The Portland Timbers hosted New York City FC last Saturday and got a 1-1 draw. Evander scored for the home team, while Keaton Parks did so for the visitors. It was an entertaining match where the Timbers created the most chances but couldn’t put more than one in the back of the net to secure a win at home.
Déjà vu
Saturday’s night game was fun to watch—to some extent. We had two teams who were playing under similar circumstances this season, and the question was which was going to take advantage of the other to earn three points. Both sides created chances, and we saw action from box to box in the second half.
The visitors didn’t create much in the first forty-five minutes. NYC only had one shot in the entire half, while the Timbers had seven, two of which went on goal. So it was only a matter of time—we would think, as if soccer usually works that way!—for Portland to open the score. In the 38th minute, Evander found the back of the net.
Nonetheless, it didn’t take long in the second half for NYC to find the equalizer.
The visitors woke up in the second half, and the game turned out to be more open, with looks for both teams. Santiago Moreno had the best opportunity for the Timbers in the second half, but he didn’t hit the ball properly and ended up shooting way too wide. Another good Portland chance came in the last minute of the game, in a free kick, when Evander hit the post.
In the Timbers’ previous game against Chicago, Portland looked very sterile in all the lines of the field. This time was different. They played better but didn’t create many quality chances (xG = 1.03), and in the end, they only got a point out of this match.
“Déjà vu. It’s the same story every day,” Timbers head coach Gio Savarese said after the game. “Played really well. The guys are giving it everything despite injuries and limitations. I don’t know what happened; somebody put something around the goal that doesn’t let us put goals in.”
I agree with the coach. Can someone please, break the curse, so the Timbers can start scoring multiple goals in a single game again?
Maybe the visitor’s center-back Maxime Chanot had something to do with Portland’s struggles, since he registered 17 clearances in the entire game. You could say he’s NYC’s Zac McGraw.
More help is coming
Felipe Mora is back, and that’s something to celebrate.
“I’m glad to have another quality player available, especially Felipe,” Savarese said. “We know how important he has been. Only 20 minutes available today. but hopefully he continues to build up in the minutes and we continue to have a competition in that position.”
When the Chilean entered the game in the 76th minute, the entire Providence Park cheered for him.
“I’m very grateful,” Mora said. “I honestly didn’t expect so much love and noise when I entered the pitch tonight. That felt really nice. It felt like I was born again when I came in. They’ve been sending so many messages throughout this whole time and since I got here to this club.
“I’m just very happy and very grateful for them,” he said.
Another Timber who deserves a mention is Noel Caliskan. The German made his debut in this game, after signing a contract first with the first team at the end of April.
An @MLS debut for #92 🥹
Congrats, Noel Caliskan 👏#RCTID pic.twitter.com/uEjsVg5bVe
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) June 25, 2023
The 22-year-old came into the game in the second half for Cristhian Paredes who, according to his coach, had some hamstring pain and had to leave the field.
The youngster did well in the midfield, especially in the passing accuracy department. He had 91.3% passing accuracy overall—and 88.9% in the opponent’s half.
Still, there’s room for improvement in Caliskan communication and aerial duels. NYC’s equalizer from a set piece came after Juan David Mosquera lost Keaton Park’s mark, and Calistan couldn’t win the aerial duel. But the truth is, Keaton did very well getting rid of his mark, rose higher than anyone, and headed that ball home—a shot with an xG of 14.72%.
The backline had a good game overall
Savarese was very happy with the performance his backline put on. He said it was difficult to leave Eric Miller on the bench but that he went with the four defenders he felt could get the job done. They did a “phenomenal job,” he said. The coach also highlighted how well his team managed the ball and their success defending as a unit and in transitions.
In the absence of Zac McGraw—one of the best defenders on the team this season—Portland did well and didn’t give many opportunities to NYC. It’s too bad that Keaton found the back of the net in that set piece.
Aljaž Ivačič also had some good saves that prevented NYC from finding what could’ve been the winning goal.
Final thoughts
This game marked the end of three matches in one week, with the Timbers collecting only two points out of a possible nine. It is a no-brainer that this isn’t good enough, but what is more, Portland is now three points shy of the last playoff spot.
As we already said, they need to find a way to score multiple goals in a single match again. But more importantly, Portland needs to start getting wins.
In the following days, the attention won’t be just on the attack but also on the defense. We will see how the Timbers manage to play without McGraw—who will be on duty with the Canadian National Team—a player who has become instrumental in the backline.
We can’t wait to see Mora getting more minutes and see if he can help to fix the Timbers’ lack of goals. Now the players get to rest a little, with the next match coming next Saturday when they take the road to face Minnesota.
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