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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 1, Minnesota United 4

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 Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 1, New York City 1

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 lineup. Credit: Timbers FC
The lineup. Credit: Timbers FC

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. 

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.

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 0, San Jose Earthquakes 0

The Timbers got a scoreless draw against the San José Earthquakes on Saturday night. 

There were some positive points to highlight, although finishing continues to be Portland’s Achilles heel.

David Bingham or Jazzy?

Now that Slovenian goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič is with his national team, backup goalkeeper David Bingham had the chance to showcase himself. He has done very well in the chances he’s gotten this season.

When comparing both goalkeepers’ stats, you can see that there’s not much difference between these two—at least when we talk about their numbers. So far, Ivačič has played the double amount of games as Bingham, but both have recorded four catches and three punches. Bingham has one more clean sheet than Ivačič, but the Timbers have played better defensively in the last handful of games, so this is a team effort.

It’s Bingham who has done better in terms of saves. He has a 78.3% success rate in this department, while Jazzy has a 69.8%.

What about distribution? The Slovenian has made 361 passes in 12 games—30.1 passes per 90 minutes—with a 47.1% success rate in short passes. He’s completed 32% of long passes. Bingham, on the other hand, has made 181 passes in six matches—putting him at 30.2 passes per 90 minutes—and has a slightly better success rate than Jazzy, completing 57.5% of short passes and 41.5% of long passes.

As you can see, both have been pretty similar in terms of numbers with Bingham being slightly better. The American goalkeeper did well against San José, and he made two incredible saves that helped the team get another clean sheet.

 

Cristhian Paredes continues to be in good form

Ever since Cristhian Paredes came back from injury, he has been one of the best on the field. This match was no exception. He contributed to the attack by creating three chances and helped the team in defense with six tackles—two more than Dario Župarić, who was second in the team. He also registered two clearances, two blocked shots, and two interceptions.

Is good that Paredes is helping so much with the defensive-offensive transition, even more so now that Santiago Moreno has dropped in form a little. He hasn’t been as good as he was some weeks ago and the team needs him to go back to be in his old form.

Good defensive performance

Despite San José being a tough opponent, Portland did well to limit give their space to work in. It is true that the Earthquakes finished the game with 12 shots total, but only two of them went on goal. The most dangerous was the free kick that hit the crossbar and left Bingham’s goalpost shaking.

They feel that they have more support, and by that, I think they feel more comfortable,” said head coach Gio Savarese when asked about Portland’s defensive performance. “The good thing has been the fact that the communication has improved. There’s more talking on the field. Also, the team is fitter. The guys feel strong and we saw that they put in a very strong performance all the way through the end.”

And speaking about strong performances, shout-out to Diego Chará and his 13 recoveries.

Diego Chará's recoveries against San Jose. Source: Opta.
Diego Chará’s recoveries against San Jose. Source: Opta.

With the scoreless draw against San José, the Timbers got their third straight clean sheet and the question is how long will they be able to keep it like that? How will they do defensively against Chicago on Wednesday night?

Good chances, no goals

Portland did well moving the ball in San Jose’s part of the field. They didn’t try to shoot right away, but they made the Earthquakes chase the ball to try to find spaces to get clear shots.

The Timbers also pressed high, which resulted in the home team losing possession many times, especially in the right wing.

But despite the chances created and the pressing and recoveries, Portland just couldn’t change the score. It looks like the final pass or some decisions are not the right ones, and promising looks end up in nothing.

Is the coach concerned about his team not being clinical in the final third? “Today we created the chances,” he said. “Now we just have to put them away. That is the next step, but I’m very content in what I saw from the team in regards to the opportunities and now we have to make sure that we can capitalize on those opportunities.”

And no pointing fingers here, but this counter-attack showed so much promise that it was a waste to finish it in this way.

The xG also indicates the Timbers should’ve scored at least one or two goals, since they finished the game with 1.62 expected goals, to San Jose’s 1.21.

Final thoughts

The Timbers did well against San Jose. It was a convincing performance in so many ways, but they still need to find success in the final third. They’ve managed to score only two goals in their last six games, and that’s just not enough.

Right now they’re in the ninth position of the table, barely hanging on the last playoff spot, and we already have passed the first half of the season. It’s getting real, and Portland needs to start to make stronger performances in the final third and find a way to score more goals ASAP.

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Soccer Thorns

Olivia Moultrie’s Time is Coming

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 0, Seattle Sounders 0

With a must-win mindset, the Portland Timbers traveled to Seattle for a Cascadia Rivalry game. And with the Thorns playing OL Reign later that day, the doubleheader was supposed to be a double party. 

Both the Timbers and Seattle Sounders entered this match off a losses a couple days before, so they wanted to leave that behind and look better against their opponent.

Of course, the intent was there. But neither team could gain control of the game in the first 20 minutes. Portland tried to exploit the left side, with Cristhian Paredes and Evander sending balls to Dairon Asprilla, but Asprilla couldn’t get a shot off.

Quality vs quantity

Although it is true that the Timbers generated the most chances in this game, it was the home team who had the best opportunities to open the score. Not that Seattle created many, but their final xG was 0.35 while the Timbers had an xG of 0.27.

It was Asprilla who could’ve opened the scoring on the counter twice, but missed in his attempts.

The fact that those were the best chances the Timbers could create says a lot.

“I think we did create some moments in the final third. I remember the one with Asprilla, I remember not too many, but two or three,” said Timbers head coach Giovani Savarese about the chances his team created. “We were aggressive with shots. Maybe not so much with crosses. In order to get more players a little bit more into the box, I think what was missing today was a little bit of that final product.”

As shown below, the coach was right. The Timbers were not aggressive with their crosses at all.

Timbers' crosses. Source: Opta.
Timbers’ crosses. Source: Opta.
Cristhian Paredes did everything well

“Our two defensive mids had to go press higher so the space in behind was big, and [Nicolás] Lodeiro kept looking for that space,” said Savarese. “But we always had one player stepping to make sure that we can manage the situation, and they did it very, very well.”

One of those players that stepped in was Cristhian Paredes. The Paraguayan was great in the midfield, winning duels (he was first in the team with 10) and creating chances (he was second after Evander with three).

Midfielder boss. Cristhian Paredes' heat map. Source: Opta
Midfielder boss. Cristhian Paredes’ heat map. Source: Opta

He was also first in tackles with and second in recoveries with 11, after Claudio Bravo.

Cristhian Paredes recoveries. Source: Opta.
Cristhian Paredes recoveries. Source: Opta.
Final thoughts

As much as both teams tried, the match was truly disappointing, and neither club looked good in the final third. Seattle looked even more sterile than the Timbers, and what was supposed to be a big rivalry clash ended up being a dull game without much to celebrate.

But what I think was way more disappointing was to see Seattle fans leaving the stadium after the match finished. It was a doubleheader; they’re supposed to support Seattle soccer, and that includes the women. Shame on you, Sounders fans!

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 1, Sporting KC 4

*Cue sad music*

The Portland Timbers played a depressing game on Sunday afternoon at Kansas. What it looked like a winnable match ended up a nightmare for the Timbers, who finished with a 1-4 score.

A good start and a terrible second half

The future looked bright for the Timbers when Franck Boli scored early in the game—minute 8’, to be exact—with a definitive one-touch. And even though Portland handed the ball over to Kansas City, the team didn’t look bad… at least in the first half. 

The Timbers’ defense was compact—as you can see in the video below, where Sporting can’t find the proper channels to move the ball ahead and they’re forced to switch the point of attack, which leads to an unforced error.

Nonetheless, that discipline got lost in the second half, when Kansas City figured the Timbers out. 

A massive hole in the defense

Dario Župarić missed the match due to yellow card accumulation, and his absence was felt. Larrys Mabiala replaced him, but unfortunately, he had a forgettable performance in the backline, even scoring own goal for Sporting. Mabiala also caused some turnovers that left more than one fan asking for him to be benched.

We already said that Portland lost their discipline in the second half, and that was clear in the second goal KC scored. If you look at the image below, you’ll see the huge gap the centrebacks left, which Sporting’s Dániel Sallói took advantage of.

Huge gap. Source: MLS/ Apple TV
Source: MLS/ Apple TV

Then, in the third goal, the Timbers got caught out of shape after Claudio Bravo’s pass didn’t find its target. Kansas City recovered the ball and sent a long pass that left Portland bewildered. Mabiala didn’t make things better by taking down KC’s forward inside the box and scoring an own goal.

The last tally of the game represented the second half in a nutshell. As you can see in the image below, the Timbers left attacking channels open, and KC had not one but two passing options that could’ve scored. The home team attacked the spaces pretty well, and Portland didn’t find a way to close them down, not even in the dying minutes of the game.

Source: MLS/Apple TV
Source: MLS/Apple TV

“We didn’t finish the game the right way,” said head coach Giovanni Savarese of the result. “But also I will take responsibility in substitutions, in changing the shape to a diamond to try to throw more players forward and try to create something more in the hope that we could find a way to tie with the players that we had. I take that responsibility.”

Boli as a No. 9

Boli has been the Timbers’ No. 9 in the last four games. He got the start for the fourth consecutive time against Sporting, and just like he did against Vancouver, he opened the score early.

It’s good that he’s getting playing time. But while Boli has managed to produce some goals in the final third, he also has missed clear chances in the last few games.

Against Kansas City, he had a clear chance at the end of the first half. Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh was already beaten, and Boli had an empty net. Despite this, he couldn’t head the ball properly. (The chance yielded an expected goal probability of 36.36%.)

“It was hard to see the goal. I just tried to put it in, but, yeah, unfortunate,” said the forward regarding this chance. “We have to keep going and try again. It’s not easy.”

Time to find a new No. 9? Most likely, but the Timbers are almost out of options. Boli’s backup, Nathan Fogaça, has produced even less in the final third, and that’s maybe why coach Savarese keeps betting on Boli.

With this in mind, the news about Felipe Mora finally being in training for the first time in the season couldn’t be more welcomed. According to Oregonian reporter Ryan Clarke, he might be back in three weeks.

Timbers struggling with injuries again

It is no secret that Santiago Moreno has been one of the Timbers’ most reliable players this season. Sadly, he got injured against Kansas.

“Santi had a spasm in his back, and then he started feeling dizzy. I actually tried to hold it as much as I could on the field to finish the half. That way we made a substitution at the half,” said Savarese. “And still, with a little bit of dizziness, he was able to create a few moments, but he couldn’t run back. At some point, he couldn’t do some things because especially the spasm in his back beside the dissonance. So we had to change him.”

Despite that, Moreno was in training on Tuesday, which is a relief knowing the important match the Timbers have on Saturday.

When Moreno got injured, Yimmi Chará replaced him, but unfortunately, Chará also couldn’t stay on the field for long. He, too, got hurt, but unlike Moreno, he wasn’t in practice on Tuesday. 

What comes next

The Timbers don’t have the luxury to dwell too much on this result. They have only a few days to lick their wounds and be ready for the game against the Seattle Sounders in Seattle on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT.

It’s going to be a doubleheader, with the Thorns playing later, so we expect a good atmosphere—and hopefully some points.

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 0, Real Salt Lake 0

A midweek game with few quality chances gave the Portland Timbers a point on the road, earning a scoreless draw against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday.

After an hour and a half-long weather delay the game finally started. Head coach Giovanni Savarese put on the the same starting XI that he used last Saturday in the game against Vancouver, with the goal of getting three points on the road.

Strong defense

We’re not gonna lie: the Timbers didn’t create as much as they should’ve in the final third in this match. Maybe it was due to the weather delay, or maybe because this is the second game they played in four days.

Whatever the cause, the home team was the one that dominated the match, but Portland defended well. They worked as a unit, blocking a total of six shots out of the 17 Real Salt Lake produced.

All RSL blocked shots. Source: Opta
All of RSL’s blocked shots. Source: Opta

After the game, Savarese praised the work done by his defense, especially his fullbacks Juan David Mosquera and Claudio Bravo. “I think Mosquera and Bravo had a great game,” he said. “They gave us a lot of balance with two very difficult players that are very fast.”

RSL “had a fast team at the beginning,” Savarese said, “with [Anderson] Julio, [Maikel] Chang, and [Andrés] Gómez, with [Jefferson] Savarino inside—players that are very fast. We managed those moments that they tried to find in transition very, very well.”

Speaking of Mosquera, he was the player with the biggest percentage of passing accuracy on both sides of the field, with 90% overall and 85% in the opponent’s half. That means he only missed three passes out of a total 30.

Juan David Mosquera's passes. Source: Opta.
Juan David Mosquera’s passes. Source: Opta.

Bravo was really good in this game, too. He was second in duels won with eight,  created the most chances with two, made the most tackles with six, and was third in clearances with four.

Besides the fullbacks, the team could count on defender Zac McGraw, who was available again after missing a game due to yellow card accumulation. He was good as always, except maybe for his new look.

What Gio thinks of Zac McGraw blond hair. Source: Timbers FC
What Gio thinks of Zac McGraw’s blond hair. Source: Timbers FC
Jazzy with the big saves, again

Aljaz Ivačič finished the match with four saves and one catch. Maybe it was not the most saves he has made in a game, but those were crucial to collect his first clean sheet of the season and help Portland get a point on the road.

 

“Finally, no? Who would have said in Salt Lake?” said the goalkeeper when asked about his first clean sheet of the year. “I’m very happy about that, but as I said: we need to be more hungry. We could’ve won this game, so we need to work now and look forward to the next one.”

Ivačič might be right about the team not being hungry enough because the Timbers produced some worthy looks, although not many.

Not many quality chances 

Portland looked a little out of ideas in the attack, maybe because they were burned out after playing on Saturday. 

After two standout performances, Evander didn’t impact this game much. He didn’t create a single chance and was unsuccessful with all seven of the crosses he attempted. Nonetheless, he was the player who attempted the most shots with four, three of them on target.

Out of all the Timbers, it was Franck Boli who had the most promising chance of the entire match—an xG of 21.05% in minute 57’. Too bad RSL goalkeeper Zac MacMath made a great save, denying him what might’ve been the winning goal.

Other than Boli’s chance, the Timbers didn’t create much. Evander had a free kick on frame, but it was an easy catch for MacMath. And it was a true shame that Dairon Asprilla’s shot in the 75th minute hit the post; it was a nice low shot.

The Timbers finished this match with an xG of 0.45, while Salt Lake’s was 1.01. Given the better and more chances the home team had, we have to be grateful that they couldn’t put the ball in the back either.

What the coach said

As always, coach Savarese spoke to the media and shared his thoughts after the match.

“We created some very good moments that, if we maybe would’ve managed a little bit better, we could’ve gotten out from here with three points,” he said. “The point is a good point. It is always difficult to play at Salt Lake. And as I said to the guys, I thought we did a lot of good things in the way we managed the game and move the ball. With the possession probably at the beginning, we were strong in the first few minutes and then we started to play very, very well.”

Last but not least, we gotta give a special mention to Christhian Paredes. The midfielder put on a great performance, contributing everywhere.

He was first in duels won with 12, first in tackles with six, was tied with Bravo for second in recoveries with seven, made three clearances and one interception, and created one chance.

Here is an example of one of those seven recoveries he made. He was brilliant!

 

The Timbers will be back in Providence Park on Saturday, May 20th, when they play Minnesota. The kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. PT.

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, Austin FC 2

The Timbers got a draw at home on Saturday night.

After winning on the road against St. Louis, it looked like Portland would be more than capable of getting another three points at home, but Austin came up from behind twice and got the equalizer in stoppage time.

The one that got away? Let’s analyze the game and see.

Some changes in the lineup

Timbers head coach Gio Savarese had to make changes in the starting XI after the game against St. Louis. David Ayala was among the absentees (ICYMI, Ayala’s season is over after tearing his ACL. The Rose City Review wishes him the best in his recovery process.)

Center-back Zac McGraw also missed the game due to an accumulation of yellow cards, and defender Eric Miller was out due to health and safety protocols.

Given these absences, Larrys Mabiala, Claudio Bravo, and Christian Paredes were on the field from the start. This match had two defenders scoring and Evander having another great game and distributing the ball from the midfield.

Timbers missing chances

It is safe to say that Franck Boli was the hero over a month ago, when he scored the equalizing goal against Dallas FC in the dying minutes of that game.

Boli got the start in this match, but despite a number of the clear chances, he couldn’t put any in the back of the net.

Nonetheless, despite Boli’s misses, the most clear chance of the first half happened in the ninth minute. This chance, which Juan David Mosquera missed, had the highest xG of all of Portland’s shots—12.54%, according to Opta. Props to him for pressing high to recover the ball in the first place and then stay engaged in the play, nonetheless.

In the absence of McGraw

McGraw has cemented his spot in the Timbers’ starting XI, and his absence was felt. And although it is true that Mabiala was the one marking Will Bruin and ergo, let him head that ball to tie the game in stoppage time, there wasn’t much more Mabiala could’ve done.

If we look at the video below, the problem is actually before the cross. Diego Chará lets Ethan Finlay turn, and Finlay passes the ball to Owen Wolff, who ended up serving that ball to the far post. These kinds of dangerous crosses have a high probability of putting a team in trouble when they defend in a high zone like the Timbers did in the last minutes of the match.

“It was too many crosses in the last 15-20 minutes,” Timbers center-back Dario Župarić said. “It’s not easy to play one-v-one inside the box. The guy who scored [Bruin], he’s really good with his head, and he always scores goals like that. It wasn’t easy to mark him.

“First, we need to prevent that cross,” Župarić said, “and then I think Larrys [Mabiala] stayed with him. It was a perfect ball and he scored the goal. If I was in Larrys’ position, I think I would stay the same as he stayed. For me, he marked [Bruin] good.”

Still, Mabiala’s stats for this game are pretty good. He was first in duels and aerial duels won, as well as in clearances and interceptions. And he was third in passing accuracy after Župarić and D. Chará.

Larrys Mabiala's heat map. Source: Opta
Larrys Mabiala’s heat map. Source: Opta
Evander keeps making an impact

After being included in the Week 10 MLS’ Best XI, Evander showed once again why he’s one of the players to watch in Portland.

 “I think we can all concur in the fact that every game he is getting better,” Savarese said. “We’ve seen that he’s getting more comfortable, he’s getting better, he’s looking more for the ball, he’s looking to be the person that is dictating the ball and that is managing the situations a little bit better. We see that he’s adapting to the league. We saw a couple of moments where he found good spaces toward the end in order to hurt them and increase opportunities.

“I think we see every game something better from him,” Savarese said, “so it’s good.”

Evander might have not had shots on goal against Austin, but he created three chances in the match—the same amount as the rest of the team—and two of those were the assists that led to Župarić and Claudio Bravo’s goals. The Brazilian also registered three successful crosses.

All that made him worthy of being included in the MLS Team of the Matchday Bench for Matchday 11.

 

Župarić scores his second goal in three years

The opening goal of this match was great. Evander’s ball was exquisite, and the header by the Croatian was great. Nonetheless, what he said in the post game press conference was equally good.

“I didn’t know how to celebrate,” Župarić said. “That’s for sure. I’m happy, but unlucky we conceded that goal at the end. I don’t care about my goal. I don’t like scoring goals. I like to keep zero [goals conceded]. I just closed my eyes and scored the goal. I don’t do that often, but it happened. I don’t like to score goals. For me, it’s important to win the game and we need to think about that to win games.”

Župarić also got a knock from an opponent’s knee, and everyone was concerned about him. He was the opposite. “I like that,” said about the knock. “I like to be a fighter and get some kicks on my head. When I see blood on my arms and on my shirt, I was happy.”

What can we say? The guy is certainly a warrior.

The verdict

Coach Savarese shared some very interesting thoughts after the game. One of those things was that they left the game “lingering at the end.” The Timbers couldn’t close the game. They didn’t play smart defensively and kept letting Austin cross balls until they found the one that Bruin headed.

It was a true shame that made feel this draw like a loss. That’s also why the coach also said that they need to be more pragmatic and manage moments a little better.

After winning against Seattle and St. Louis, it was expected for them to get three points at home against a team that is at the bottom of the table.

Of course, Portland had their good moments and we could say that in way they overperformed (they had a xG= 0.78 and scored two goals nonetheless) but still. The Timbers cenrtainly let this one got away.

Despite the Timbers playing better than before, they’re still wasting opportunities and letting points slip away due to a lack of concentration.

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, St. Louis 1

After playing in the U.S. Open Cup during the week, the Timbers hit the road again Saturday to play against St. Louis. It seems like Portland is not afraid to go against tough teams this year; they beat the first and second clubs in the Western Conference table during April, starting with Seattle and finishing with St. Louis.

This win by Portland was special for the Western Conference, since the Timbers were the only team from it to win in week 10 of MLS play.

Even though both teams didn’t show much in the attack, the visitors were the ones who dominated the ball in the first part of the first half. It was a little weird to see, since most of the time, the Timbers are used to playing off the ball and making counterattacks.

By the end of the first half, all stats were pretty even, but Portland was slightly stronger than St. Louis in the final third.

Despite the Timbers’ decent half, they suffered a big blow when David Ayala got injured at the 19′ mark. The midfielder was marking Eduard Löwen when he hurt his knee, trying to close Löwen’s passing lanes near the box. The Argentinian had to leave the field on a stretcher.

Christian Paredes, the super sub

Although Ayala’s injury was awful to witness, it was nice to see the game Christian Paredes had. He subbed in in the 21st minute for Ayala, and he started to win aerial duels and create chances right from the start.

Paredes’ second half was even better. He was the player with the most chances created with five. Too bad Portland couldn’t convert more of them.

Besides chances created, Paredes was good in duels. He won seven total—the second-most second on the team.

Who was the first in this department?

Santiago Moreno, the unsung hero

Santiago Moreno finished the match with a total of 12 duels won. The Colombian had another game good game, contributing to both Timbers’ goals. In the first one, he sent this (below) great ball to Franck Boli. The forward couldn’t convert, but the play led to the penalty kick that gave Portland the lead.

Not only that, Moreno he held the ball and left three defenders behind in the look that led to Yimmi Chará’s winning goal:

 

Defensively, Moreno contributed with five tackles, the most of any player on the team. He was also strong in aerial duels with four. (The only Timber who won more aerial duels than him was Zac McGraw with five.)

Moreno has been instrumental all this time for the team, but for some reason, he hasn’t been recognized as much as he should.

Someone who has indeed been watched and under the microscope, on the other hand, is been Portland’s midfielder Evander.

Evander gets included in the MLS week’s best XI

The Brazilian has been trying to adapt to a new team in a new league this season. That is without mentioning the fact that he has been battling with injuries. It looked like he found some rhythm this week.

In the game against St. Louis, Evander registered seven shots (two on target, four off target, and one blocked) and one goal, the most shots any Timber attempted. Besides that, he created one chance and was second in the team in interceptions with three, after McGraw.

Evander's shots. Source: Opta
Evander’s shots. Source: Opta.

I think he has adapted to the change and MLS very well,” Y. Chará said. “I think he will be an important player to us, especially this season. He has a lot of calmness that helps out in the team and will be able to help us out on the field.”

Evander had a good week. Even though he’s coming back from injury, and defense is not really part of his job description, it will be important for him to be better positioned while trying to mark inside the box.

The Timbers cannot afford the luxury of not being smart in defense. Unfortunately, St. Louis’ only goal scored showed exactly that—not only from Evander while he tried to mark Tomáš Ostrák but from the rest of the team, who left space for Célio Pompeu to score.

Welcome back, Yimmi Chará

The Timbers are getting their starters back little-by-little. This game marked the return of the younger Chará: Yimmi.

The Colombian entered the game in the 64th minute and made all the difference in the 82nd, when he finished with a low diagonal shot to score the winning goal.

It was promising to see Chará making an impact the very same day he came back to the field.

I think it’s really nice to come back from the injury,” Chará said. “I have a really nice feeling from being back on the field with the team, scoring a goal, and leaving with three points.”

What the coach said

After the match, head coach Gio Savarese summed up pretty well how the season has been so far and how the game went.

It hasn’t been easy to have so many injuries and trying to keep the team engaged,” he said. “Credit to the players because anyone I put on the field will put up a good fight, is going to be in a lot of work, and everyone has to believe to keep the Portland Timbers stay competitive. So credit to the players for going through all that difficult time.

“We have been close in all matches except the Atlanta second half,” he said. “I think today, with the mature performance we put in, with guys coming back, that can make a difference. With this maturity, we can get good results like we had today. St. Louis is difficult to play against. They are always high-energy. Today was a good day to get a win away from home.”

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: FC Cincinnati 2, Portland Thorns 1

Another week, another Timbers takeaways.

Just when we thought the game against the Seattle Sounders was going to be a turning point in the Timbers’ path to success in the season, Cincinnati got in their way.

Nonetheless, the team showed some positive things despite the loss. Head coach Gio Savarese was absent due to health and safety protocol, and assistant coach Carlos Llamosa replaced him in the dugout.

Not the best of defensive performances

Sadly, left back Claudio Bravo was unavailable after the good game he had against Seattle. His absence was noticeable, with lineup replacement Justin Rasmussen giving away balls in dangerous places of the field that led to Cincinnati’s attacks.

As a matter of fact, the first real chance the home team got came after one of Rasmussen’s mistakes.

The same mistakes were repeated in the second half. In minute 55’ Rasmussen did well to stop Cincinnati’s Brandon Vazquez, but then he missed his mark, and that led to a dangerous cross. Two minutes later, a miss when he trying to clear a ball led to another dangerous cross by Cincinnati.

Of course, the Timbers also suffered defensively as a team, not just because of Rasmussen’s mistakes. 

In the host’s first goal scored, Portland’s center backs left much to be desired. Despite both of them marking Sérgio Santos, Santos got to head the ball sent by Álvaro Barreal.

Near the end of the first half, Portland fell into this defensive trap in the midfield, and chaos ensued. Cincinnati’s look didn’t end in a goal by mere inches.

 

Evander 

A lot has been said about the Brazilian midfielder, despite his not being on the field. After coming back from his injury, Evander is growing back into his more clinical skills, but he showed some interesting touches in this match.

We could see his game awareness during the match, like in this backheel. Evander knew Portland’s David Ayala was behind him, and this play ended up in a shot. The shot was not on frame, but knowing how much the Timbers have struggled to get multiple shots in past games, the slight improvement is still very positive.

The Brazilian also showcased his great services to the box, as he did in minute 14′.

 

Learning to be patient and to take their chances

Portland finally didn’t look bad in the attack in this match, especially in the second half when the team was able to create some very beautiful transitions.

The key was in their patience to move the ball from left to right and vice versa. As a matter of fact, the Timbers created three very nice team build-ups in less than five minutes, from minute 65′ on. 

 

The downside of this was the finishing. Portland wasn’t clinical in the final third, and that showed. “For 90 minutes we created chances,” Llamos said. “We just need to be more clinical in finishing those chances. I think we created problems for this team up top and we started to get in the rhythm. Little by little we’re getting much better in the attack.”

Of course, we don’t expect the Timbers to score every single shot they take, but they definitely need to be more clinical—and more so against a tough team like Cincinnati.

Asprilla is a man with a goal in mind 

After his bicycle goal against Seattle, Dairon Asprilla’s confidence has gone up, up, up. Too bad he couldn’t get this chance right.

Hopefully, he’ll put his name in the scoresheet again next game.