Month: July 2023

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 1, Tigres UANL 2

Photographer: Kris Lattimore

After securing three points in their Leagues Cup opening game against the San Jose Earthquakes, Portland was in position to clinch a spot in the knockout stage with at least a draw. The Timbers could also advance in a three-way tie through goal differential. 

Tigres is one of the most storied clubs in North America—and in the world. The opportunity to play a team of this historic stature is huge. 

Playing at a disadvantage for over a half would be too much to overcome, as the Timbers dropped the last game of the Leagues Cup group stage 1-2. 

Photographer: Kris Lattimore

In the 24th minute, Evander took on his best Leo Messi impersonation and hit the perfect free kick into to the upper 90 to put the home side up 1-0. 

Photographer: Kris Lattimore

The good times would not keep on rollin’, unfortunately. 

In the 42nd minute, former France international, André-Pierre Gignac scored the equalizer for Tigres.

To make matters even worse for Portland, Evander got sent off with his second yellow in the 44th minute. 

Even down a player in the second half, the Portland Timbers refused to bunker. Both teams exchanged chances, tackles, and shots. 

In the 81st minute, Jesús Angulo beat Juan David Mosquera far post and gave the visitors the 1-2 lead. 

In order to try to get a result out of the game, head coach Gio Savarese made a triple sub in the 88th minute: Franck Boli for Dairon Asprilla, Sebastián Blanco for Claudio Bravo, and Miguel Araujo for Mosquera. The Timbers would play the rest of the game with a three-back of Miguel Araujo, Dario Župarić, and Zac McGraw.

Still, the Timbers did enough to move on in the Leagues Cup. (There is no scenario that existed where they didn’t move on.) 

Evander

The biggest transfer in Timbers history has taken the reigns of this team and won’t let go.

He is putting his stamp on games and has shown his best stretch of play. 

In the 24th minute, Evander delivered once again for Portland. 

The Timbers will continue to win games if this stud continues to take over matches. 

Unfortunately, Evander picked up his first yellow in the 39th minute. Then, the head official decided to get involved in the 44th minute and give Evander his second yellow.

Replays showed that this was not warranted, and it was a real shame, as the game was starting to go end-to-end with a ton of action. 

As a player on a yellow card, you’ve got to be extremely careful and not put yourself in that position. 

It was a frustrating way for Evander to end his time in the game, especially with such a big start. 

Felipe Mora

Mora has worked his tail off to come back and has recently returned to play. However, this start was a huge milestone for him. 

His professionalism through it all shows his character. There aren’t many players who have committed to the city and team the way he has. These moments and opportunities are more than deserved for the Timbers’ No. 9. 

Officiating 

Instead of playing this entire game at full strength, Evander’s second yellow card put us down to 10 players for the second half. 

The official decided to intervene and have the main say over the game.

The atmosphere was amazing throughout, and the fans would have loved to see these teams go at it with everything they’ve got. 

Make no mistake, the official allowed both teams to play. But Tigres is a phenomenal side and did not need the extra assistance.

“I just think the referee ruined the game,” said Savarese. “The referee ruined the game on a red card that was not conscientious of what is happening in the game. For me, there was no need. We were facing a very good team that didn’t need any extra help.”

It’ll a long time before we ever see these two sides go at it again, if ever. It’s a shame that a game was decided in that fashion.

Photographer: Kris Lattimore
Quote of the Night

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Gallery: Portland Timbers 2, San Jose Earthquakes 0

Photo by Kris Lattimore
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Soccer Timbers

Diego Valeri Day: Portland Timbers 3, Columbus Crew 2

Photo via Portland Timbers FC

The Portland Timbers honored Diego Valeri by inducting him into the club’s ring of honor before their Saturday night match against the Columbus Crew—and by earning a 3-2 win on the field.

Coming into the game winless in their last five matchups, Portland was hoping to honor ‘The Maestro’ with three points to snap the winless streak.

Celebrating his birthday, head coach Gio Savarese wanted the win as a present.

The day was made right for both, as the Timbers secured the nail-biting 3-2 win over the Crew.

Neither team could create much early in the first half, as the game lacked any sort of rhythm or control. However, that changed after the first 25 minutes.

In the 28th minute, Claudio Bravo somehow found a way a collect the rebound to find Dario Župarić. The center back played it to Dairon Asprilla, who finished past Columbus goalkeeper Patrick Schulte to put the home side up 1-0.

Two minutes later, Franck Boli played a perfect through ball into Asprilla, who beat two defenders and Schulte double the Timbers’ lead. Evander’s pass to the frontline had sprung the counterattack.

This made the match the first time Portland had scored more than one goal in a game since their 3-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps in May.

Still, in first half stoppage time, Columbus responded with a Lucas Zelarayán goal to cut the lead in half.

In the 49th minute, Zac McGraw headed a potential Christian Ramírez equalizer off the line.

In the 62nd minute, the Portland Timbers put out their best substitutions of the year with Sebastián Blanco, Yimmi Chará, and Felipe Mora coming on.

The party was spoiled in the 65th minute, when Zelarayán would tally a second goal for a brace. His golazo was hit perfectly from outside of the box to beat Timbers goalkeeper David Bingham.

In the 69th minute, the Crew nearly went ahead when Jacen Russell-Rowe got passed the backline. Bingham came up with the biggest save of the night to keep it level.

In the 73rd minute, Mora won the header off a set piece and to redirected it to Y. Chará, who hit off the post.

The Timbers were not going to let the party end on a sour note. In the 80th minute, Y. Chará played a ball across goal that found Blanco, who smashed it home for the 3-2 lead.

This was Seba’s first regular season goal since his amazing comeback from injury.

Diego Valeri Day

The Timbers legend was not only being honored for his successes on the pitch—but fro what he did off of it, too.

Valeri was a player who loved being in the community and giving back to people. Any time he was given the change to help, his mind way already made up.

He will go down as a legendary player in the team’s history—and as one of the best people to take the pitch for the club.

Valeri and his family have the utmost love for the city of Portland. They should be remembered for always being a light to everyone who came across them.

Thank you, Diego, Florencia, and Connie.

You all be missed very much. We are forever grateful.

Hat Trick watch

In Timbers history, no player has ever tallied a hat trick, but that could have changed Saturday.

After 30 minutes, Asprilla had already scored two goals—his first MLS brace.

Unfortunately, after 62 minutes, he was subbed out.

The wait continues.

Heavy heart

Our condolences are to Dairon Asprilla’s hometown friend and their family. His strength in the face of great loss is remarkable and inspiring. Please send all your positive thoughts and vibes to him.

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 0, Colorado Rapids 0

Credit: Kris Lattimore
Credit: Kris Lattimore

The Portland Timbers had to wait eight days to finish their game against the Colorado Rapids. On July 4, bad weather made it impossible to play the second half, and therefore the match was postponed. On Wednesday, the game resumed. The energy was different, but the score didn’t change. 

A more entertaining second half

The first half didn’t give us much to be excited about, with the Timbers only shooting three times and with Nathan Fogaça being the only player who had a shot on frame. 

The energy was different on Wednesday, though. Added to the bad soccer the Timbers are playing nowadays, they have some off-the-field problems regarding Santiago Moreno and head coach Gio Savarese. The Oregonian’s Ryan Clarke had previously reported that the Colombian had requested to transfer from the team. Now, after an extended stay in his home country, Moreno is back with the team and denies any conflict with Savarese.

Therefore, Moreno wasn’t among Portland’s available subs, and Dairon Asprilla took his place on the bench. 

Despite this, the group somehow found some much-needed energy and gave us some good moments in the second half of this game. Franck Boli could’ve scored a worldie when he hit the crossbar with a powerful shot from downtown. As the central forward, he was the most involved in the attack, with a total of three shots—one on frame, and two off frame.

In the end, the Timbers didn’t create much, but they did better than they had in the first half. It would be good for them to be clinical and not waste opportunities, like the chance you can see in the video below.

In that attack, the Timbers outnumbered Colorado, but a heavy pass by Claudio Bravo killed the opportunity. They just don’t have the luxury of wasting looks like that. Being able to take advantage of chances means the difference between one and three points.

 

In a match where was hard to find something positive to say, defender Eric Miller found something to highlight. “I think for us a clean sheet on the road is always a really good thing,” he said. “I think obviously we’re in a situation now where we need wins. So, I think it’s a little disappointing […] but I think a clean sheet on the road in MLS is always a good thing.”

Last but not least, congratulations to Victor Griffith, who got his first start in this game in the midfield.

The future doesn’t look good

At this point, most Timbers fans are not hopeful anymore. The team hasn’t been able to get three points since June 11, when they got a 1-0 win against Dallas. And they haven’t won a game with multiple goals since May 13 when they won 3-1 against Vancouver.

Right now, Portland is 12th in the table, five points shy of the last team in playoff position.

May Saturday be different

Despite the tough reality the Timbers are going through nowadays, Saturday will bring something to look forward to.

Not only does the team goes back to play at home against Columbus Crew, but it will mean the return of Portland’s legend and Maestro, Diego Valeri.

The former Portland midfielder will be inducted into the Timbers’ ring of honor, and fans will want to be present at the stadium to cheer for such a special and beloved player.

Hopefully, that special day will bring much-needed a victory for the Timbers.

Categories
Soccer Thorns

Takeaways: Thorns 0, Kansas City 1

Photo by Matthew Wolfe

The Portland Thorns have officially wished their international players well in the FIFA Women’s World Cup and are embarking on the next portion of the season without their most prolific attacking threats. Portland will play six games before the international players are slated to come back at the end of August: three for the regular season and three for the Challenge Cup. 

This week, we got our first glimpse at what the Thorns will be like during this next stretch of games. Without Sophia Smith, Crystal Dunn, and Hina Sugita up front, it was underwhelming to say the least.

The refereeing in both games was questionable at best and atrocious at worst, but regardless of what the officials are doing, it is the players’ job to put the ball in the back of the net. 

After the sensational send off game versus the Spirit—a top of the table clash that resulted in a 4-2 Portland victory—the Thorns had a pair of disappointing 0-1 losses at home.

What happened? It is a mix of available personnel and coaching decisions that can no longer be hidden behind the individual brilliance of Sophia Smith. 

Of the healthy and available players in Portland, three are goalkeepers, eight are defenders, four are midfielders, and five are forwards. Since the NWSL trade window has opened, the Thorns have only made one official signing, bringing center back Kayla Morrison into the team as a national team replacement player and adding depth to probably the only position that already had it. Morrison will join Kelli Hubly, Meaghan Nally, Emily Menges, and Gabby Provenzano—alongside Natalia Kuikka, who has slid into the position several times this season. 

Graphic via Arielle Dror

Against the Current, the Thorns lined up in their usual 4-3-3, with the most notable change being that Sam Coffey was able to play higher up the pitch and was given the freedom to carry the ball forward. Meghan Klingenberg and Kuikka, as the fullbacks, were asked to play incredibly high up the pitch, leaving Menges and Hubly exposed as a flat 2-back pairing. By this point in the season, it seems clear that head coach Mike Norris’ game plan is to try and instigate attacking momentum through his outside backs, as Kling and Kuikka had 40 and 47 carries, respectively. When this number is compared to  midfielders Taylor Porter’s and Coffey’s carries of 18 and 28, respectively, it shows the Thorns’ lack of meaningful possession in the midfield. 

When Smith is waiting up top, playing through the wings to try and send her on a one-versus-one breakaway isn’t that bad of an idea, but without her dribbling skills up top, the Thorns did not look dangerous coming out of the wide areas. Subbing Reyna Reyes on for Michelle Vasconcelos at the half to bring a more defensive-minded winger onto the pitch did not change the way in which the Thorns attacked, as Reyes did not cut inside or play as fluidly along the front line as the Thorns typically do. Granted, it was Reyes’ second time playing up top for the Thorns, and she has been having a terrific rookie season, but nonetheless her appearance did not mark a change of tactics in order to try and earn a win in the second half. 

Once the Thorns were able to bring the ball into the attacking third, poor shot selection was their downfall. Portland, always a team that is able to wrack up a lot of shots over 90 minutes, had 26 against the Current, with nine on target. 

Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Only Izzy D’Aquila and Morgan Weaver had more than 10 touches inside the Current’s penalty area throughout the game, with 12 and 13, respectively. The next highest player, Olivia Moultrie, had only six.

In previous games the Thorns have been incredibly successful inside their opponents’ box at playing dummy balls and creating space for easy tap-in goals, but over the past two games we have not seen this type of play. What we have seen, however, is players taking shots early instead of taking extra touches to get themselves around a defender or to fin a better angle. If you had to take a shot (pun intended) for every time the Thorns players gifted the ball directly to Kansas City goalkeeper Cassie Miller without challenging her to make a save, you would have had a much better time at the game. 

So, what is the reason for this flat, uninspired play the Thorns have shown in both their midweek game against the Reign and the weekend’s one against the Current? While it may be a multitude of reasons, the most glaring one is the lack of changing tactics either mid-game, when the current plan isn’t working, or around the available personnel and their strengths. 

For example, the Thorns’ xG in the first half against the Current was 0.75, while the second half was 0.85. The marginal difference between the two numbers is negligible, indicating that there was no real change or improvement in the attack between the two halves. Another example was the 70th-minute sub of Hannah Betfort for Porter, which shuffled D’Aquila to the wing and Kling into the midfield. D’Aquila, a prolific striker for Santa Clara, was incredibly effective with her head. Even though the Thorns had not been able to take advantage of this asset for the previous 70 minutes, they chose to bring on a player whose main advantage is her height in aerial duels. Betfort ended up not having a shot that evening. 

When playing from the outside in wasn’t working, the Thorns should have tried to carry the ball through Coffey in the middle. Coffey only had 94 yards worth of progressive carries over 90 minutes, much fewer than Kuikka and Kling, who both had over 200. Coffey, playing the attacking mid position she excelled at in college, was far and away the best player on the field. Her confidence while wearing the captain’s armband was high, and she was able to float around the opposing team with ease, completing 76% of her passes. The Thorns are incredibly lucky to still have Coffey during this World Cup period, and it is in their best interest to make her the primary playmaker during this time. 

Sam Coffey with the ball
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Hopefully the Thorns will have signed a few more national team replacement players—Norris hinted at at least one more signing on Saturday—to bolster their sparse frontline before they go again next weekend against Gotham in New York. 

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 1, Minnesota United 4

Credit: Kris Lattimore
Credit: Kris Lattimore

On Saturday, night the Portland Timbers played Minnesota United to a 1-4 loss. The Timbers were pretty bland the entire game, but they reached their pivotal moment in the second half, when they looked defeated and even more out of ideas than they had in the first—if that’s even possible.

No vibes, just pain

We can add this match to the long stack of Timbers games that have been hard to watch this season. In the first half, Portland looked as if they didn’t know what to do with the ball. It didn’t help that Evander was out for this match due to suspension. But to be honest, the team has looked lost in the last few games, even with him on the field.

You can call it patience, sure. But what we can also see in that video is almost one minute where the Timbers pass the ball 16 times and get nowhere—except to lose possession in the midfield.

Outside of that clip, Portland was making bad decisions in the few chances they had in the attack.

In the 35th minute, the Timbers had the ball and the option to go forward, and so they did. Minnesota’s defense was out of shape, and Portland should’ve taken advantage of that. Instead of playing at a high tempo and passing the ball quickly to Noel Caliskan on the right, Franck Boli decided to pass it to the left. In this way, they gave Minnesota the time they needed find a good defensive formation.

Another stark difference between these two teams in attack is the width. Look how wide Minnesota is:

That positioning allowed Minnesota to send precise long passes and dangerous crosses to the Timbers’ box. The Timbers’ defense allowed the home side to have far too many touches in Minnesota’s attacking end, as we can see by looking at the touches and heat maps.

Source: Opta
Source: Opta

Despite what I saw as uneven first half, Timbers head coach Gio Savarese thought differently. “A game that for 43 minutes was even, was managed well,” he said after the match. “We created our chances, they had other chances… It was a very even game… And then all of a sudden, we find ourselves 1-0, and then the second goal comes right away.” 

It is true that coaches don’t usually think like the rest of us, but the fact that all the Timbers combined created only three chances in the entire game—one each by Santiago Moreno, Cristhian Paredes and Nathan Fogaça—is very telling.

To make things worse, one Minnesota goal came from friendly fire—more specifically, a Diego Chará own goal—and the other was an Olímpico.

Things didn’t improve in the second half

It’s true: Boli earned one back—with the help of Nathan’s good pass—and gave Portland reasons to believe in a comeback.

Nonetheless, the illusion didn’t last long. Less than 15 minutes later, Minnesota’s Bongokuhle Hlongwane restored the two-goal lead, and three minutes later Emanuel Reynoso scored his brace and knocked the Timbers down.

The fourth goal was a tough blow. The way it was scored—with the always reliable Chará passing the ball unintentionally to Hlongwane instead of clearing it and Reynoso getting to the far post totally unmarked while the Timbers were asking for a nonexistent offside call—was terrible to witness.

No one, not even Chará, had a good game. He was beaten in the race with Hlongwane, and that resulted in the attacker ending in a one-on-one against Timbers goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič. We also mentioned the own goal Minnesota opened the counter with and the nail in the coffin scored by Reynoso.

Maybe the only positive thing we can highlight is the fact that Boli scored again. In a season where goals are rare, the fact that Portland’s No. 9 has scored five times in 10 games is not irrelevant.

This game was tough, no doubt, but the competition continues. Portland will have to move on fast, since they have a game tonight against Colorado.

Categories
Soccer Thorns

Coffee with Coffey: Kickin’ It with Sam Coffey

Sam Coffey celebrates her first goal in front of the Rose City Riveters in September, 2022. Photo via Craig Mitchelldyer/ Portland Thorns FC
Sam Coffey celebrates her first goal after the game with the Rose City Riveters. Photo Credit: Craig Mitchelldyer/ Portland Thorns FC
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