Timbers Losing Streak Extended On A Very Emotional Night At The Park

Pandemonium struck in the 34th minutes, and it was awesome

Derby matches are always emotional and draining because there are always stakes involved, even if there isn't anything official to play for. It's part of what makes the rivalries so important, especially one like the Portland Timbers and Seattle Sounders FC enjoy. Sure, there is plenty of animosity over various results and situations over the years, but every once in a while, there are the occasional signs of mutual respect. The August 23rd date between the Timbers and the Sounders FC had plenty of actual stakes involved with the result - the fate of the Cascadia Cup would be determined to see if Seattle, the current holders, could continue their stewardship of the cup with a victory in the Rose City while also firming up their position within the top of the Western Conference standings. Portland, meanwhile, has struggled mightily at their home grounds after posting an emphatic win over their other Cascadian Rival, Vancouver, just two weeks previously in a driving rainstorm. While Portland did defeat Chicago days later, but the Timbers lost their focus and composure as the Fire nearly pulled even in stoppage time after Portland jumped to a big lead. Atlanta came in days later as the Timbers continued to try and find themselves, but a Josef Martinez goal seconds into the second half effectively squashed any chance for a rally as the Timbers absorbed a difficult loss at home. This match itself followed a similar pattern to the previous match in terms of play, but the Timbers were able to make it interesting and keep it close until the final moments. Unfortunately, the team lost their second match in a row at home by a 2 to 1 score, but this match had plenty of other implications happening off the pitch that added to the raw emotion of the night.

Timbers Coach Gio Savarese has been lamenting the team's struggles with focus and composure since nearly coughing up the lead against Chicago despite scoring two early goals and being up a man due to an ejection in the 30th minute. Portland fell behind against Atlanta off a deflected goal in the first half, but the strike by Martinez right after the break seemed to pull the energy out of the team for any sort of comeback. With Larrys Mabiala still out due to injury and Jorge Moreira not available due to accumulation suspension, Savarese had to make some adjustments to a backline that has been struggling at moments in the past few weeks. Zarek Valentin received the call to start as the right fullback alongside center backs Julio Cascante and Bill Tuiloma, with Jorge Villafana manning the left side with Steve Clark again between the posts in goal once again. Savarese employed Diego Chara and Cristhian Paredes as the defensive midfielders, both having played some of their best soccer over the past few weeks, with the attacking trio of Marvin Loria, Diego Valeri and Sebastian Blanco manning the midfield attackers. Savarese chose to stay with Brian Fernandez as the lone striker despite his struggles against Atlanta, including a disallowed goal in the first half, but Gio could bring on Jeremy Ebobisse as another scoring option if needed. While the Timbers have enjoyed decent bouts of possession and chances over the past few matches, the ability to break down goal scoring opportunities has been the big issue; whether it's a lack of creativity, patience, composure or whatever, the Timbers simply haven't been able to make things very easy for themselves in the past couple of matches.

Special Olympics celebrated their Timbers & Sounders teams at the half.

Seattle, on the other hand, has been trying to figure out what kind of team they are as they've been consistently inconsistent for most of the season. It's probably hard to think that with the Sounders being in the top of the Western Conference, but outside of LAFC who has been taking victory laps around most of MLS this season, everybody else in the West either looks amazing one minute and horrible the next. Seattle hasn't been very good on the road either, but any team that has Raul Ruidiaz, Cristian Roldan, Nicolas Lodiero and Jordan Morris in their attacking arsenal can't be overlooked. The Sounders were also excited at the recent play of Xavier Arreaga at center back, especially with Roman Torres suspended for several months for a drug offense. Sounders FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei remains one of the best in the league in terms of saves and distribution, so the Timbers would have to find some true quality to score in this match. Savarese told his team this match was very important because of the stakes involved including the fate of the Cascadia Cup, but for Seattle Coach Brian Schmetzer, his goals were much simpler for his side - establish some consistency to gain some confidence going into the final weeks of the year. Seattle has just 7 matches left in 2019 while Portland has just 8 after this fixture, so there aren't many matches left in the year to establish anything solid before this year's new playoff format. The top seed avoids the play in round altogether, and each leg is just one match hosted by the higher seeded team, so being in the top 4 guarantees at least one home date.

As important as the match was for the teams playing, the event took on even more significance because of escalating tensions between the Timbers and their staunch supporters, the Timbers Army. Since the introduction of certain language in the MLS Fan Code of Conduct prohibiting political actions back in March, there have been rising actions between the team and the Timbers Army  surrounding the use of the Iron Front symbol. Actions have escalated since the Vancouver match with supporters boycotting stadium purchases and creating several displays and clothing with the Iron Front logo, but as we covered in our last entry, the team took extraordinary measures to post a press release doubling down on the policy and indicating the Iron Front logo would be prohibited on any large displays. It could, however, be used on clothing and small individual banners. Knowing this match would be on national television with a large viewing audience, the TA made a decision to protest the team's action once again. They would not put forth a pre-match display or sing the National Anthem, while they would also remain silent for the first 33 minutes of the match in solidarity. Where this action took on a different track was that the Sounders' visiting supporters from the Emerald City Supporters and Gorilla FC agreed to the same terms as well, so both groups would go silent for the majority of the first half. The history between the groups has experienced several bumpy chapters over the years, but the fact that these groups of supporters all agreed to this action shows the seriousness and conviction behind this approach. The Seattle supporters haven't experienced anything as serious in actions taken by the Sounders organization that I could find, but the fact that they were willing to go all in with the Timbers Army was enough to show me that they considered the league actions objectionable.

Diego Chara was his very active self for all of the match per usual

I have to admit that I was slightly concerned when 30 minutes before the kickoff, the Sounders end was in full voice with drums and flags making a wall of noise, while the Timbers Army were just settling into their seats getting ready for the match. But after a very quiet anthem and no display to speak of, when Center Official Jair Marrufo blew the whistle, the Sounders end went quiet to match the Timbers section of supporters. For those that might be familiar with the crowds at a Portland Beavers baseball game or other events at the park, the noise level was definitely similar to that. For 33 minutes, people heard the voices of the players and coaches, a few one off attempts at a cheer for their side, and some good natured applause. Timbers matches are known for the raucous atmosphere and vibrant displays, but the entire North End went silent, and I'm sure the ESPN crowd wasn't sure what they had tuned into. Much like Atlanta, Portland put some pressure on early as Paredes tested Frei in the 10th minute from distance that he blocked, but it fell to Loria. Marvin put a shot on target, but Frei pushed it over the bar to earn a corner kick that generated a chance for the Timbers, but  Tuiloma rushed a header in the 11th minute just wide. The Sounders seemed content to let the Timbers run about until the 22nd minute when Morris sprinted down the left side with Valentin providing the mark. Unfortunately, Zarek committed the cardinal sin of defending in reaching his foot out to stop Morris, and the Seattle forward easily out maneuvered him to then get clear and put a cross from left to right. With Ruidiaz and Roldan near the goal relatively unmarked, the ball fell to Ruidiaz, but his shot was deflected away by Clark momentarily. However, Roldan was able to find the rebound and tap it into an open goal to give the Sounders a 1 to 0. However, the celebration was very subdued outside of a few claps and the near quiet returned to the crowd seconds later.

The teams traded back and forth runs for the next several minutes to no avail as the defenses were able to cover the threats, but the complexion of the match changed dramatically in the 34th minute when as agreed upon, the supporters groups' both broke into song and displays at the agreed upon time of 33:01 on the clock. The song Bella Ciao was an Italian anti-fascist song originated in 1933 at the height of World War II, and it bellowed through the entire park as flags, signs, streamers, banners and noise returned to the stadium. Several Iron Front flags were flying about within both sections, and it appeared that both teams fed off the renewed energy from the supporters. Valeri had a blocked shot in the 38th minute while Fernandez pushed a shot just off frame in first half stoppage as the score held to the 1 to 0 mark. Although Loria was having a decent match in terms of getting wide and creating chances, Savarese decided to sacrifice him at the half to bring on Ebobisse to give the Timbers a two forward attack with Ebo playing out wide while Fernandez would concentrate within the central area of the box. The change nearly paid dividends in the early moments of the half when Blanco found Ebobisse in the box on the right clear, but Frei was able to push the shot away at the last minute. Considering this was seconds into the second half, it appeared that the Timbers might be in good shape to make the match interesting.

Julio Cascante left the match due to injury

The optimism took a shot in the arm in the 47th minute when Morris beat Valentin in the 47th minute on a run very similar to his 22nd minute effort that yielded a goal. This time, Ruidiaz was the benefactor and he converted the cross to a goal as Cascante was late to cover him off the cross while Valentin again missed keeping Morris away from attacking with slow reactions. Suddenly, a one goal deficit was doubled, and the Timbers faithful were starting to see a familiar pattern. Unlike the Atlanta match, however, the Timbers were able to make it interested when Ebobisse was fouled just outside the box in the 53rd minute by Sounders midfielder Jordy Delem. Off the free kick, Valeri decided to put the effort on frame going to the right, but his shot hit Ruidiaz on the wall, and deflected the ball to the left of the goal. Frei was already heading to the right, and he was unable to adjust back to catch the shot before it struck the next, and just like that, Portland was able to pull back within a goal at 2 to 1. Two minutes later, the Timbers thought they might have the equalizer when Valeri challenged Frei from 20 yards out with a shot from distance, but Frei pushed it away to the left. Ebobisse found the rebound, and put a chip shot into the box where Paredes was able to put a shot on goal with a header but he pushed the shot wide.

Savarese continued to tinker in adding Tomas Conechny for Paredes to give more attacking options, but he added more fuel in the 79th minute when Cascante went down awkwardly trying to make a play and had to leave the match due to injury. Saverese chose to go with three defenders in the back and bring on Andy Polo to effectively put all of the Timbers' attackers out there to get a leveling goal, but the Cascante situation bears some concern here as it's another center back injury to the Timbers in an already thin area. Tuiloma is just coming back from injury while Mabiala is still recovering from his injury; with Modou Jadama out with a leg injury, the Timbers are effectively with 2 functioning center backs on the roster with Tuiloma and Claude Dielna. Portland thought they had leveled in the 81st minute when Valeri put a cross from right to left for Fernandez, and he easily slotted the ball past Frei to set off a crazed celebration in the North End, but replays show that Fernandez was slightly ahead of Seattle defender Saad Abdul-Salaam, but it was really, really, really close. Marrufo did consult with VAR official Edvin Jurisevic about the play, but the call on the pitch stood. While Blanco just missed on a header in the depths of stoppage time by mere inches and Polo put a wicked shot on Frei that caused some concern, the Timbers weren't able to get the equalizer when the final whistle blew.

Brian Fernandez thought he had pulled the Timbers even in the 81st minute.

The Sounders players fell to the turf in exhaustion and elation while their supporters gathered in the southwest corner with the Cascadia Cup in celebration that they would be keepers of the cup for another season. The Sounders had been conceding goals like crazy coming into this match, but their defense held together enough to yield just one goal on the night, and the points give them some much needed momentum. The Timbers, on the other hand, were left to sort through the wreckage of another home loss. There certainly are those heaping blame on the result on Marrufo and his crew, who missed a handball in the box in the 40th minute off Delem from a cross that Marrufo ruled his leg, but the replays show the ball struck the hand then the leg, and the decision on Fernandez was a really close call. The defense could certainly get some scrutiny as Valentin lost track of Morris on both goals in trying to mark, and Morris appeared to be struggling with a leg injury on and off for most of the evening, yet he was able to beat Zarek on multiple occasions. Cascante also was left exposed on a few runs, forcing Tuiloma to have to adjust and he wasn't able to make a few plays either, whether this was due to unfamiliarity with each other or just pressure from the Sounders. But for me, the biggest issue on the night was the Timbers' impatience on the offensive end. Saverese lamented the team wasn't very composed for most of the night on offense, especially considering the wealth of chances the team enjoyed, and I agree with the coach.

Some talk has been made that an easy adjustment could be to move Fernandez out to the wing, his more natural position, and move Ebobisse to the center to be more of the focal and distribution point. Fernandez was a huge success early as the lone striker in poaching for goals, but over the last few matches, he's struggled to find space to work in the middle and his best creativity from what we've seen in his previous stops was movement wide. That would put a ton of pressure on Ebobisse to be the true distributor and threat in the middle, but considering he's a taller, more physical forward, I'm actually thinking this is a needed adjustment. This should then allow Blanco and Valeri to do what they do best in wandering about on the pitch with the support of another winger if needed or just work within the four of them. Savarese will certainly have a lot of ponder before the team's next match when they host Real Salt Lake on August 31st in what could likely be RSL goalkeeper Nick Rimando's last appearance in Portland, as he announced his retirement before the start of the 2019 season. Like Seattle, RSL has been lurking in the middle of the table in the West and while they don't have many of the dynamic options we've seen from them in previous seasons, they are not a team to overlook.

Portland wants this place as a fortress, but it's been tough this year.

The one group that I wouldn't think to blame for the results would be the supporters, who brought tons of energy and noise after their initial protest. Some didn't feel that way and voiced their frustration at the Timbers Army's decision to stay silent for a good portion of an extremely important  match with tons of implications. Many outlets have been covering the protest for several months, but the supporters' actions and subsequent response has given this story even more attention and it's being discussed in many social circles. If you followed the situation on Twitter, most folks on the #RCTID hashtag supported the protest and voiced approval, but on Facebook, the reaction was far more negative, as many fans wondered why the Army would do this during in a Cascadia Cup match. It doesn't take an ad wizard to know that putting a vocal protest against a rule or situation works much better with a wider audience, and what bigger stage could the supporters get than a national audience on ESPN in the only MLS match going at that broadcast window? The actions forced people to talk about the Iron Front symbol, the actions taken by the league and the teams, and what the supporters are protesting about. Even the players got into the situation with Valentin wearing an Iron Front symbol shirt before the match and afterwards during the team's media time, while Ebobisse had a Colin Kaepernick jersey on. The Sounders were also engaged as Frei saluted the Timbers Army after the match and gave an impassioned interview afterwards about his thoughts.

Perhaps the more disturbing angle of the negative comments though came from several who indicated how frustrated they were at the lack of atmosphere within the park, and it's expected for the stadium to be loud and boisterous for our team. Maybe those comments came from Russian bots, or the commenters don't realize that the capos leading songs and the drummers are volunteer positions; they pay for a game ticket just like everyone else and give their time freely to help organize the displays and songs. As a group, they all agreed to the protest action because as has been stated, the actions of the league go against everything the Iron Front symbol stands for. The three arrows are a response to messages of hatred in any form, and banning this symbol as political speech is incorrect. I'm not sure what will happen over the coming weeks, but with neither side seeming to want to budge, it seems the drama surrounding the Timbers will be ratcheted up as the calendar moves closer to the opening days of Fall. As I stated in my last post, I have always hoped the sides could find some common ground, but instead it appears there is some bunkering down on their respective positions. For me, the Timbers Army are doing the right thing and I applaud them for standing up against hate in any form.

Timbers Home Opener Ends in Contentious 3 to 2 Loss to LAFC

My new vantage point from press row. It's going to take some getting used to.

The date of June 1, 2019 had been circled on many calendars for Timbers fans, not just because some certain person keeps asking what date it is on social media. You could certainly feel the anxiousness in the air around Providence Park as the Portland Timbers were preparing to host their home opener in 2019 MLS play with the Los Angeles Football Club - LAFC for short - paying a visit. Considering that Portland had already played 12 matches on the road, traveling over 25,000 miles and spending most of the 2019 calendar year playing away from familiar settings and a partisan crowd, you could sense the tension within the grounds hours before kickoff among the players and supporters. For the most part, the stadium passed the initial test well - the crowd noise was deafening, the stadium viewpoints were impressive, and the sights very memorable - but as with any grand opening, there were challenges as LAFC held on for a dramatic 3 to 2 victory in front of a new capacity crowd of 25,218.

It was hard to avoid the news of the stadium reopening as it was being covered world wide by various outlets, and the end results were very evident with the expanded East deck adding over 4,000 new seats, new jumbotrons on the South and West deck, a new playing surface, updated sound system and other decorative touches throughout the park. The visuals were indeed stunning from being able to see a visible Mount Hood or Mount St. Helen's in the distance from the new deck, and as the evening moved on, the night sky gave the fans quite a sight. The opening wasn't without various technical difficulties, however, as the sound system alternated between nothing and deafening for most of the match, social media reported varying issues with the concessions and the crowded concourses, and for the first time in the MLS era, the Timbers Army did not lead the singing of the anthem before the kick. Days before the opener, the 107ist announced new fan conduct rules that prohibited certain imagery from being displayed during the match in conjunction with MLS parameters that applies to all matches at the park, which led to plenty of supporter discord. Some supporters had to remove messages of support for the Iron Front upon entering the park, yet before the match had started, a group of fans were displaying a Trump 2020 flag in one of the sections of the park before the flag was removed. Tensions were still on alert hours after the match on the topic, and it will be interesting to see what happens over the coming weeks regarding this issue.

Diego Chara was his very usual Chara-like self the whole match.

I was part of the stadium opening in 2001 for the Portland Beavers when the stadium ran out of hot dogs in the third inning, so there is precedent for home opener challenges. I don't say that to make light of what happened before the match, although it's not unexpected for new facilities to experience problems on their first run. For my opinion, I appreciate the upgrades but I would ask the stadium to turn down the volume on the public address system, as it was completely distracting when on top volume. I also understand the dynamic with soccer and politics over history, and many just want politics to stay out of sports. I admit I've struggled with that message before as I enjoy sports and would prefer the drama & dramatics be kept off the field of play, but sometimes the messages are beyond just the world of sports and that desire is part of my privilege as a white male in society. I respect the league for doing their best to make the fan experience more inclusive with their Soccer For All campaign, but the issue of censoring specific messages as political is a very slippery slope that doesn't have any easy answers. Soccer is a game that should embrace all parts of society, but there is no place in our society for groups that promote messages of hate or support violence against others, simply because of their race, gender, religion, creed, belief system or some other arbitrary factor. Messages that drive wedges and fuel hate should never be welcomed in any environment. I'm proud that the 107ist is supporting human rights causes, especially during Pride Month, and will support them as they continue to share this important message.

Within the context of opening the refurbished stadium and the traffic challenges brought on by the Starlight Parade happening on the same night in downtown Portland, it would have been easy to overlook the matchup between LAFC and Portland, two clubs that are fast developing a very contentious rivalry. LAFC dismantled the Timbers earlier this year in game 2 of the 12 game road string, and tensions had boiled over in several matches last year during LAFC's inaugural season, but Bob Bradley's crew are setting the pace so far in 2019 with an undefeated home record so far in 8 matches and earning points from 7 of 8 matches away from home. LAFC has a plus 26 goal differential - only Philadelphia has a double digit goal differential so far - which indicates a strong offense, but LAFC is also second to last on goals allowed with 13 conceded, so they have a solid companion defense as well. Carlos Vela makes the team run, but this group has Christian Ramirez, Diego Rossi, Adama Diomande, Latif Blessing and Mark-Anthony Kaye who provide scoring and passing support, so the Timbers were going to have their hands full in all aspects. Brian Fernandez has been a wonderful addition to the Timbers for his offensive expertise, but the key in this match would be how well Diego Chara and Cristian Paredes, the duo selected for defensive midfield duty among the starters, would patrol the middle and hold the tempo.

Paredes add to MLS Timbers history as 1st goal scorer in updated park

Timbers Coach Gio Savarese decided to roll out the familiar 4 - 2 - 3 - 1 attack with Fernandez as the lone striker with Diego Valeri, Sebastian Blanco and Andy Polo as the supporting attacking midfielders. With Paredes and Chara in the middle, Savarese used Jorge Moreira, Larrys Mabiala, Bill Tuiloma and Jorge Villafana as the defensive line in front of goalkeeper Jeff Attinella. Moreira and Villafana have been rather adept at moving forward to support the offense, but they would be tested in this matchup with the three LAFC attackers in Vela, Rossi and Ramirez. After playing in different stadiums with various surfaces, it would be interesting to see how well the Timbers would adapt to the new Cool Turf surface at Providence Park, designed to keep field temperatures down yet still be a fast surface. With Portland having an exceptional record in home openers and the myriad of emotions going on before the home opener, it would be paramount for the team not to make any mistakes and keep their emotions and wits in check throughout the match. Unfortunately for the Timbers, this message really didn't hit home until later in the affair.

Portland mistakes effectively created the three goals that LAFC tallied on the night, and their hundred of traveling supporters enjoyed every moment of it bellowing songs as loudly as the Timbers Army for most of the night. Vela tallied his 16th goal of 2019 in probably the easiest fashion of the year in the 6th minute when Attinella passed a goal kick directly to him and Vela slotted the ball past him before he or the defense could recover. Attinella was intending to put the ball in play to Villafana, but the pass went directly to Vela instead as a rather egregious unforced error. Rossi tallied his eighth goal of 2019 in the 34th minute when Vela found LAFC fullback Tristan Blackmon wide right, and Blackmon put a cross into the box intended for Rossi to the spot. Moreira was slow to react to the play and was steps behind Rossi when the ball arrived, and Attinella had no chance to stop the shot into goal. This pattern was pretty much the story for the Timbers in the first 45 minutes, as Portland really was unable to find any cohesion on either side of the ball. Of the shots created, Mabiala's header from a Valeri corner kick in the 8th minute was the only credible effort on target, and Larrys pulled the shot wide right. Defensively, the Timbers left several marks open at key moments, but LAFC were unable to take more advantage more often. The Timbers' midfield tried their best to set up some tempo for the group, but with the litany of unforced errors on passing or slow reaction, the Timbers just looked out of sorts.

Jeff Attinella made several good saves, but had a few horrible gaffes.

Whatever halftime message Savarese gave his team worked because Portland came out with passion and fire, and Paredes was the beneficiary in scoring the first Timbers goal in the new park right after the break. Portland surrounded the LAFC goal, and Blanco found Fernandez in the box with a cross, but LAFC goalkeeper Tyler Miller was able to deflect the shot away. However, his rebound fell to the feet of Parades, who tapped it in for goal to pull the Timbers back to a 2 to 1 deficit. The Timbers continued to swarm about, but LAFC extended the lead in the 56th minute when the defense failed to mark Blessing on the right flank. As LAFC swarmed to the left and peppered Attinella with attempted shots, LAFC defender Jordan Harvey put a cross from left to right to an unmarked Blessing in the box, and he calmly tapped the ball into the net for his second goal of 2019. Portland continued to pressure as Valeri, Blanco and Fernandez all had quality chances on target over the following minutes, but the match complexion didn't change until Savarese brought on Jeremy Ebobisse to replace Paredes and give the Timbers two attacking forwards. The Ebobisee - Fernandez combination paid dividends in the 84th minute after Villafana found Jeremy with a cross from left to right, and Ebobisse put a header in the area of Fernandez while in the box. Brian executed an exceptional bicycle kick past Miller to push the score to 3 to 2, but the Timbers were unable to do anything more score wise to gain any points.

After a first half where the team seemed very tentative and unsure of their approach, the Timbers showed more determination and tenacity in the second half as they pressured LAFC from all quadrants, trusting that Mabiala and Tuiloma could handle the LAFC counter. When Tuiloma left in the 58th minute due to a head injury, Julio Cascante came on board and he held up well to the challenges late. To their credit, LAFC used every technique in the book to run down the clock, including several time wasting counters. Vela is an absolute handful, though, and the Timbers' defense really struggled to account for his whereabouts most of the night. While much was made in support of Center Official Robert Sibiga's work on the night in an emotionally charged atmosphere, I felt that Sibiga wasn't as consistent in many of his calls when it came to contact and fouls. As much as the Timbers didn't adjust to the physical, frenetic approach that LAFC brought to the table, LAFC also did an exceptional job of accentuating and exaggerating contact leading to many calls. The tensions between the teams boiled over in stoppage time when Cascante, Fernandez and Diomande, brought on as a late substitute, tangled in front of the LAFC bench and the teams had to be separated. Even Bradley and Savarese had a rather animated post-match discussion for several minutes where some of the assistants had to be separated.

Brian Fernandez is as good as advertised. His 84th minute goal was awesome.

In all of the context of everything, however, the match itself was a tale of two halves and the Timbers showed they could indeed hang with LAFC, who is easily the quality of MLS right now. I heard many people indicate that Portland needs time to adjust to the home conditions, but I also feel that the team needed to control their emotions slightly better. It appeared that the team was really not communicating with each other on the pitch, and the lack of leadership that plagued the team early in the season arose again. While I appreciate that Valeri, Blanco and Fernandez are doing a good job of leading the offense, I am openly wondering who is the leader of the defense. I would think Mabiala is the logical candidate because of his experience and expertise, but I didn't see anybody really directing or organizing the defensive line with any cohesion. Attinella has been very good for several seasons as well, but the unforced errors in distribution are a troubling trend. Granted, the issues are indeed correctable with more work on the training pitch, but Portland will need to shore them up before matches resume next week. The Timbers open up U.S. Open Cup play on June 12 in Tacoma, WA when they battle the Seattle Sounders in the 4th round of the tournament before league play resumes on June 22nd when the Houston Dynamo visit Providence Park to face the Timbers.

Timbers Fight Back To Draw With Galaxy, Extend Unbeaten Streak

Cristhian Paredes is doing some very limber things here. Pivoting for the win.

Atop the Western Conference of MLS going into the weekend action of June 2 and 3, two familiar teams sat atop the standings in Sporting Kansas City and FC Dallas - two perennial sides that have enjoyed recent success. Lurking just behind them is the surprise upstart club Los Angeles Football Club, followed by the Portland Timbers and Vancouver Whitecaps. With new personnel and a change in philosophy under Coach Giovanni Savarese, many insiders have been surprised how quickly the Timbers have adapted to a versatile, evolving style of play. It wasn't easy in the early months, but after losing in Orlando City to start April, the Timbers hadn't lost in six consecutive matches. Match number 7 provided some familiar challenges with the Los Angeles Galaxy visiting on June 2 in a midafternoon tilt at Providence Park. The two sides already faced each other back on March 4 in Los Angeles to start the 2018 MLS season, and while the Timbers lost 2 to 1, there were encouraging signs in a second half battle after they fell behind by 2 quick goals. In their second and final regular season meeting for 2018, both teams were dealing with thin lineup options - Portland had an extensive injury list with 2 players out on World Cup duty, while the Galaxy played midweek in FC Dallas. While the Galaxy struck first, it was the Timbers who rallied in the second half to earn a penalty, and the two goals would end up being the extent of the scoring as the sides played to a contentious yet equitable 1 all draw in front of another sellout crowd.

Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid has faced the Timbers several times over the seasons, and can usually craft a reasonable plan of attack for his charges. After their dreadful 2017 season, Schmid was tasked with sharpening an offense that lacked true scoring punch while keeping some of the defensive toughness that had been already in place. They struggled early to find an identity, but their complexion changed greatly with the early season acquisition of Zlatan Ibrahimovic to pair with striker Ola Kamara to give the offense balance. Zlatan has been everything advertised, but Schmid didn't have Kamara or both dos Santos brothers available as all 3 players were with their international teams for World Cup 2018. This forced Schmid to play slightly more conservatively with his lineup, putting lightning fast Emmanuel Boateng up top as a lone striker with 3 attacking mids: MLS veteran Chris Pontius, finally healthy Sebastian Lleget, and Romain Alessandrini. Former San Jose backstop David Bingham has taken over in goal for the Galaxy behind a rotating group of defenders, but Ashley Cole has provided some veteran experience while former MLS SuperDraft pick Perry Kitchen has returned to the league from overseas to give the Galaxy midfield some bite.

Diego Chara was all over the pitch all day. 

Savarese was dealing with his own lineup questions coming into this match with Andy Polo (Peru) and David Guzman (Costa Rica) both unavailable after joining their sides for World Cup 2018. The injury list, however, made selecting a gameday 18 even more difficult especially with Timbers 2 playing later that day in Texas: Vytas, Jeremy Ebobisse, Jack Barmby, Alvas Powell were questionable while Roy Miller, Liam Ridgewell and Jake Gleeson were officially out. With Jeff Attinella making his sixth consecutive start in goal, he had to adjust to a slightly different defensive line with Zarek Valentin and Bill Tuiloma as the left and right backs with Julio Cascante and Larrys Mabiala the center backs. Since Polo was unavailable, Savarese promoted Andres Flores into the starting eleven with Cristhian Paredes and Diego Chara as the three defensive midfielders, thus putting the onus on Flores to replicate the success that Polo shows with moving forward on the attack. With Diego Valeri and Sebastian Blanco back as the attacking midfielders, the only question left for Savarese was who would be the striker - incumbent Fanendo Adi or the suddenly on fire Samuel Armenteros with 3 goals in 2 matches. The answer was Armenteros, but Adi would be available on the bench alongside fellow striker Foster Langsdorf, midfielders Eryk Williamson and Lawrence Olum, goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh, and defenders Marco Farfan and Modou Jadama. With the relative inexperience on the bench, it was important for the Timbers to avoid falling behind and chase the match.

Under a very warm sun with Center Official Alan Kelly in charge, the Timbers got the first chance of the match just 4 minutes in when Valeri threaded a pass to Flores in between 3 Galaxy players, and it was Flores who got their first in space. Bingham came up big to stop the threat, but it was a huge early chance to take the lead. Boateng and Pontius would combine in the 11th minute as Emmanuel drove down the right side and put a cross in the middle to Pontius, who deflected the shot off the right post and out for a goal kick. The same two individuals would meet up again in the 20th minute off another pass to Pontius in space, but in this case, Mabiala and Tuiloma were slow to react and Pontius was able to spin a shot just inside the right post past Attinella for an early 1 to 0 lead. Portland has 2 awesome chances to level right afterwards - Blanco and Chara in the 22nd minute with Sebastian feeding Diego for the shot that Bingham parried away, and Tuiloma, Chara and Valeri in the 28th minute when Bill sent Chara forward with a lovely through ball. Chara dropped the ball back via a cross and Valeri put a great header on target, but Bingham was there for the save. Both sides traded back and forth chances with several blocked shots and near misses, but a battle royal was brewing between Kitchen and Chara in the midfield as both "destroyers" were creating mayhem throughout the pitch with hard fouls and well timed tackles.

Bill Tuiloma showed his leaping prowess making the start at right back.

The first half statistics showed very even numbers between Portland and Los Angeles in terms of game possession, shots, passes, passing percentage and duels won, but the Galaxy appeared to be more dangerous with their opportunities. The ball to Pontius for the goal was well timed by Boateng, but it was slow reaction from Mabiala and no reinforcement from Tuiloma that allowed the shot, although Pontius was helped with a deft touch to stop the ball in a place where only he could turn to recover it. Armemteros, Blanco and Valeri were getting space to run at points, but the Galaxy defense bunkered down with each pending attack, which gave shooting lanes for Valentin, Blanco and Valeri to push forward distance shots. Getting the goal only aided the Galaxy attack to bunker, and their plan was augmented by Bingham, who was totally engaged and making huge stops in traffic. There were some concerns the Galaxy keeper injured himself in warmups as he left the pitch after a hard fall, but the effects of the crash didn't appear to alter his play one bit. While Savarese could make some adjustments to the Timbers to aid the attack, the fact was that outside of Adi, most of the subs were either defensive minded or very inexperienced players (or both). If this one was going to turn around, it would be because of the players already on the pitch.

The Timbers appeared very determined when the second half began with Paredes, Cascante and Tuiloma all missing key shots in the first 5 minutes - Tuiloma's header off a Valeri free kick had some pace to it but it was right at Bingham for the easy catch. The tempo was picking up as the Galaxy started to push their pace, but in the 54th minute, Flores pulled off a nifty box to box run off a deft pass from Blanco that put Flores just inside the Galaxy box to the left. Galaxy defender Jergen Skjelvik came in to defend with fellow back Dave Romney in the area to try and stop Flores, but Skjelvik got his elbow up in trying to stop Flores with a shoulder to shoulder tackle, and Andres took a hard tumble in the box. Kelly wasted no time in pointing to the spot based upon the contact, and while the Galaxy put up some slight argument, they didn't protest much as Valeri stepped up to take the penalty. With a hearty smash into the left corner of goal past Bingham, the score was now level at 1, The Galaxy turned up the intensity for the next few minutes to see if they could regain the lead, but of the shots attempted, Kitchen's miss in the 71st and another Pontius close call in the 73rd caused some nervous moments for the Timbers defense.

The Portland offense created chances but the team wasn't always in sync

The final 15 minutes would see both teams try to break the deadlock, and Schmid brought Zlatan on in the 72nd minute replacing Boateng, while Savarese countered with a move to bring Adi on for Valeri to provide a two forward attack. However, the only credible attempts on frame in the final moments of the match were two headers by Tuiloma, the second one in the 83rd forcing Bingham to make a late reaction save to push the ball out for a corner kick. Savarese brought on Marco Farfan for Armenteros, and this led to one of the best moments of late stoppage time when Zlatan received a pass at midpitch and the young defender executed a wonderful tackle and deflection to strip him of the ball cleanly. For their credit, the Timbers felt that they created several quality chances despite having a true winger in the lineup with Polo gone, but the final execution left something to be desired. While I would agree with that assessment, I also felt that the defense played far too passively until the goal by Pontius and I was hoping for more cohesion; this could be due to the change in personnel, but the Timbers second half defense was much improved.

For the Timbers, there were some individual highlights as Valeri, Blanco, Paredes and Mabiala continue their streaks in appearing in every 2018 Timbers MLS match, with Diego, Sebastian and Larrys starting every match (and Mabiala playing every league minute so far). Chara also became the all time franchise leader in games played for all Timbers eras with 215 appearances, but he will not get a chance to extend that streak in MLS play. Chara was whistled for 6 fouls by Kelly, and in the 62nd minute, Chara tackled Kitchen with enough force that Kelly gave the diminutive destroyer a caution for the foul. Unfortunately, this would be Chara's fifth caution of 2018, thus triggering the automatic one game suspension in league play - so Chara will not be available for this weekend's battle with Sporting Kansas City on June 9 at Providence Park. However, Chara could add to his total in the midweek U.S. Open Cup match when the Timbers host San Jose on June 6 at 7:30 PM, also at Providence Park, when MLS teams join the tournament in Round 4 in a single elimination tournament to crown the best U.S. based soccer team in professional and high amateur soccer. The winner of the June 6 match will play the winner of the other USOC match in this quadrant - the Seattle Sounders FC hosting the Sacramento Republic. The draw for hosting duties for Round 5 takes place on June 7 with those matches slated for June 19 or 20, which is mere days ahead of the Timbers resuming MLS league play with a 2 game road trip to Atlanta United FC (June 24) and Seattle (June 30).

Paredes & Armenteros Lead Timbers To Dramatic Win Over LAFC

Samuel Armenteros put up quite the celebration after his second half goal.

Every team's schedule is full of trap matches, and you could excuse the Portland Timbers if they looked at their May 19 date with the Los Angeles Football Club as one of these. After an emotionally draining victory over their fierce rivals from the North, the Seattle Sounders FC, on May 13 that wasn't decided until late, Portland didn't get much time to rest on any laurels with LAFC visiting and a national audience on FOX awaiting the early afternoon kick. The Timbers had some issues finding their offensive rhythm until they struck in the second half, but LAFC made it interesting by leveling the match minutes later. It was then when Timbers Coach Gio Savarese brought on Samuel Armenteros for a late push, and Armenteros added his name to a rather unique club when he tallied his first ever MLS goal while the Timbers Army was singing "You Are My Sunshine". The "sunshine goal" was enough to push Portland to an impressive 2 to 1 victory for their fifth win in a row, but as with anything during this current streak, it wasn't easy and it had plenty of challenges.

Rivalry matches always have plenty of emotion and spite to them, and while many of the cast of characters were different from previous iterations, you could tell the Timbers were exhausted after dealing with them for 90 minutes. Expansion sides bring in their own level of difficulties when facing them for the first time, especially in terms of the unknown; expansion clubs bring in a mix of MLS veterans looking to continue their career in a new stop, unproven MLS talent who didn't establish themselves with their former team due to injuries or competition, talent acquired through draft or free agency, and bringing over other skilled players to build around. LAFC have an intriguing mix of speed throughout their roster, combined with long time veterans like Benny Feilhaber, Walker Zimmermann, Jordan Harvey, Laurent Ciman and Steven Beitashour filling key roles. LAFC found former USMNT manager Bob Bradley to coach their side, and Bradley added international coaching experience to his resume after being relieved of USMNT duties back in 2011 before Bradley coached several MLS sides in previous years. Like many expansion clubs (think Portland Timbers in 2011), when they are good, they are very good, and when it's bad, it's really, really bad; LAFC came into the match sitting in second place in the MLS Western Conference with 20 points on 6 wins, 2 draws and 2 losses with some impressive wins and even more entertaining failures. There is plenty to build around in LAFC with Carlos Vela, and the franchise itself has been very strong in getting a new stadium, solid TV and sponsorship deals and cultivating a burgeoning supporters' group.

Diego Chara was very busy all afternoon dealing with challenges.

Bradley made the decision to start fleet footed Diego Rossi with Vela and SKC castoff Latif Blessing to interject some pace in their attack, but at the same token, Bradley picked several extremely physical players - Feilhaber, Ciman, Harvey, Beitashour, Zimmerman - and that led to a very difficult approach for the Timbers to deal with. There was pace all over the place, but in getting used to that, there was plenty of extra curricular activities that occurred all over the pitch, from flying elbows to excessive tackles to hard challenges and plenty of talking. Center Official Drew Fischer decided to let the sides play for the most part, but he did end up issuing 6 cautions on the day once it was all said and done. The biggest issue with Fischer's officiating was the lack of consistency within various calls, and in one case in the first half, Diego Chara received a caution for a foul on Feilhaber while he was being elbowed in the process. Since none of the fouls were considered clear and obvious errors, VAR wasn't consulted in any instance, but in retrospect, I found the match as one of the worst officiated affairs in some time. I can understand the judgement in certain instances where an official might not see something because of the angle or actions taken, but by the same token, Fischer's approach essentially meant that nobody was sure what would be called once the whistle blew.

With all of the distractions going on after the emotional match versus the Flounders, Savarese chose not to mess with success in using the same starting eleven that faced Seattle: Jeff Attinella in goal, Zarek Valentin, Liam Ridgewell, Larrys Mabiala and Alvas Powell on defense, Cristhian Paredes, Diego Chara and Andy Polo as the defensive midfielders, Diego Valeri and Sebastian Blanco as the attacking midfielders and Fanendo Adi as the lone striker. The approach would bring Polo and Paredes back to aid the defense when countered against, but otherwise, Polo would push forward to aid Valeri and Blanco to support Adi on offense. The approach has yielded some of the best offensive soccer for Portland this year, but there have been struggles at points when teams try and alter the pace with extreme physicality or packing the defensive line - Seattle played 10 men behind the ball at all points in an attempt to stall and frustrate the Timbers. Savarese couldn't have been very happy when 6 minutes into the match, Ridgewell was taken down on a hard tackle and had to leave because of injury, thus allowing Julio Cascante to make his home and MLS debut for the Timbers. Cascante didn't miss a beat, however, and his inclusion was seamless within the defensive approach for Portland.

Welcome to Portland, Julio Cascante

The first 45 minutes did provide some interesting observations outside of the Ridgewell/Cascante switch, as Adi got the best early chance for Portland off a through ball with the LAFC defense caught flat footed. Adi's shot struck the post, however, and Powell couldn't do anything with the rebound, but Adi, Cascante, Mabiala and Valeri all had quality shot attempts in the following minutes. Blanco, meanwhile, was pulled down hard by LAFC midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye by the shirt in the 20th minute and was down for several minutes, while Beitashour was carded seconds later off a corner kick elbowing Adi in the head. The back and forth movement and crashing continued for the rest of the first half with Chara getting booked just before first half stoppage against Feilhaber, yet Fischer had spent several times talking with Benny about his various bumps and challenges. While the match being scoreless wasn't a huge surprise, it was slightly frustrating for the home side considering the advantages in shots and quality chances. The only downside that could possibly be argued with is time of possession as LAFC had a decidedly huge advantage there (60 percent to 40 percent), but one of Savarese's key tenets this year is that possession isn't really necessary in order to be dangerous and attack minded. Another surprising fact for me is that Paredes continued to start the second half, as the young midfielder was leveled in first half stoppage and spent several minutes on the turf. When he arose, he walked gingerly to the side pitch without Fischer making any call about the contact.

Tensions were still flowing as the second half started but the Timbers were able to jump out ahead in the 51st minute. Cascante had played a ball forward for Blanco, who was dropped for a hard tackle outside the box about 20 yards from goal, giving Valeri the green light to put in on frame. While LAFC goalkeeper Tyler Miller made the initial free kick save, he spilled the ball to the right where Paredes was waiting clear of defenders. The midfielder tapped it easily into goal to put the home side up to start the celebration. The happy thoughts were short lived when Kaye leveled Chara at midpitch after the restart, and Valentin received a caution for defending his teammate and getting in Kaye's face about the foul. While Kaye also got booked, the intensity was escalating the contact for both groups. The volleying continued as the substitutes started taking the pitch, and LAFC was able to take advantage of a slight lapse when Vela was played into space on the right in the 74th minute as the Timbers were trying to find marks. Vela has a history of making quality distance goals, and this one was no exception as he timed and placed it perfectly to slide past Attinella into the left corner of goal to level the score. Savarese made his last two moves to bring on Armenteros for Adi and Andres Flores for Polo to change up the attack, and the updates did pay off eventually in the 81st minute.

Man Of The Match For Me. Well done, Cristhian

The Timbers Army talk greatly about the history of the "Sunshine Goal" which started during the USL era when a Timbers player would score while the Army was singing their signature song, "You Are My Sunshine" in honor and inspired by Timber Jim, the team's former lumberman and now ambassador of love. I have borne witness to the 3 previous goals that were scored like this - my favorite might be the 2010 Ryan Pore effort that secured a win in the Timbers' last USL era match - but this goal might rival it. Paredes played a spectacular outlet after LAFC had countered to relieve Portland's pressure on 2 consecutive corners to Armenteros, and the striker launched a crazy shot into the left corner of goal to beat Miller. He celebrated this tally by running off the pitch and up the stars to the main Timbers Army capo stand to celebrate with the fans, hugging several of them in the process. It was a wonderful, emotional moment that has been recounted in several videos online, but Fischer spoiled the moment in carding Armenteros for excessive celebration. Both sides continued to press for more, and Flores had a completely open net to shoot at in stoppage time to add an extra goal, but he scuffed the shot as Paredes took another shot at the final whistle. Bradley was complaining vociferously after the match was over, and Savarese was trying to calm him down afterwards.

For the first match between sides without much history, there was certainly a lot of venom displayed. To their credit, Portland played smart and measured football and took advantage of situations where they could.  Even with the extremely physical play, the Timbers kept their heads and avoided being drawn into extra discipline or escalating actions, yet they also stepped up to aid their teammates when needed. Defensively, the team was very strong and organized, especially with the changeover due to Ridgewell's injury and Attinella is playing with such confidence and poise right now. If there is a bigger trap game in their future, however, it might be this weekend - as the Timbers travel to Colorado to play the Rapids on May 26. The Rapids are again struggling to find their purpose, but Portland traditionally struggles playing there for whatever reason, but at this point. there shouldn't be too many reasons why Portland can't extend the streak to 6. We'll see if they are able to pull this off, but right now, I wouldn't count against them.