Timbers whirl towards 2 to 1 victory over Rapids, but it wasn't easy

The Timbers Army have a new banner each match. I like this one a lot.

Everybody who knows me well knows my absolute devotion to the Simpsons, one of the greatest television shows in the history of the medium. While many will debate the quality of the recent era of episodes or have allergic reactions when a certain character is featured, I never miss an episode in the current run. I can appreciate a television show that not only provides several hysterical moments, but it has also provided wonderful amounts of insight. I've even read books about the philosophy and religion of the Simpsons because the subject interests me, and it isn't due to me having a hysterical moment with Timbers beat writer Matt Hoffman about Kent Brockman calling a game of soccer in Springfield, either. But there is a Simpsons line that probably best describes the 90 plus minutes of game tactics between the Portland Timbers and Colorado Rapids on August 23: "We must move forward, not backward; upward, not forward; and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom!" Okay, the line was uttered by Kodos on the campaign trail disguised as Bill Clinton, but honestly, it was the most apt description of the Timbers approach to the match - a literally random attack that didn't seem to make sense at points, but somehow, they did enough to secure a needed victory by a 2 to 1 count before their upcoming 3 match road trip that starts this weekend with a visit to Flounder land.

Timbers Coach Caleb Porter has been dealing with a lot since the Timbers were dismantled in Toronto back on August 12, and they followed that up with a gut check win over the New York Red Bulls on August 18 that was nail biting until the final moments. Porter has been dealing with injuries to Marco Farfan (lingering ankle sprain), Liam Ridgewell (injured late versus the Galaxy), Jake Gleeson (hurt during Toronto) and Fanendo Adi (injured in Galaxy match), but he also needed to adjust to the loss of Larrys Mabiala to a red card infraction late in the Red Bulls match. With Jeff Attinella making his second consecutive start in goal, Porter employed Zarek Valentin and Vytas as the fullbacks with Lawrence Olum and Roy Miller as the center backs. Defensive midfielders David Guzman and Diego Chara again started, but both were close to invoking a one match suspension for accumulation that could keep them out of the next match with Guzman 1 away from penalty and Chara 2 away. Darlington Nagbe, Diego Valeri and Sebastian Blanco would again be the attacking midfield trio, but in switching up the plan, Porter gave Darren Mattocks the start instead of Jeremy Ebobisse, although both have been playing regularly with Adi still recovering. Ebobisse was joined on the bench by goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh, defender Alvas Powell, midfielders Amobi Okugo, Ben Zemanski, Dairon Asprilla and Victor Arboleda, so the Timbers had options available if needed.

Say hi to the Timbers' all time franchise leader in goals scored.

Colorado has been in a tailspin all season to the point that the coach who led them to the conference semifinals last year, Pablo Mastroeni, was relieved of his duties on August 15th and replaced with assistant Steve Cooke. Defense and goalkeeping continue to be reasonably good for the Rapids with Tim Howard and Zac Macmath in goal and just allowing 32 goals in 2017, putting them in the middle of the pack in the West. The issue for the Rapids is in their offense, as they've just scored 22 goals on the season, just ahead of the anemic offense of D.C. United. It's not that the Rapids don't have some intriguing options up top with forward Kevin Doyle, midfielders Dominique Badji, Marlon Hairston, Michael Azira and recently acquired Mohammed Saeid, but they've simply been unable to find any consistency within their attack at all. Cooke originally unveiled an interesting attack formation with 3 midfielders and 3 forwards in his starting 11 - Azira and Saeid joined by Luis Gil in midfield with Doyle, Joshua Gatt and Dillon Serna up top, but once Colorado took to the pitch, it switched up to a 4 - 4 - 1 - 1 with Doyle playing a lone striker with Saeid providing some channel support. The formation employed was designed to try and slow down the Timbers' attacking tempo by putting 8 players behind the ball in most occasions and countering only if numbers were available, but otherwise, the Rapids' offense consistent of firing long passes forward in the hopes that Doyle or Saeid could run them down. For those Timbers fans from back when, you might recognize this lovely approach by its more common name of Bobby Ball; it's not pretty to look at, but sometimes it did yield results in the ugliness.

Portland turned up the tempo early with pressure along the wings, and earned big chances early when Valentin found Valeri on the right in the 13th minute but the Maestro's turn and shoot was pushed wide. Three minutes later, Chara and Mattocks met up on a run to the left, and while Mattocks slipped trying to pass, he did find Valeri who gave Blanco a chance to shoot but Sebastian chipped it over the crossbar. Portland finally broke through in the 21th minute when Vytas put a pinpoint cross into the box where an unmarked Valeri was able to easily head the ball past a helpless Howard to put the Timbers up by 1. The celebration hadn't even stopped for Valeri's 15th goal of 2017 (and his 52nd goal as a Timber making him the all time franchise leader in goal scored) when Nagbe took another cross from Vytas on the right, and he put an incredible spinning chip shot into the upper right corner of goal that curled just inside the post past Howard for a 2 to 0 lead. The Rapids were making things interesting with several speculative runs down the middle, but they suddenly found themselves in a 2 goal deficit with a sold out Providence Park in full road surrounding them. Portland had been very good tempo wise early and they were completing their passes with precision, something that was very much missing in the Red Bulls match, but minutes later, the match took a rather dramatic turn.

Thankfully we have a Flounders match where this guy can play.

I'm still trying to figure out what Olum was thinking in the 28th minute when he passed in the middle as I never saw his intended target to determine if he put enough force on the pass or if it was actually heading in the right direction. All I saw was that the ball ended up at Saeid's feet, and the Rapids midfielder was able to dribble past Olum, Valentin and Attinella to slot the ball into the goal. and with that, a comfortable 2 to 0 lead was turned into a 2 to 1 scoreline and the nerves went into overdrive. Portland appeared very rattled by the situation, but the mood slightly elevated in the 30th minute when Rapids defender Mike da Fonte took down Valeri in the box with a hard tackle & shirt pull to no call from the officials, prompting Valeri to unleash a tirade at Center Official Dave Gantar. Unbeknownst to the captain, Gantar was talking with VAR Drew Fischer, who had already called for a potential review of the play. Gantar made the square symbol to indicate the review, and after several seconds, Gantar pointed to the spot for a penalty to the consternation of the Rapids. As Valeri settled in to attempt the penalty, a conversation started between Valeri and Guzman that led to a switch in shooters as it was Guzman that lined up to take the restart in the 31st minute when Gantar blew his whistle to restart.

Guzman pulled his shot to the left where Howard had moved, but the trajectory pulled the ball wide of the left post and it slid by and struck the nearby ad boards, leaving the score at 2 to 1 Timbers. The Rapids nearly drew level when Doyle struck a well placed shot that challenged Attinella, but the keeper was up to the task. The match soon entered the meandering phase of play for the next few minutes as both sides tried to recover from the previous events, but Portland did get a near miss from Valeri and a blocked shot from Blanco before the halftime whistle. The halftime stats pointed to a dominant Timbers effort with 10 total shots, 67 percent possession, 89 percent passing accuracy and 279 passes attempted; simply put, the offense was firing on most cylinders despite the Rapids bunching their defense behind the ball to clog the box. Even with all the statistical advantages, the Rapids were within a goal due to an unfortunate defensive gaffe and the Timbers were still somewhat reeling from the missed penalty. It would be up to Porter to rally the troops to keep them focused, especially considering what happened the last time these teams met in June in Denver - the Timbers went up by 1 early only to concede 2 goals late to lose another heart breaker in Colorado, as former USL Timber Alan Gordon scored a header in stoppage time to seal the Rapids win.

Vytas was my man of the match with 2 assists. He should have had more.

One of the issues I did have in the first half was the performance of Mattocks, who simply was horrible in his contributions. While he did get an assist on Valeri's goal, most of the half I watched him mistime shots, fall down when trying to move or simply mishandle the ball with poor first touches. He did get a nice shot in the 52nd minute off a feed from Nagbe after Azira and Nagbe had traded misses. The Rapids were trying to increase their pressure after Doyle had another blocked shot in the 53rd minutes, and they brought on Marlon Hairston and Badji, two of their faster players, for Serna and Gatt. The Timbers attack, meanwhile, was starting to whirl and buffer after Guzman and Blanco had respective misses in the 54th and 55th. The intensity was also picking up as Gantar's whistle was starting to influence some of the action as both sides pushed for a goal to either extend the lead or bring the match level.

Porter brought on Ebobisse for Mattocks in the 69th minute, and the youngster had a good shot blocked in the 74th minute, but Attinella had been forced to deal with a corner minutes early where he punched a ball clear from several Rapids players. Cooke also brought on Gordon for Doyle, who has a reputation for petulant acts and late match dramatics, and Gordon earned a couple of fouls within seconds of his inclusion. Guzman, meanwhile, had been warned of his persistent fouling, and Gantar finally carded the midfielder in the 73rd minute thus answering one of the questions many Timbers fans were asking on social media: which Timbers midfielder will miss the Flounders match due to disciplinary action? Chara managed to avoid any additional discipline, but in getting a caution in the 39th minute on a breakaway foul, the diminutive Diego is now 1 caution away from invoking a 1 match suspension. With the Rapids pouring forward, Colorado did get two late distance shots from da Fonte that Attinella dealt with while Blanco had the Timbers' best chance to add an insurance goal in the 82nd minute with nifty footwork in the box to hold the ball and cause several Rapids to fall down. However, Sebastian's final shot flew harmlessly into the South Deck. With the feverish start, it appeared the goals might be flying but neither team was able to add anything beyond the Valeri, Nagbe and Saeid goals, as the Timbers were able to hold on for the result.

Please to come back Sunday with 3 points? And avoid the bule!

The victory gave the Timbers their 11th win of 2017, putting them in second place in the West at 40 points tied with Sporting Kansas City, and put them 1 point behind the Sounders, who moved up to first in the west with their 1 all draw with Vancouver at B.C. Place. The Sounders are unbeaten in their last 10 matches to propel the defending MLS Cup Champions to the top spot, and the Timbers would love nothing more than to snap the streak and propel themselves upward. Portland will need to find some rhythm in their approach, which might prove difficult with the loss of Guzman. Another concern that came up late was the status of Asprilla, who entered the match for Nagbe in the 79th minute and did very well in some late runs, but ended up fainting after the match during the postmatch celebration. While Dairon was able to stand up and lie on a cart that transported him from the pitch, Porter indicated that Asprilla had been taken to the hospital for precautions after the dizzy spell. Apparently, he had also been battling flu symptoms that had been passing among some players as well, but this is concerning with the status of Adi, Farfan, Ridgewell and Gleeson still unclear. Portland now travels to the Emerald City for a huge Cascadia Cup clash on August 27 before traveling to New York on September 9 for a match with NYCFC, then traveling to Salt Lake for a battle with RSL on September 16. The Timbers' next home match is a month away on September 24 when they host Orlando City, but Portland plays 3 of their last 4 at home and their last trip is still on the West Coast.

Timbers overcome short bench & spunky Fire to post dramatic 2 all draw

Las Vegas in triple digit temperatures. But it's a dry heat, right?

During my early days of the Timbers Army, I never missed Timbers matches. While that was great for soccer viewing, it made scheduling time off a royal pain. Moving into the media world, it makes down time even more relevant and necessary. After the literal bonfire that occurred when the Seattle Sounders FC visited on June 25 - the match was delayed from an afternoon start to a Sunday evening kick due to extreme heat in the Portland area - the Timbers watched their rivals jump to an early lead off an unfortunate deflection only to then storm back with goals from Fanendo Adi and Dairon Asprilla to take a 2 to 1 lead into the break. The Sounders increased their attack late in the match and stole the victory late due to a defensive breakdown; while the result did yield a point, it cost them Diego Chara and Amobi Okugo due to injuries that will keep them out for up to 6 weeks.

My wife and I had been talking about escapes for the early summer, and the opportunity to venture to Las Vegas around the 4th of July holiday presented itself a few months ago so we jumped at the chance to head south. While getting a chance to stay at the renovating Monte Carlo resort provided relief to our budget and a prime Strip location for fun, this did mean watching the Timbers match versus Sporting Kansas City in Kansas from the road. We did plan our trip so that we would make it back in time for the Timbers' next fixture, a home date with the Chicago Fire on July 5. The various highlights of the journey include a very entertaining departure from the PDX airport - thankfully our Alaska Airlines crew provided entertainment during the delay - some wonderful service individuals at the hotel and in our taxi rides, exceptional food at Aria, P.F. Chang's and the Mirage, a few early gambling wins that let me purchase a soccer ball watch at Swatch, and a wonderful concert by Ricky Martin. We did squeeze in some pool time on July 1 where I wore my new Timbers primary kit out to the MGM Grand Pool complex, but it still was odd walking by the sports book and see the Timbers v SKC on the big screen. A few folks reminded me about the match while walking through New York, New York to get back to our hotel room, but we made it back for the second half to watch a fairly thrilling 1 all draw. 

Adi steps up to take the penalty versus Chicago

Unlike the result with the Sounders that felt very deflating, the SKC draw appeared to be a more positive result despite Portland having several chances to steal the full 3 points. SKC is a tough team at home, however, and watching Tim Melia save Diego Valeri's penalty kick attempt in the second half buoyed the home side's effort. The Fire were busy drilling Vancouver at B.C. Place by a 4 to 0 scoreline, and so you could imagine some hesitation and concern for the Timbers coming into the home match with 2 consecutive draws and limited player availability. Okugo and Chara joined Jack Barmby and Liam Ridgewell on the injured list, but the most concerning situation there was a reinjury by Ridgy that pushed out his return by an additional 8 weeks and likely helped push for a change in their training staff. With David Guzman, Alvas Powell and Darren Mattocks all on international duty and newly signed Larrys Mibiala not eligible to play until the summer transfer window opens on July 10, the Timbers essentially had 17 players available for the Fire match although a lengthy break awaited the team after the match. Portland scored early behind an Adi conversion on a penalty, but watched the Fire knock in two goals to take a lead and subsequently try to park the bus. Sebastian Blanco wrecked that strategy with a 70th minute goal, but Portland wasn't able to get another goal and the teams played to a thrilling 2 all draw.

Timbers Coach Caleb Porter used a similar lineup to the group used at Sporting with Jake Gleeson in goal, flanked by Vytas and Zarek Valentin at the fullbacks. Roy Miller and Lawrence Olum again started as the center back duo behind the defensive midfield duo of Ben Zemanski and Darlington Nagbe. Sporting the captain's armband, Valeri would anchor the attacking midfield as the center cog with Blanco and Asprilla as the wings with Adi up top. Bench wise, Portland listed every available first teamer as available subs with defenders Rennico Clark, Chance Myers and Marco Farfan, forward Jeremy Ebobisse, midfielder Victor Arboleda and goalkeeper Jeff Attinella. Zemanski actually help up well versus SKC in the central midfield, but the Fire presented a different challenge with Juninho and David Accam in the middle, being very active players who are exceptional passers. The Fire didn't play Dax McCarty (away for international duty) and Bastian Schweinsteiger (rest), but they did have MLS leading scorer Nemanja Nikolic up top flanked by wings Arturo Alvarez, Luis Solignac and Michael de Leeuw. The big story in Chicago, however, has been the marked improvement on the defense in conceding just 17 goals in 18 games played in 2017, led by Brandon Vincent, Joao Meira and Johan Kappelhof.

Dairon Asprilla was all over the place. In a good way.

Zemanski and Adi hooked up right off the opening kick with Adi putting a header just over the bar, and both players got additional chances around the 17th minute, but it was Adi that broke open the scoring in the 24th minute. Valeri put a cross into the box that Asprilla was able to head to Adi, but the ball took a large bounce that allowed the Fire defense to collapse, but in the process of trying to dispossess Adi, Juninho's slide tackle caused him to handle the ball and Center Official Robert Sibiga pointed to the spot. This situation gave the Timbers their fourth consecutive match with a penalty kick with Adi and Valeri splitting conversion duties, and in this instance, Fanendo took the restart and slammed it past Lampson to put the home side up 1 to 0. Adi and Blanco had back to back attempts blocked and just missed in the 27th minute, and it looked like the home side might add another until the Fire got a goal off an unfortunate gaffe. Off a counter run against the run of play, Alvarez put a cross into the box for Nikolic at the spot as Miller and Olum were split away from him and Valentin kept him onside on the flank. With just Gleeson frozen at the goalline, the cross found the inner part of the left post to level the score, and while Nikolic was originally credited with the goal, it was determined that Alvarez was the scorer. Valeri missed on a bicycle kick in the 36th minute and had another shot blocked in the 41st minute, but the scoreline didn't change as the match hit the halftime break.

The halftime stats showed Portland with advantages in shots (9 shots, 3 on target), total passes and possession percentage, but it was the Fire that made a slight change in formation by pulling Juninho further back to the defensive line to give them 5 in the backline. As both sides traded runs back and forth between the 46th and 57th minutes, it was the Fire that took the lead off a broken play and slow marking. Accam was loose on the right flank and found Alvarez near the top of the box for a shot, but the effort skipped to Vincent on the left flank just outside the box. Vincent chipped a shot past Gleeson and a scrambling Timbers defense - again the Timbers defense was slow to react and find their marks quickly - and the visitors suddenly had a 2 to 1 lead. The Fire's defensive approach seemed willing to allow Portland to possess and try to attack in stages, hoping that their five man line would be sufficient to cover ground and chances. Portland spent the minutes after the concession unleashing various shots by Valeri, Asprilla, and Olum (a shot from distance off a corner), but the Timbers finally were able to pull even in the 70th minute courtesy of Blanco.

Darlington Nagbe played central midfield & did pretty well.

Off a turnover at midpitch, it was Valeri who started the play by finding Valentin off the right in space. Valentin poured forward and dropped it to Asprilla in support, and before the Fire defense could track him down, he dropped it back to Valeri just behind him as Blanco settled in on the right flank open and level with the Fire defense. With the defense converging on Valeri, Diego slotted a pass to Blanco just inside the box, and the midfielder was able to curl a shot just inside the left post to level the score. Although Valeri got the only official assist, the play was really helped by the support runs from Valentin and Asprilla, who was giving the Fire headaches with his tireless work box to box drawing defense to him. With just over 20 minutes left, it appeared there might be some more goals left in this one, but would anyone find the winning goal before time expired?

Nagbe tried his luck in the 77th minute with a distance shot, and Nikolic forced Gleeson to make a sprawling palm save in the 83rd minute to push his shot over the bar for a corner. Porter finally brought in his subs in the 87th minute replacing Vytas with Farfan and Zemanski with Arboleda, and the two youngsters nearly combined on a wonder goal in the 88th minute when Farfan found an open Victor on the left with just Lampson to beat. However, the ball got stuck between Arboleda's boots and he was unable to get a shot attempt on goal. The Timbers appeared to have earned the goal off a Farfan cross just into stoppage time as the Timbers' defender found Adi and Asprilla at the right post, and Asprilla headed the ball into goal. However, Adi and Meira tangled before the cross and Meira drew the foul on Adi with Fanendo's arms extended to create space. The crowd was very upset at Sibiga, but perhaps more ire was being leveled at Meira, who had spent much of the match tangling with Adi and executed several well timed falls to draw fouls or giving Adi a few well timed elbows or grabs. Arboleda got a final chance at the death off another pass, but another blocked shot and the final whistle left the teams drawn with 2 goals each. Both sides could point to chances for a full victory, but the Timbers can say at least statistically, they had one of their most dominant efforts this year.

Sebastian Blanco scored his first goal at home for 2017.

Portland now gets an extended break for the Gold Cup competition, as their next scheduled MLS match is on Wednesday, July 19th when they host Real Salt Lake, followed up by road trips to Vancouver on July 23 and Houston on July 29. This fact means that Mibiala will be available for RSL, and the hope is that some of the other Timbers' injured will be available while the club await the return of Guzman, Mattocks and Powell once their sides are eliminated from the Gold Cup schedule. While Valeri and Adi should get some credit within the Timbers' efforts versus the Fire, my man of the match is Asprilla who was giving the Fire trouble all night. Blanco certainly contributed to some of the trouble as well, while it was good to see Zemanski and Nagbe handle their respective roles very competently and solidly. Nagbe's statistics were very impressive considering he completed 95 percent of his passes and was third of the team in touches, but he also seemed to be in the right place as an outlet when the Timbers needed to find space to attack. Considering the team was playing various substitutes in key roles playing the top team in the Eastern Conference, the result is certainly impressive under the circumstances.

Timbers outplay then outlast Whitecaps for dramatic 2 to 1 home win

Darren Mattocks gets the Timbers second goal of the day.

We haven't seen the Portland Timbers play a full 90 minutes of soccer in the 2017 season, but despite the various issues of injuries and stagnant movement, Portland has been sitting on the top of the Western Conference since week 1. They've managed to break out of the road doldrums, but the Timbers have been less than stellar in their last two home matches, a draw with New England and a loss to Sporting Kansas City - in each instance, the visitors controlled the tempo and intensity of the attack and Portland couldn't find a way to overcome the increased physicality displayed. With Portland missing one of their top scorers in forward Fanendo Adi, so the burden of unclogging the offense would have to fall on other players. In the first half, Portland watched Darlington Nagbe and Darren Mattocks be the catalysts for a pretty impressive display, but when Vancouver find their rhythm late and pulled the scoreline close, it was a resilient and fortunate Timbers side that hung on for a 2 to 1 victory in front of another sellout crowd at Providence Park.

Adi was given the night off due to a one game suspension by the MLS Disciplinary Committee, who issued the verdict due to violent contact against Sporting KC defender Ike Opara in the 26th minute. Considering the contact that went between the sides all match, I was more than surprised that the committee chose to discipline Adi, but I'm not the one in charge either so Timbers Coach Caleb Porter would have to adjust his tactics. Adi, however, wasn't the only change in the starting eleven as Porter elevated Vytas and Liam Ridgewell into the starting backline as both have fully recovered from their lingering injuries, but Porter started Lawrence Olum alongside Ridgewell with Alvas Powell flanked out right instead of Roy Miller, who has been the defensive stalwart for the Timbers so far this year. Jake Gleeson was suffering with a hip flexor injury, so Jeff Attinella would get his first start for Portland in goal with Kendall McIntosh his backup, marking the first time that Kendall has made the gameday 18. Darren Mattocks would be the direct replacement for Adi as the lone forward, but Porter changed up the attack by starting Dairon Asprilla at one of the wings with Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe the other midfielder attackers in front of David Guzman and Diego Chara. Asprilla was replacing Sebastian Blanco, who was suffering with an abdominal injury that limited his minutes, so Porter's bench had a lot of new names alongside Miller. Blanco and McIntosh, as Chance Myers, Jack Barmby, Amobi Okugo, Marco Farfan were sub options if needed.

Vytas and Liam Ridgewell were back for Portland.

Vancouver's offense has been a work in progress for many seasons, but they seem to have found their strike option when they signed former Sounders forward Fredy Montero on loan from the Chinese League. Montero was a prolific yet temperamental player in his 4 seasons in the Emerald City, but he could score goals, something the Caps have struggled with since Camilo left the team after the 2013 season. While David Ousted continues to be a stellar keeper for the Caps, the defensive line has been an issue for Vancouver with Kendall Waston, Jordan Harvey and Tim Parker all having lapses at various times. The Caps lost defender Brek Shea to a long-term injury during Vancouver's run in the 2016-2017 CONCACAF Champions League, so the team has been trying to find long term answers. Vancouver had also made several trades and moves to fortify their midfield, but they kept Cristian Techera and Christian Bolanos on the wings with Matias Laba as a defensive midfielder. Regardless of the changes, Caps Coach Carl Robinson usually stresses defense to his charges, so the Caps employ team defensive strategies designed to control the tempo and frustrate their opponents. Robinson has been using Andrew Jacobson, a longtime MLS veteran, and Tony Tchani, who was acquired from Columbus, in the midfield, so there was some veteran experience flanked out there for the Caps.

Portland had started slow in their previous home efforts, but Valeri put pressure on Ousted in the 2nd minute off a free kick just outside the Vancouver box that forced the Caps keeper to push it away at the last minute. The Timbers would break open the scoring in the 18th minute after consecutive blocked shots for Nagbe and Valeri, but the Valeri shot rebounded out to Guzman, who dropped a pass to Nagbe on the left flank. Nagbe moved quickly towards the right with Waston in tow, but Darlington was able to create enough space to turn and shoot from right into the left corner of goal past Ousted for his second goal of 2017 to put the Timbers up 1 to 0. Valeri had a quality shot blocked in the 25th minute, but the Timbers were able to add a second in the 40th minute off a counter attack. With the Caps taking a free kick just outside the goal, the Timbers defense cleared the restart out to Guzman, who sent Nagbe out on the break to the right. Nagbe found Valeri on the right channel, and Valeri put a cross towards the right post for Mattocks, who easily converted the effort although Ousted made it exceptionally difficult with some sprawling defense. One of the best parts of this play was the fact that Jacobson had destroyed Chara with a tackle right before the break, but Center Official Chris Penso gave the Timbers advantage and allowed the play to continue instead of stopping the break.

Chris Penso said this wasn't a foul. He's wrong about that.

The Timbers should have had another goal in the 24th minute when Asprilla was first to a back pass off a Ridgewell diagonal pass that the Vancouver defense allowed to roll towards Ousted instead of recovering it, but overall, the Timbers' movement and tempo was creating chances despite being bunched up at points by the Caps. Vancouver was trying to find attempts to challenge Attinella, but outside of a Techera shot that went right to him in the 24th minute and a Tchani blocked shot in the 40th, it was a lot of misses for the visitors. Some of the issues was impatience from the Caps to let plays develop, but another big influence was the inclusion of Ridgewell, who was paramount in keeping the Timbers defense all on the same page. While Vytas was able to get forward with some regularity to help the offense, Vytas did have some difficult touches and passes which I attributed to rust from his long injury layoff.  However, Vytas did have a couple of great recoveries and created turnovers showcasing his veteran experience and superb positioning on the various Caps attackers.

The Timbers had to feel confident after the solid first half, but they had to feel frustrated in the 50th minute when Asprilla put a cross into Mattocks while he was running in the Whitecaps box. Waston elbowed him to the turf from behind by extending his arm, but Penso waived off calling anything as various Timbers players protested the lack of a call. The frustration boiled over 10 minutes later when Bolanos and Powell were jostling on the left portion of the Timbers box, and Bolanos earned a penalty from Powell off a light bump and some creative falling down. Penso wasted no time pointing to the spot to the protests of the Timbers and the home crowd, and in a bit of poetic justice, it was the former Sounder that stepped up to take the penalty. Attinella was impressive by guessing left and blocking the Montero penalty, but the deflection bounced right back to Montero before a Timbers defender could mark him, and Montero chipped it into goal to bring the score to 2 to 1. Over the next 5 minutes, there were several fouls on Valeri and Chara that only generated lectures from Penso to the Caps players, but it was apparent that Vancouver decided their path to leveling the score was to target the Timbers' Diegos.

Diego Valeri had lots of company and was fouled. A lot.

Portland had chances to extend their lead when Valeri was taken down by Waston just outside the box in the 66th minute, but Nagbe's free kick struck the wall and the rebound to Valeri was pushed wide. Mattocks had a few chances inside the box, but his inability to find the handle on the ball or quickly shoot allowed Vancouver to recover and deflect away any attempts from their former teammate. The Caps kept pressuring with various attacks, and Portland's attack took a hit when Valeri had to exit the match in the 80th minute due to injury. Reports indicate that Valeri felt a hip twinge and didn't want to risk aggravating it anymore, so we are not expecting him to miss any matches at this point. The Caps did get a near miss from Bolanos in the 83rd minute and a free kick chance for Montero in second half stoppage as Bolanos again fell down with Powell defending, but the Timbers were able to withstand the late pressure from the visitors to hang on for the victory. The result put the Timbers on top of the Cascadia Cup standings with 3 points in 1 game played and a plus 1 goal differential, and sets up an interesting matchup next weekend in MLS play. It's the first place Portland Timbers versus second place FC Dallas in Texas on April 29; FC Dallas is undefeated at home in 3 matches while the Timbers boast the best road record in the West with 2 wins and a loss in 3 matches away.

Overall, I was pleased with Nagbe's contributions to the offense as I feel he has started to take his game to the next level, and Guzman was solid in patrolling the middle. As I mentioned, Ridgewell helped solidify the defensive line in terms of organization, and his diagonal passes did provide some useful outlets to spring out the offense. With Blanco's availability limited, I was hoping to see the Timbers try and use Asprilla and Nagbe out wide to try and stretch the pitch, but Asprilla wasn't able to get out wide enough to make a difference and Nagbe spent more time patrolling the middle and finding room to work there. While I am sad to see Gleeson unavailable for the match, I was actually very impressed with how well Attinella played on the afternoon, as he showed a great composure and presence that was appreciated. My original thoughts were that this match would be a wide open battle, but in the end, it gravitated to what Cascadia Cup matches between these sides usually end up as - physical, chippy, back and forth affairs with limited scoring chances and plenty of feisty play. Honestly, would you want Cascadia Cup matches any other way?

Wednesday Analysis - Looking Back at Timbers v. Revolution

Darlington Nagbe dribbles. But does he shoot? (J.Kesgard)

Back in my days before sabbatical, I was responsible each week for a post about Timbers player evaluations. The original thought behind this was to drive thoughtful comments and discussion about player performance and thus have people visit the site regularly. Admittedly, it worked for a long time, especially when my scoring system was rather harsh in the beginning. I can look back on previous years of evaluations and determined that I made it nearly impossible to score a perfect 10, yet I gave several players a 1 for completely imploding. As I put many times in responses to interested parties, I'm only going off the observations from the match in general and I did my best to confine thoughts to a specific player and match, but that often proved difficult.

As much as soccer has tried to put analysis and statistics together in a way that makes sense, Bruce Arena was more right than he realized in his smug way (my judgement) that the only stat that matters in soccer is the score. In the nearly 10 years I've covered Portland in one capacity or another, I can point to dozens of matches where the numbers would show pure dominance with the exception of the score. Possession, passing completion, shots on goal, turnovers - those are all great numbers for a team to show a plan is working to create chances for a side, but it matters little if those chances don't create actual goals. For me, the most recent match against New England seemed to emphasize this point - the Timbers led in many statistical categories and I thought the team played very well in the first 30 minutes or so to garner a lead, but Portland undid the great work and eventually conceded the leveling goal off a glaring mistake. That's part of the nature of soccer - one of its greatest attributes but also one of the cruelest - is that a single play, a minuscule bounce or a a missed tackle can be the difference between a positive and negative result. While I think that's true in other sports to an extent, it's more prevalent in soccer because of the limited scoring chances, and I feel this is a result that the Timbers will look at and rue giving up points later in the year.

David Guzman drops the ball back to Roy Miller (J.Kesgard)

I'm not saying that to curse the team or throw unnecessary fire on the effort, but in a closely played match, the margin can be quite small and there's a ton of difference in earning 3 full points and gaining confidence at home versus earning 1 for a draw and then questioning the reason for the breakdown. My attempt in this segment and for future Wednesday analysis is to provide 3 things I liked about the Timbers' most recent match, 3 areas for improvement and quick evaluations for those that appeared in the match. Using the 5 point rule as a 5 player does his job on an average basis with nothing bad happening but nothing extraordinary either, I go on the 10 point scale from epicness to dumpster fire of ineptitude. I don't want to belabor performances in other matches either, unless I see a trend that is arching up or down accordingly, the scores are based upon my observations. While I've been at this for many years, I do realize that others will notice things and point them out, and I'm great with discussions as long as they are kept courteous, insightful and with backing facts or opinions to support the case.

Three Things I Liked: (1) Sebastian Blanco is my new favorite Timbers player.  I saw glimpses of what Blanco could add to the offense with his vision and pace during the Timbers preseason matches, but we didn't get a great extended look at Sebastian until the MLS season started. His ability to stay wide and force teams to defend the width of the pitch is impressive, but Blanco has been extremely steady at tracking back to aid his defense regularly. When the midfield wing can track back and help the defensive line and not get in the way, it's a huge asset for a team and Blanco excels at this. (2) Marco Farfan will make Caleb Porter's job very difficult soon, if not already. At 18 years old, I was mostly worried about completing homework, trying to find dates and contemplating my future in college, not chasing around professional athletes for a living.  Farfan is still completing his senior year at Centennial High School, but with Vytas injured and Zarek Valentin struggling slightly, the youngster has played 2 matches in defense and not looked out of place in either affair. For an organization that has struggled to find home grown talent and play them regularly, this is a huge win for Farfan and what T2 is doing for the whole organization. (3) Diego Valeri is playing on a completely different level from everyone else. We are witnessing one of the greats in MLS at the peak of his talent, and I couldn't be happier for him or the team at this point.

Marco Farfan was very good for the Timbers. (J.Kesgard)

Three Things I Didn't Like: (1) Where was Darlington Nagbe? I love Nagbe's game because there are few players that came move from box to box so fluidly and quickly with a soccer ball at their feet than him. But I also feel like he disappears at times, and we saw this version for most of the second half. I am not sure if this was due to being tired (2 home matches in a row with no subs), but it was a troubling trend (2) Why no subs? I've heard over and over about our improved depth and strength in the roster, and we've seen it to fill our side due to injury or absences before the match starts, but for 2 matches in a row, we played our starting 11 for the full match. I get this for Houston somewhat because everything was clicking, but when we were struggling for energy versus the Revs, perhaps a sub might have helped. (3) What Are You Doing, Jake? As a shot blocking goalkeeper, Jake Gleeson is one of the best keepers in MLS bar none. As for the other skills needed to be a top flight goalkeeper, Jake is middling at best. Versus the Crew, he made several questionable decisions to leave his line that contributed to goals for the other side, and the goal for New England was conceded when he failed to catch a shot or block it away from the middle of the goal. I get that the defense didn't help him at points, but at the same time, our keeper needs to be better in those situations.

Evaluations:

Jake Gleeson - 3:  Made several good blocks and punches at points, but distribution was spotty and spilling a ball in front of goal cost the team big time.
Marco Farfan - 9: My man of the match, Marco routinely kept Revolution forward Kei Kamara occupied while moving forward to help the offense. I'm still flabbergasted he's only 18 and hanging with MLS caliber players like it's nothing.
Lawrence Olum - 5: Did his job reasonably well without too many glaring errors.
Roy Miller - 5: I would like to mark him up for some offensive support, but it would be cancelled out by some marking errors and questionable positioning at points.
Alvas Powell - 6. If Alvas could even learn to put a cross in a good spot regularly, his career would skyrocket. Instead, we have a player that makes mistakes but covers them up with recovery speed.
Diego Chara - 4: While I talked about Nagbe being MIA, I thought you could say the same for Chara as well. I didn't notice his influence as much in this match, whether that was due to the Revs neutralizing him or Chara just being out of position, but he was more effective at certain points.

Nagbe was very good at passing, but not much else (J.Kesgard)

David Guzman 6: I liked his game and it would have been awesome for him to net another goal, but I did feel his effectiveness wasn't as good as we've seen in previous matches. Perhaps it was rushed passes or the midweek return after international play, but I thought we saw Guzman at about 70 percent. Still good, but not enough to completely control the midfield.
Darlington Nagbe - 3: See above.
Diego Valeri - 8: His goal was amazing, and he created lots of chances with creativity and pace. We are seeing greatness each time he takes to the pitch, and I'm just waiting to see what more he can do for this team each week.
Sebastian Blanco - 7: Did well for the limited chances that came his way, but did have issues linking passes to  others, but I credit New England with influencing this as much as anything.
Fanendo Adi - 4: Had his chances, but rushed more that a few shots on the day. A patient Adi is a dangerous Adi, and we like it when Fanendo is dangerous.
New England - 7: They played feisty and physical with only getting 2 cautions. Nobody got hurt and they earned a point late off a sloppy play by the Timbers defense. What's not to like from a road match where you get points?
Timbers - 5: Offense was solid in the first half, passive in the second; defense was able to stay organized in the first, and then got out of sync in the second half. The draw was disappointing, but it was likely the most fair result for both sides.
Snarktography - 10. The return of something really awesome? Okay!