Author: Kyle Pinnell

Observations from Sandy: Timbers Drop All Three Points to Vancouver in their MLS Opener

Post author By Kyle Pinnell
Post date April 19, 2021

Photo by Kyle Pinnell

The Portland Timbers started off their CONCACAF Champions League campaign with a bang, but began their MLS schedule with a whimper. The Timbers put five goals past overmatched CD Marathón on Tuesday; just five days later, in their season opener, they conceded a set-piece goal to the Vancouver Whitecaps, failed to find the back of the net themselves, and dropped all three points.

Portland showed plenty of promise and ideas in the first half, only to resort to a more direct style of play after Vancouver striker Lucas Cavallini headed in the game’s only goal at the back post. For large stretches, it looked like a game between two teams playing a competitive league game for the first time in months. Both sides had ideas, but couldn’t execute many of them.

For the first time since March 2020, I watched the Timbers play with my own eyes, in Sandy, Utah. I also noticed some things that I haven’t picked up while watching games over television. So to recap the game, here are a few of those observations.

Van Rankin and Bravo will play important roles on a Portland team that wants to play out from the back even more.

The Timbers’ most dominant spells of play often came when they successfully built possession from the back line and linked with the midfield. In those situations, right back Josecarlos Van Rankin frequently appeared to be at midfield while the rest of the back line shifted to become more of a back three.

When Portland advanced the ball higher up the field, Van Rankin constantly made himself available to play quick one-twos down the right. Building out of the back with three defenders allowed the Timbers to get an additional player into attack even earlier, while the quick-passing progression—especially in the first half—yielded the visitors some of their best chances of the night.

Once the ball reached midfield, left back Claudio Bravo also advanced to add width further up the left side of the field, leaving the pair of center backs to possess the ball and start more direct attacking movements from the attacking half of the field. With both outside backs capable of carrying the ball forward or combining with midfielders to advance possession into the attacking third, they’ll both surely play an important role in coach Giovanni Savarese’s team this season.

“I thought they did very well, they have adapted very quickly, and we can see that they’re quality players,” Savarese said. “They understand the way we want to play and what we want to achieve on the field. I thought they did well, very similar to what they did in the past to CCL games. I’m very content with their performance.”

The Timbers’ fluidity in attack should yield positive results in the future.

On paper, Yimmi Chará started the game as a right winger, Felipe Mora occupied a central striker role, and Dairon Asprilla played down the left. And while those three players generally occupied those places on the field, it wasn’t uncommon to look up and see Yimmi central, Mora closer to midfield and Asprilla pushing from wide.

Portland looked at their best when they played with fluidity all over attack and players constantly interchanged with one another. Yimmi scored a goal that was called offside in the first half, but it came when the winger had an opportunity to come inside and play more centrally for a few seconds.

When Mora plays, Portland lacks a “true” number nine when it comes to a goal-scoring presence in the box. While that can provide issues when the team needs to rely on a singular player to score goals out of nothing, his ability to drop into midfield helps when it comes to the Timbers’ fluidity. On Sunday night, Mora helped open up some of that space that Yimmi or even Asprilla used to come inside by dropping toward midfield.

And speaking of Asprilla, the winger played on both sides of the field, where he looked to constantly run at Vancouver’s outside backs. In the first half, Asprilla put a rocket on frame that forced an athletic save out of keeper Maxime Crépeau. In the second half, he attacked in numerous one-on-one situations down the right before firing crosses into the box.

There were hints of that fluidity in midfield, too, as the Timbers tried (at least in the first half) to progress the ball all the way from back to front. At times, midfielder Eryk Williamson played all the way forward in the right half-space, almost like a winger, where he combined with Van Rankin. The Chará brothers also combined quite a few times when the ball came into the team’s attacking half.

The quick passing and fluidity, especially in the first half, moved the Whitecaps defense around and gave the Timbers more space to work with. It stretched a Vancouver team happy to get plenty of numbers behind the ball when it could. While it didn’t result in any goals on Sunday night, it provided an early example as to how Portland might look to break down opponents with possession in the coming weeks.

The Timbers tried some different things offensively, and then completely went away from them in the second half.

While they didn’t find a goal in the first half, the Timbers looked like a team with plenty of ideas. They played with possession and created some dangerous moments in attack with well-worked passing sequences and off-ball movements.

It’s crazy to think that not even two seasons ago, this was a team that either took chances on the counter or played down the flanks only to play hopeful crosses into the box. Don’t get me wrong—Portland still wanted to attack directly against Vancouver—but it seemed more methodical. Players weren’t afraid to recycle possession along the back line, switch the point of attack, and pick out a better pass.

Then the second half started, and everything that I mentioned above just slowed down. Once Cavallini scored in the 49th minute, the Timbers became even more desperate as they began to chase the game. In the first half Portland appeared calculated in their direct play. In the second 45 minutes, there were too many moments where the visitors tried to play long ball after long ball over the top. As players grew more tired—thanks especially to Utah’s high altitude—those long balls turned into one wasted opportunity after another.

Portland also began to bypass their midfield, making it easier for Vancouver’s already compact defense to deal with any dangerous opportunities. Instead of playing quick-passing soccer, the Timbers continuously attempted to play diagonal balls from deep in midfield to the right wing. Sure, it allowed Asprilla, and eventually Marvin Loría, to attack defenders in one-on-one situations, but that strategy never looked effective.

“We did a lot of good things; we were in a lot of good areas inside their box,” Savarese said. “We did have a lot of chances, we did have a lot of moments where we could have capitalized, but we just have to make sure we are better in those moments to get those points.”

As cliché as it is, the 1–0 loss to Vancouver proved to be a tale of two halves. The Timbers showcased elements of a promising attacking in the first half, only to revert back to more desperate direct play in the second. Together with the altitude and conceding the first goal to a Vancouver side content to sit back, that was never going to be a formula for success.

Tags Timbers, Vancouver, Vancouver Whitecaps

Soccer Timbers

Portland Tests its Possession Game in CONCACAF Champions League Opener Against CD Marathón

Post author By Kyle Pinnell
Post date April 6, 2021

Photo by Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers

Portland coach Giovanni Savarese understood the task at hand before the Timbers even touched down in San Pedro Sula, Honduras, for the first leg of their CONCACAF Champions League series against CD Marathón.

He knew that Marathón, a team that’s won just two of its first ten league games in the clausura season, wanted to make the most of a fresh start in a new competition. That they would be comfortable sitting back before springing into attack.

Earlier in the week, Savarese talked about the directness and individual talent Marathón possessed, and acknowledged that the opening game would be a good time for his team to test their mettle, especially with the ball.

In many ways, that’s exactly what played out on Tuesday in Portland’s 2–2 draw at the Estadio Olimpico Metropolitano. The Timbers finished the game with 58% of the possession, outshot Marathón 16–12, and completed 107 more passes.

In their first competitive game since the first round of the 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs, Portland was given both the ball and the onus to do something with it against a compact opponent. While known more as a counter-attacking team in the Savarese era, the Timbers will face games where they need to break teams down with the ball. A season ago, the team showed progress in that facet of their game––hey, fewer hopeful crosses is always a good thing––and received an early opportunity to test themselves in possessional play this season.

“I thought it was very competitive, and I thought that we did a lot of very good things, especially in the first half,” Savarese said. “We created chances. Unfortunately, we couldn’t capitalize a little bit more on the chances we created.”

The Timbers started the match on the front foot and found themselves with multiple scoring opportunities early. Yimmi Chará continuously attacked Marathón left back Luis Vega down the right wing, which created danger right away. Winger Dairon Asprilla later bodied off a defender to get a shot off in the box that he dragged wide by a good margin. In the 27th minute, midfielder Eryk Williamson nearly pulled off a moment of magic with a side-footed shot that keeper Denovan Torres did well to save.

Then, in the 35th minute, Portland found its breakthrough when striker Felipe Mora brought down the ball in the box and squeezed the ensuing shot under Torres’ outstretched right hand.

The goal, while not flashy, perfectly exemplified the Timbers’ effective possession play. With the team in their attacking third, right back Josecarlos Van Rankin slowly made his way from the right side of the field to the left half-space where he received the ball from left back Claudio Bravo, beat two defenders, and chipped a ball with his left foot to Mora, who found the back of the net.

Van Rankin’s addition into the attack provided the Timbers with an offensive wrinkle in possession, which helped them break down coach Hector Vargas’ compact side. The right back’s presence in that left half-space drew Marathón center back Mathías Techera away from Mora for a split-second, which allowed the striker to control the ball and get a shot off. While there are potential drawbacks to that type of cross-field run––say the ball turns over quickly and that entire space is vacated––the addition of Van Rankin into the attack proved crucial in Portland’s first goal of 2021.

Savarese also asked Mora to drop into midfield from time to time to help the Timbers create numerical advantages in central areas while in possession. With wingers Yimmi Chará and Asprilla tasked with stretching Marathón’s defense, Mora had plenty of room to work with when he dropped back and combined with midfielders Diego Valeri or Eryk Williamson. While Mora seemed to tire near the end of 90 minutes, his ability to drop into midfield and also finish opportunities in attack will certainly prove useful for Portland this season.

Savarese said the team went into the game with the aforementioned goal of stretching Marathón out, especially between midfield and defense, to create more space in possession. He felt like the team did that, especially early.

“I think that the balance that we have with Diego Chará and Eryk [Williamson] in the middle was very, very good,” Savarese said. “The defense handled the long balls really well, and going forward we were patient enough to find the right moment to keep the ball or to get behind to create opportunities.”

Valeri thrived in the additional space created in midfield. The Timbers star scored the (own) goal of the game from a free-kick taken from yards behind the box and constantly popped up in vacant midfield spaces. The Argentinian played a large role in both finding and creating the “right attacking moments” that Savarese mentioned.

“He was phenomenal today,” Savarese said. “He was very active and found a lot of good spaces to give us the chance to be able to be vertical.”

While Portland looked effective in possession through large stretches of play, it wasn’t all perfect. The Timbers failed to capitalize on multiple golden opportunities. In the 57th minute, Yimmi Chará had a great opportunity on a corner kick that fell into his path in the box with nobody around him, but he didn’t put enough power on the ball and shot it straight at Torres.

Marathón’s deeper formation also enticed Portland to creep further up the field, which opened up new spaces for the very direct Central American side to attack through. That’s what happened in the 68th minute when midfielder Kervin Arriaga found plenty of room between the Timbers’ lines to drive into before delivering a well-weighted pass to forward Marlon Ramírez who leveled the score 2–2.

“Arriaga found moments to dribble and become a little more dangerous,” Savarese said. “Then they found some corners and more dangerous crosses.”

On Tuesday, Timbers fans got their first look at what Savarese wants his team to look like when forced to play with the ball. In just under a week, some will see it first hand when the team returns to Portland with a 2–2 result to defend and everything to play for.

“We’re not satisfied with this result,” Savarese said, “but scoring two goals away is very important.”

Tags Diego Valeri, Felipe Mora, Gio Savarese, Honduras, Marathón, Tactics, Timbers

Soccer Timbers

From Coast to Coast: The Story Behind Jeremy Ebobisse and Eryk Williamson’s Close Bond

Post author By Kyle Pinnell
Post date March 31, 2021

Photos by Matthew Wolfe (left) and Kris Lattimore (right)

Portland midfielder Eryk Williamson’s downtown apartment is pretty simple. There’s furniture and standard appliances, but nothing out of the ordinary. In both appearance and purpose, it’s just a place for him to crash between team training sessions and games.

Just two canvases hang from the apartment’s beige walls. One is a classic world map. The other is a picture of Williamson and his close friend—and Timbers teammate—Jeremy Ebobisse.

The lack of pictures and wall art throughout the apartment gives more weight to what is hung up. That’s certainly true with the cropped picture of him and Ebobisse, which was taken during Portland’s 2019 media day. In it, Ebobisse is hanging onto Williamson’s back. Both are smiling.

Computer, enhance #RCTID pic.twitter.com/OngA6EyB8k

— Rose City Review (@rosecityreview1) February 5, 2021

“It’s one of the two canvases I have up in my place,” Williamson said. “It’s one that really speaks to our relationship. About how I have his back, and he has my back.”

Ebobisse and Williamson have built a rapport on the field, but their relationship didn’t start in Portland. They’ve known one another since they were teenagers playing youth soccer in the Washington, DC suburbs. When they grew older, they became teammates in the United States youth national team system and competed at the Under-20 World Cup in South Korea together.

Now, they’re both expected to play important roles for a Timbers team with MLS Cup aspirations. The photo from that 2019 media day serves as a humbling reminder of where both players started and how they’ve progressed in their careers. Most importantly, it’s a symbol of their close bond years in the making.

“We’re always joking around, Ebobisse said. “They just so happened to capture that moment with a picture.”

It’s not uncommon to hear multiple languages at Portland’s training sessions. Those nearby are just as likely to witness coach Giovanni Savarese belting out instructions in Spanish as they are to hear players shout at each other in French or English during a heated drill.

Listen carefully and you also might also hear the word “sice.” It sounds natural in conversation, but like other regional jargon, it stands out.

The term is DC lingo used after a hyperbolic or exaggerated saying, commonly after jokes. Williamson gave the example of calling someone’s foot bigger than their head. Because that isn’t true, it’s often followed “sice” or “I’m sicing you.” It’s a small thing, but speaks to a commonality Williamson and Ebobisse share from growing up just miles apart.

“That’s something that me and Jeremy have on a lot of guys,” Williamson said. “We have this lingo and can get around explaining it to them, or use it as our own little word that we use until they figure it out.”

Photo by Kris Lattimore

Williamson grew up in Alexandria, Virginia, just south of downtown DC, while Ebobisse grew up north of the city in nearby Bethesda, Maryland. Both were ‘97 kids who played a year up for their club teams—Williamson for the Annandale Firestorm and Ebobisse for the Olney Rangers.

The two first played against one another when they were 12 or 13 years old. Williamson said Ebobisse’s style immediately stood out, specifically the frosted tips the young forward sported. However, the hair—which Williamson later learned came from the chlorine in pools Ebobisse competitively swam in—paled in comparison to Ebobisse’s talent on the field.

Just five minutes into the game, Ebobisse took a shot 40 yards from goal, which rattled the crossbar and rebounded to Williamson in midfield. The Firestorm lost 6–1 that day.

As they grew older, the pair continued to compete against each other, Williamson in Virginia’s Olympic Development Program (ODP) system and Ebobisse for Maryland’s ODP.

Eventually, Williamson and Ebobisse became teammates on the United States U-20 youth national team, where they roomed together at international competitions. They often joked around and enjoyed each other’s company, but also spent plenty of time discussing their game on the field, providing one other with suggestions and constructive criticism.

The occasional deep conversations at night—whether about their personal lives or struggles on the field—helped their relationship blossom.

“We were really able to understand each other’s tendencies,” Ebobisse said. “The things that made us uncomfortable [and] the things that made us really click. By the end of our time there, it wasn’t one of those situations where we didn’t want to be around each other any more.”

The text popped up on Ebobisse’s phone out of the blue.

“RCTID…,” it read.

It consisted of just an acronym, but Ebobisse knew right away what Williamson meant. RCTID: Rose City ‘Til I Die, the Timbers’ recognizable social media hashtag. His close friend, who he grew up competing against and later roomed with, was about to become his teammate in Portland.

“I told him that he better not be messing with me,” Ebobisse said. “But it turns out that he had made the decision and what happened, happened. He was due to fly in 24 hours later and I was just excited.”

Ebobisse had spent a portion of that summer at his home in Maryland. He sometimes played pickup soccer at the nearby University of Maryland campus, where Williamson went to school. Right before Ebobisse returned to Portland for preseason, the two had an honest conversation about the young midfielder’s career goals.

At the time, Williamson was mulling over the decision to either stay in school and play collegiately for another season or to go pro. If he chose to go pro, Williamson told Ebobisse, he would probably end up at one of two different clubs, one being Portland. Still, Ebobisse never thought he would actually share the field with Williamson that very season.

Then the text arrived, sending Ebobisse scrambling to come up with a plan to welcome his friend to his adopted home.

He first volunteered to pick Williamson up from the airport, but a team official had that covered. Instead, Ebobisse took Williamson out to dinner at one of his favorite sushi spots in Portland, Bamboo Sushi, later that night. In a way, Ebobisse wanted to give his friend—completely new to the west coast—something he didn’t have when he first arrived in Portland.

“The previous year, I didn’t have many close relationships on the team,” Ebobisse said. “As a young rookie in an older locker room with a lot of cultural experiences, I didn’t necessarily find my footing immediately. That was definitely a helping hand in my process as much as I helped him as well.”

Off the field, Williamson and Ebobisse played board games like Settlers of Catan and explored the city, often taking trips to local coffee shops. They also roomed together on road trips, where they continued the honest conversations they had while with the youth national teams.

Photo by Nikita Taparia

In 2019, specifically, those discussions really helped Williamson, who struggled to earn minutes with the first team while Ebobisse began to break into the starting eleven. The midfielder asked his friend about what he needed to get out of training and how he could stand out. While nothing changed immediately, those exchanges, which stemmed from their close bond, proved pivotal.

“When you spend that much time with someone, it’s not always going to be joking and laughter,” Ebobisse said. “Sometimes, it’s going to be about serious personal growth on both of our ends. We’ve both gone through a lot on the athletic front and then we’ve also had a lot of different experiences personally. They shaped the way that we do our jobs in the world and we trust each other to give and receive that advice.”

At the time, Ebobisse treaded lightly. He knew Williamson was working as hard as he could to earn time with the first team beyond US Open Cup games and heavily rotated midweek lineups. So, Ebobisse became his friend’s sounding board, having experienced similar early struggles prior to his breakthrough.

“I think he realized that he stepped in right when I think I needed it the most,” Williamson said. “There have been times, it may have been car rides either to or from an event or something along those lines, where it was reassuring. Although I’m not playing, people believe in me and want me to keep pushing.”

They’ve had those conversations more recently too, after neither received a call-up to the United States U-23s to take part in the 2020 Olympic qualifying tournament. Both Ebobisse and Williamson made the preliminary roster, but didn’t make the final cut for manager Jason Kreis’s 20-man team.

“I think we were both a little frustrated there, but we both know that this is a big year for us,” Williamson said. “We sat down and had that conversation. We can’t dwell on it and we have to keep moving forward. Ultimately we have each other and we will do it together.”

As the 2021 MLS season approaches, both are preparing to take another leap forward in their careers. Despite not making the Olympic qualifying roster, they are more confident than ever before, and a lot of that stems from those conversations and their close bond.

What began as a competitive relationship in the DC club soccer scene developed into a close bond built up during their time on youth national teams and now with the Timbers. So, regardless of what happens this season or in the future, the pair will always have one another.

It’s something Williamson is reminded of every day, thanks to the picture, in canvas form, that hangs from his apartment walls.

Tags Eryk Williamson, Giovanni Savarese, Jason Kreis, Jeremy Ebobisse, Olympic, Soccer, Timbers, U20, U23, Washington DC, Youth

Soccer Timbers

Green, More Green, and Gold: A Look at the Timbers’ Newest Primary Kit

Post author By Kyle Pinnell
Post date February 24, 2021

Photo courtesy of Craig Mitchelldyer/ Portland Timbers

Tags Gold, Green, Jerseys, Primary, Timbers

Soccer Timbers

Late Goals Prove to be Timbers Undoing in Heartbreaking loss to FC Dallas

Post author By Kyle Pinnell
Post date November 23, 2020

Photo by Kris Lattimore

Jorge Villafaña turned and put his hands over his face. Diego Valeri started to walk off the field with his head down. Jeremy Ebobisse squatted down and rubbed his forehead.

Seconds after FC Dallas goalkeeper Jimmy Maurer dove to his left and punched the ball away, players in green and gold came to grips with the fact that their season was over.

“In a penalty shootout, anything can happen,” Valeri said, “and it’s just a tiny difference that changed the game. We are very disappointed with the way our season is ending, but our team left everything on the field. That’s why we have to be proud.”

Before Sunday night, the Timbers were a perfect 100% in their three games that came down to spot kicks this season. But penalty kicks are a game of chance, and it was Mauer, not Steve Clark, who guessed a kick correctly to help his team seal a playoff win.

The shootout went eight rounds, making it the third longest in MLS history. As it went on, the pressure to match FC Dallas make-for-make eventually became too much for Portland.

Villafaña, who just thirty minutes prior was the hero after he scored what looked to be the game-winning goal in the 82′, was the player whose missed penalty sealed the game.

“When you leave a game to PKs it can go either way,” Savarese said. “It’s unfortunate because we did everything to be able to win this match until that moment.”

That late moment Saverese referenced came in the 90+3′, just one minute prior to the final whistle.

With the Timbers up a goal and on the verge of advancing to the Western Conference Semifinals, 17-year-old Ricardo Pepi got behind Portland’s back line and slotted a deflected ball past Clark for an equalizing goal at the death.

Up until that point, Portland looked to be in control. But from then on, it was all FC Dallas — right until Maurer came up with the final save on Villafaña.

The late equalizer is the sixth goal the Timbers have conceded in stoppage-time this season. It was also the 15th goal the defense allowed after the 75′, which led the entire league.

Finding different ways to snatch defeat (or a draw) out of the jaws of victory is not exactly a new issue for this Portland team. There have been numerous warning signs throughout the year. Eventually, frustrating results turned into a legitimate trend.

Cracks first started to appear in an Aug. 29 game against Real Salt Lake at Providence Park. With just five minutes and stoppage time remaining, all the Timbers had to do was see out a 4-2 lead. Instead, RSL clawed all the way back and Sam Johnson tied the game at four in the 90+5′.

In late October, the Timbers were on track to beat LAFC until Portland conceded a late goal to 16-year-old Christian Torres in the 90+3′.

Four days later, Portland had a golden opportunity to leap over their bitter rivals, the Seattle Sounders, and into first place in the Western Conference. Instead, Will Bruin found himself wide open at the back post to head in an equalizing goal deep into second-half stoppage time.

And just three minutes into stoppage time against FC Dallas, Pepe’s goal swung all the momentum in the visitor’s favor.

“We, in the last minute, allowed a goal to come in that changed the trajectory of everything that we did well during the match,” Savarese said.

So, what made the Timbers so susceptible to conceding those late goals? It’s a question that could be argued all off-season.

At times, Portland struggled to capitalize on early chances that came back to bite when it entered stoppage time only up a goal. You could argue it is chance, but how much of conceding late is a psychological thing when it happens so frequently?

In the team’s MLS is Back Tournament run, they allowed four goals after the 80′, but Portland found enough goals to win those games. That didn’t happen in the MLS Cup playoffs.

But what was a heartbreaking conclusion shouldn’t overshadow all the Timbers accomplished in a season that spanned from March until November with a four-month break in between.

They won the league’s first––and hopefully only––MLS is Back Tournament trophy over the summer, and played some fun soccer doing it.

After months of uncertainty in 2019, club legend Diego Valeri returned to Portland and picked up where he left off. He ended the season with his 100th MLS assist when he played Villafaña in on goal against FC Dallas.

Gavin Wilkinson and the Timbers front office built up attacking depth over the offseason, and they needed all of it after Sebastián Blanco and Jarosław Niezgoda suffered season-ending injuries toward the end of the year. Jeremy Ebobisse, who broke out in many ways this season, dealt with a concussion over the past few weeks, and didn’t enter the game against FC Dallas until the 88′.

“It’s very frustrating,” Valeri said. “It’s a tough emotion, it’s hard to process now. But we have to rest well and scout the season to see why we had a good season, [find] what the positive things were that we did during the whole season and try to reinforce it.

An argument can be made that Portland was the better side Sunday night. Saverese alluded to that sentiment multiple times in his post game press conference. But MLS isn’t always fair; Portland learned that lesson the hard way against FC Dallas.

“We believed that even though we had adversity and players who were not with us, we still had a group that could go all the way,” Savarese said. “Unfortunately, now we are out and we have to plan for next year.”

Tags 2020, Diego Valeri, Jaroslaw Niezgoda, Jeremy Ebobisse, MLS, MLS Cup Playoffs, Timbers

Soccer Timbers

Day After Thoughts: Chará Brothers Combine as Portland Takes a Point in Game One Against the ‘Quakes

Post author By Kyle Pinnell
Post date September 17, 2020

Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Soccer Timbers

Day after thoughts: Eryk Williamson stands out as Timbers exact revenge on Sounders

Post author By Kyle Pinnell
Post date September 7, 2020

Courtesy of MLS

Tags Eryk Williamson, Gio Savarese, Portland TImbers, Seattle Sounders, Sebastian Blanco

Soccer Timbers

Day after thoughts: Valeri makes history as Timbers fall to Galaxy 3-2

Post author By Kyle Pinnell
Post date September 3, 2020

Photo by Matthew Wolfe

If you were to judge the Portland Timbers’ game against the Los Angeles Galaxy on off-the-field storylines, then Wednesday night was a good one for the team in green and gold.

Diego Valeri again etched his name into the MLS history book, becoming just the third player in league history to score at least 80 goals and contribute 80 assists when he put the ball past David Bingham in second half stoppage time.

Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella made his long-awaited return after recovering from shoulder surgery — and he got to do it at Providence Park.

Head coach, Giovanni Savarese, played a heavily rotated lineup for the midweek game, giving younger players the opportunity to play MLS minutes.

But once you pivot to on-the-field performance, it’s the same old story for the Timbers.

The defense—one that has given up ten goals in just three games since the MLS regular season restart—looked shaky at the best of times. A Galaxy team that the had Timbers comfortably dispatched in Orlando presented plenty of new issues, even sans-Chicharito. Cristian Pavón ran rampant down the left wing and was a handful for the Timbers’ young outside backs.

By the time the final whistle blew, the scoreline read: Galaxy 3, Timbers 2. Portland is now just 1-3-1 at Providence Park this season, and it doesn’t get easier from here as they travel to Seattle for a rematch against the Sounders on Sunday.

A young starting eleven

It wasn’t long after Portland released their starting lineup that fans started to take notice of the different names: Valeri, Eryk Williamson, Sebastián Blanco, and Diego Chará started on the bench in favor of Renzo Zambrano, Tomás Conechny, Pablo Bonilla, and Marco Farfan.

The logic behind the decision was sound. With an important game approaching in a matter of days, Savarese wants his team to be well rested. Additionally, this gave younger players the opportunity to earn more playing time.

It was easy to tell early on that last night’s starting XI was a lineup that hadn’t played together very often. The Galaxy midfield dominated much of the early game, and their press often forced the young defenders to play more direct out of the back. While the Timbers eventually grew into the game, there were still shaky moments in the first half.

“I think the team in the first half created some good chances,” Valeri said. “Obviously you need more minutes to understand each other, but even in the defense and the attack, the team had the game there in the second half.”

Zambrano started alongside Cristhian Paredes in defensive midfield and showcased both the good and the bad. There were times where he looked rushed in midfield and turned the ball over, but there were also moments (as shown below) where he won the ball back at the top of the Timbers’ box.

Conechny had a few solid moments, but was mostly anonymous on the right wing, while Pablo Bonilla completed just 38-percent of his passes in the first half and was caught out of position on defense a few times.

Nonetheless, each player showed flashes of their potential against the Galaxy and grew into the game as the first half wore on.

“The young guys that came in did a very good job, the majority of them,” Savarese said.” “Some definitely showed some moments where they can do some things a little better, but overall a very good performance, and I have to say that I am proud of the way the guys came in and used their minutes.”

“Just to give that first group a shoutout, I thought that they played very well,” Attinella added. “It’s a group that not a lot of people know the names of outside of our organization recognize, but it is a group that puts in a lot of work, and this is an opportunity for all of us that were on the field tonight to get rewarded for that.”

A deeper role for Loria?

Another player that benefited from the rotated lineup was Marvin Loria.

Often played on the wing where he can cut in and fire a shot at the top of the box, Loria took on more of a deeper midfield role against the Galaxy.

Whenever he plays out wide, there are moments in which it looks like Loria is less involved in the game; however, the deeper role allowed the Costa Rican to control the game’s tempo at times. Instead of relying on an outlet from a teammate, he constantly picked up the ball near the top of his own box and dribbled it into the attacking third.

“He tried to find those [open] spaces because of the pressure of the LA Galaxy,” Savarese said. “We had Loria sometimes coming into the middle to try and find the ball there, but also in some moments—as we told him in the second half—he needed to make the runs in behind the fullback to find more of the space going forward.”

On defense, Loria seemed to be everywhere. There were moments where he helped Bonilla deal with Pavón on the left flank, but also times where he helped his front line out with pressing. Below is an example of him defending in the deep corner of the field:

As the night went on, the Timbers looked for Loria to make a specific movement to help the team open up the game, and as the game progressed he was able to find different ways to use his movement to exploit the Galaxy defense.

“In the first half, he couldn’t find that space inside that we wanted him to find,” Savarese said. “Nevertheless, he had a good performance and had very good moments.”

Second-half substitutions

As the veterans began to trickle into the game, it was easy to sense their immediate impact. When Blanco, Williamson, and Jeremy Ebobisse came in, the Timbers started to play with a greater sense of ease.

Inserting Williamson into the midfield helped Portland regain control of the middle of the field. There’s something about watching him ping a perfect ball across the field to switch play that almost feels natural.

When Yimmi Chará checked in later, he quickly found the back of the net, but it was called offside. Ebobisse scored late in the second half, but that was (more controversially) waived back as well. Valeri came on late in the game with fresh legs and found a goal in stoppage time.

Savarese had a wealth of options available to him as the second half wore on, and while it didn’t win him the game, it did show just how much talent the Timbers have in their starters.

Welcome back, Jeff!

I usually try to keep these day-after articles to three main points, but it was nice to see Attinella back on the field again tonight.

After enduring months of rehab for a shoulder surgery, Attinella was finally cleared to return to full activity the day that MLS shut down due to COVID-19.

On Wednesday night, he was tested early and often, whether it be clawing a shot out of the net or punching a corner away. With his wife, daughter, and infant son on hand at Providence Park to witness his first game back, Attinella called it one of the best moments of his career.

Regardless of what happens in the future, Attinella said that he will be ready whenever he is called upon.

“I mean, I’ve learned with Gio—and this is my third season now—that he manages every game differently,” Attinella said. “And I know that if you’re putting the work in and you know what you are doing, you have the chance to get your number called.”

For the first time since Orlando, the Timbers will play a game on the road. Just two weeks after losing to the Sounders at home, they will travel to CenturyLink Field to try and exact revenge on their Cascadia rivals.

Portland is showing something new in every game, but there is still plenty that needs tweaking if they want to snap out of this cold spell. Maybe a quick change of scenery is all that they need.

“I will say that the positive side of this game was the reaction of the team,” Valeri said. We almost got a point, and that’s it. We have to move forward, scout the game a little better, and prepare for the next game in Seattle.”