team that usually win the championship are the teams that finish well so these next eight games are going to be like finals to use, we need to win most of them and get as high a seed as we can to hopefully get homefield advantage.”
