Minnesota United kicks off against the Portland Timbers this Wednesday, looking to pick up three points at home following a short stint on the road.
MNUFC Forward Christian Ramirez
On what he is working on this week to find chances for himself:
Just making sure that I’m in a good spot when the three guys behind me get the ball. I know that Kevin [Molino], Miguel [Ibarra] and Abu [Danladi] can be very dangerous once they get turned and facing the goal. Just making sure I’m always ready even when opportunities aren’t really coming.
On the importance of picking up three points at the home matches and take advantage of the crowd:
It’s very important. They’ve been huge all season so far. Getting louder each game. Just make sure that me and the team build on that, and give them something to be loud about. We know from the start we have to get them involved.
On a sense of revenge for not getting the result the first time they played Portland:
I know some guys have had this marked on their calendars, because it was the first game. For us, we need to continue to get back to what has made us competitive, and do well at home. So we have to watch the tempo and play hard defensively, and create a lot of chances and get three points at home.
Head Coach Adrian Heath
On extra motivation for the team to be playing at home:
There’s always motivation coming home. Obviously, if you look at this league, most of the teams get most of their points at home. Playing away from home and getting results on the road is really difficult for a lot of the teams, not only ourselves. So it's been nice to get back. Our last three or four performances have been really, really telling. We’ve been beaten in Kansas City, who are top of the league. Then we have a terrific performance against the Galaxy, didn’t get the result. And then we beat Orlando. So we’ve had a couple of good performances. Hopefully we can turn that around and get back to our winning ways at home.
On possession stats:
I don’t think we’ve been working their goal keeper enough, and our goal keeper has been too busy. That’s something that I’ve been talking to the players about, and we’re working on it.
On the team being night and day defensively from their first game/affecting their preparation:
Not really. A lot has changed there. We’ve got eight or nine different players on the field from that game against Portland, and we’re better now than when we played them. I still think, to this day, that that score line didn’t reflect the game – 82 minutes gone, we were 2-1 down. So hey, it is what it is, that’s gone now. We’ve got a lot better since then. I expect a big performance from us tomorrow.
