Category: Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, Sporting KC 1

Post author By Phuoc Nguyen
Post date May 29, 2024

Photo by Matthew Wolfe.

The Portland Timbers had a favorable home run, going against the Seattle Sounders, the San Jose Earthquakes, and ending with Sporting KC. All three opposing teams were near the bottom of the table. But Portland fell short against the Sounders. The Earthquakes were on their way to a win before Portland was gifted a late red card to turn a 0-2 deficit into a 4-2 win.

Sporting KC is not a good team this year, which they’ve shown through their play all season long. Playoff teams—as the Timbers hope to be—need to beat these types of sides at home. The Timbers were the better team going into Saturday, and they needed to show it.

The main surprise was Portland head coach Phil Neville opting to start a four-back after beginning the past few matches in a three-back. Along with the formation change, he gave Kamal Miller the start at left back for the first time all season.

In the beginning, it was an ugly affair of football. Miscommunication, sloppy passes, and bad decision-making consumed most of the first half.

It took until the 16th minute either side to get a shot off. At the half both neither had registered a single shot on target. Although the Timbers were the better side, they had almost nothing to show for it. They were ahead in shots (five to one) and expected goals (0.39 to 0.05).

Portland took over in the second half. In the 51st minute, Evander put on a bunch of moves and played a perfect cross into the box. The ball found Felipe Mora’s head to open the scoring.

But true to form, this team struggled to hold a lead or sniff a clean sheet.

In the 62nd minute, Sporting worked the ball in and around the box under barely any pressure from Portland. Alan Pulido laid it back to Memo Rodríguez, who ripped one past Max Crépeau to equalize.

Still, the Timbers were largely the better team on the field, which paid off in the 79th minute. Antony steamed forward with the ball and played it to Jonathan Rodríguez. He found Mora for the header. Mora who steered the ball to Evander, who placed it past KC goalkeeper Tim Melia for the 2-1 lead. Initially the ruled was called offside, but a VAR check overturned the call.

In the last minutes of stoppage time, Crépeau came up with possibly his biggest save as a Timber when he denied Johnny Russell’s header to preserve the win.

Portland needed to take care business, and they did. Outside of one hiccup the Timbers played like the better team, putting up an expected goal margin of 2.05 to KC’s 0.25, and got the job done.

“I’m really pleased with the three points” said Neville. “It’s two wins out of three now, which is what we expect and what we want. I think we’ve seen improvements now over the last two or three weeks. Tonight was probably our best defensive performance in terms of our shape and organization.”

David Ayala’s time?

With Diego Chará at 38 years of age, the Timbers have been looking for his successor. They may have found him in David Ayala. Both play similar brands of football and do all the hard work necessary to be Portland’s No. 6. When either leave the pitch, there is no doubt that they gave it their all.

Ayala was the biggest bright spot for the team in the first half. He led the team in five stats: defensive actions, clearances, chances created, duels won, and interceptions.

This has been a common occurrence for him. He fills the stat sheet with his incredible work rate, efficiency, and soccer IQ.

Neville has spoken glowingly about him all season, and the hype has not slowed down one bit.

“I thought David had his best game” said Neville. “I got him in before the game tonight, and I told him I didn’t want any bullshit tonight… He needed that little bit of tough love. He knows what I think of him.”

The only thing holding Ayala back seems to be his match fitness. After coming back from an ACL tear, he has yet to play a full match. The 75 minutes he played against KC were the most since his return to the pitch.

“I told him I’m not taking him off after 60 minutes anymore,” Neville said. “If you can’t make it to 90 minutes, you can’t make it at this club.”

Kamal Miller LB

Photo by Matthew Wolfe.

Miller was one of the biggest surprises in the starting XI. The shock did not come from him starting, but that he started at left back.

“Kamal obviously is a centerback when I brought him [in],” said Neville. “In a way, he’s my boy. But there’s no way I could leave out Miguel Araujo, or Dario Župarić [who both started the match in the middle of defense]. They’ve been playing really well, and they give us some maturity in that back line.”

With Claudio Bravo returning and only available for limited minutes, Neville opted to start Miller.

Miller provided stability on the left side and ventured forward in opportune times. This was one of the most solid performances from any left back who has started for Portland this season—although we should note that it was against Sporting KC.

Wow

Miguel Araujo led the team Saturday in defensive actions with 15, clearances with six, recoveries with 11, and interceptions with two.

Tags David Ayala, evander, Felipe Mora, Kamal Miller, MLS, Portland TImbers, PTFC, RCTID

Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 1, Minnesota United 2

Post author By Melina Gaspar
Post date May 25, 2024

Photo: Kris Lattimore

A new loss hit Portland. Although the Portland Timbers scored first, Minnesota United turned the tables in the second half.

It was encouraging to see the Timbers going into halftime winning. The feeling that they were going to concede just before the end of the first 45’ was looming in the air, but they held on.

Individual mistakes

For the umpteenth time, the team wasted clear opportunities to extend the lead. And again, they made individual defensive errors that cost them the match.

Granted, this was their third game in the span of one week, but after the win against San Jose, this was a major setback.

“We have been massively, massively let down by individual errors defensively,” said head coach Phil Neville after the game.

The Timbers’ defensive errors were noticeable even before they opened the counter. After beating Miguel Araujo with a nutmeg, the defense couldn’t stop a diagonal back pass from Joseph Rosales, and nobody was marking Teemu Pukki, who was standing inside the box. Hence, the shot (although it was off-frame).

Image: MLS / Apple TV

To add more, the Timbers had to be grateful VAR didn’t grant a clear penalty against them after Kamal Miller fouled Bongokuhle Hlongwane.

Even though Minnesota was pushing the Timbers against their own goal and generating chances, the visitors scored first. Dario Župarić saw Felipe Mora and Jonathan Rodríguez among the host’s backline and tried to pass the ball to the gap Minnesota left in the middle (as you can appreciate in the capture below).

Image: MLS / Apple TV

The pass was blocked, but David Ayala was around, and he rushed to recover that ball and finish the job. He got there before any ‘loon’ and sent a through pass to Rodríguez, who finished with a diagonal shot.

Three goals in two games? Not too shabby for the Uruguayan.

Image: MLS / Apple TV

When half an hour passed, Portland was playing on their side of the field to defend the lead, and occasionally they’d send a long ball to one of their wingers to produce a counterattack. In the 39th minute, Cristhian Paredes did this. Juan David Mosquera ran toward goal, but goalkeeper Dayne St. Clair prevailed in that one-vs-one.

To his credit, St. Clair won all his one-vs-ones against the Timbers like a boss. It was an amazing thing to witness. And the only time he didn’t, the woodwork helped him.

Another one-vs-one happened at the beginning of the second half after a bad back pass that Rodríguez ended up controlling. He tried to chip the goalkeeper, who came out 40 yards away from his line, but St. Clair made an incredible save with his head.

The Timbers also suffered from bad luck. Mora could’ve doubled the lead, but the crossbar denied him. And even though he argued one of the defenders pushed him, VAR didn’t concede the penalty.

Parking the bus

“We scored the first goal, we then set off and didn’t play our football like we said,” Neville said. “We dropped off too deep, we stopped playing balls and started to play balls long, and we put ourselves in the pressure.”

The second half was mostly Portland’s 10 players defending the short lead. Only Rodríguez was near the midfield to be on the receiving end of long passes and then go in a one-vs-one with the goalkeeper. Sadly, that plan didn’t work much, and the Timbers didn’t have many chances in the second half.

As a result, Minnesota did what they couldn’t do in the first 45 minutes. Teemu Pukki got rid of Župarić and passed the ball to Joseph Rosales. David Ayala was marking Robin Lod but lost him, and Lod put the ball in the back of the net.

It was the nightfall for the Timbers. After that, they suffered a big scare when the referee awarded the host a penalty kick, but VAR overturned the decision.

Things didn’t improve for the visitors. Ten minutes later, Sang-bin scored the winning goal. In the image below we can see him unmarked at the top of the box. Araujo stayed close to him but as soon as he saw Taylor getting inside the box he forgot about Jeong Sang-bin. The South Korean held his run, so he was very much open to receiving that pass and finish.

Image: MLS / Apple TV

The match was long, and with 10 minutes of stoppage time added, Portland had time to search for the equalizer. It looked as if they were going to make it—especially after Miguel Tapias was sent off for a dumb foul away from his box. The Timbers put the hosts against the wall, but in the end, they held and they had to go home without a point.

If we talk about the substitutions, they didn’t make much of a difference. Mora was clearly angry to be subbed off when the clock hit the hour mark, and his complaining pissed the referee off. As a punishment, the ref made the Timbers play with one man down for more than one minute by not letting Eric Miller come in for Mora.

The coach made more substitutions but no one was impactful enough. He then put in another attacking player—Antony—and things improved a little but not enough to find the equalizer.

Three-back

Neville decided to stick with a three-back formation just like he did in the match against San Jose. This time, he put Araujo in instead of Larrys Mabiala, and he moved Župarić from the right to the middle.

In defensive phase, Ayala and Mosquera dropped to help, although the entire team tried to show solidarity and help with defense. This is shown below, where we can see a line of six players defending.

Image: MLS / Apple TV

Although Portland lost, the three-back formation worked well, and we can’t put the blame on that for the loss. If there’s something Neville has shown, it is that he’s not afraid to try new things. It’s just like K. Miller said: “I think we’re just in a position where we’d like to try to find something that works.”

That’s what Neville has been doing, and not just with the defense.

Three-back, four-back… at this point, it doesn’t matter. Neville hasn’t been able to find the key to fix the individual defensive mistakes, and he knows that’s on him. It’s a real puzzler and more so when we think about the regression some of Portland’s former starters suffered, such as Zac McGraw.

Another loss sucks but there are some positives about the next game against Sporting KC: It’s going to be played at home, the Timbers already played them and got a draw, and they’re one point away from being at the bottom of the table. It’s a pretty winnable match—or so it looks like. We’ll see.

Tags Jonathan Rodríguez, Miguel Araujo, Portland TImbers

Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 1, Seattle Sounders 2

Post author By Phuoc Nguyen
Post date May 15, 2024

Photo Taken by the Amazing Kelsey Baker

After the Portland Timbers 2 and the Portland Thorns put on exciting shows Friday and Saturday against the SeaTac side of their respective leagues, the Portland Timbers had a chance Sunday to try to hit the trifecta for a nine-point PTFC weekend. Unfortunately, that’s not how the day played out.

Timbers head coach Phil Neville has been very open about the team’s struggles and his frustration with Portland’s lack of results and disastrous performances. Going into the weekend, the Timbers were winless in their last eight games.

Fortunately, the Seattle Sounders have struggled mightily all year. They have had trouble to scoring goals, while the Timbers have problems keeping the opposition out of their net.

The cumulative issues meant that this edition of the Cascadia Clash featured the two worst teams in MLS’ Western Conference. Portland and Seattle had 10 points apiece and sat in 13th and 14th place, respectively.

The Timbers’ head coach said to expect lineup changes, and they arrived in a new center back pairing of Dario Župarić and Kamal Miller. He also started Eric Miller in the place of the injured Claudio Bravo. Antony and Cristhian Paredes also made their returns to the starting XI. Evander would return, but only to the bench.

One thing about Neville: he is never afraid to make changes.

In the 15th minute, Župarić played a long ball in to find Jonathan Rodríguez, who chested it to Felipe Mora in-stride to make it 1-0. Mora has shined since coming back from injury, scoring five goals in six games.

Unfortunately, in the 19th minute, Cristian Roldan equalized off a deflection.

At halftime, it was tied at 1-1, with both teams tallying five shots. However, Portland was sound defensively and was unlucky to concede. Seattle offered very little in attack and were hesitant moving forward.

Still, it was the Sounders who took the lead in the 50th minute, thanks to Raúl Ruidiaz. The Timbers refused to close him down, and Max Crépeau had no chance to stop the goal.

Ruidiaz’s tally made the match Portland’s eighth consecutive game where they allowed two or more goals.

Evander made his return in the 56th minute. This team has struggled mightily without him. But beyond his return to the pitch, the remainder of the game and the entirety of the second half was one to forget. The drive and urgency was nowhere to be found.

The inconsistency of the backline is the only consistency this season has provided. In this game, they actually played well, but when your team isn’t performing, the luck or bounces don’t tend to go your way either. This team needs to create their own good fortune, but they refuse to shoot the ball to create opportunities. It’s a complete mess right now.

“Massively disappointing. I think the run that we’re on at the moment, I’ve got to take full responsibility for this run,” said Neville. “There’s no time for sulking. Any criticism that comes our way begins with me. I select the team, I pick the system, I pick the tactics. The last nine games, we’ve got to be better.”

Tillamook

What an announcement to make before kickoff! The Timbers faithful have been hoping for a new shirt sponsor that everyone can get behind since DaBella was dropped for allegations of sexual harassment against the company’s CEO.

There was one unanimous dream: Tillamook. That became reality when Diego Chará was shown on the jumbotron with the beautiful new kit on.

All credit to the Timbers and Tillamook for listening to the incredible supporters of the club and doing what’s best for business and everyone involved.

Make no mistake: this doesn’t make up for everything, but it is a step in the right direction.

New backline

Photo Taken by the Awesome Kelsey Baker

The Timbers started the quartet of Juan David Mosquera, Župarić, K. Miller, and E. Miller for the first time all season.

Župarić has made it clear that he wants to play and earn every penny of his paycheck. He has made a trade request if the club does not see that as a possibility.

He provided the ‘hockey’ assist on the lone goal for Portland.

Although the scoreboard is unpleasant, his partnership with K. Miller was a definite positive for the Timbers. Neville will need to make sure he comes back to this partnership later on.

At this point, however, Zac McGraw being benched and without a chance to regain his form could hurt this team a lot. Neville teased a three-back early in preseason, but he has not tried it in regular season play. McGraw, K. Miller, and Župarić could execute this very well. The formation would also allow Mosquera to attack even more without worrying his defensive duties as much—though (sigh) this is the case anyway.

E. Miller provided a ton of stability on the left in place of Bravo. He is underappreciated for what he brings to this team on and off the pitch and for his consistency in what he brings to every match. His fullback counterpart, Mosquera, had a decent game, but Mosquera’s attention on the defensive side of the ball was below par—and has been for the majority of the season.

Rivalry week

Photo Taken by the Fantastic Kelsey Baker

As with every Cascadia Clash, these teams absolutely despise each other. The game is played on another level physically, no matter what.

This game was no different. Unfortunately referee Alan Chapman allowed too much rough play to continue all match long, inevitably leading to at least some kind of skirmish.

The game got incredibly chippy in the 54th minute when Nouhou Tolo and Mosquera went at it. The Sounders’ defender picked up a yellow card for multiple shoves.

However, the play was ultimately uninspired from both sides. I’m not quite sure either team deserved three points. The only thing that met expectations was the intensity in the challenges, fouls, and rough play that we’ve come to expect from this rivalry.

Lone bright spot

The only true positive from this match was Mora scoring his fifth goal in six games.

Honesty

Photo Taken by the Incredible Kelsey Baker

“I’ve got to be better, but the one thing I’m absolutely convinced of is that we will get this right,” Neville said. “I’m more convinced today than I’ve ever been.”

The grace period is over, and the excuses for this team need to stop. They need to start getting results, or they’ll be heading for the No. 1 draft pick in the MLS SuperDraft very soon.

What evidence do we have to believe they’ll get this right?

Tags Cascadia, Felipe Mora, MLS, Phil Neville, Portland TImbers, Roldan, Ruidíaz, Seattle Sounders

Soccer Timbers

Kickin’ It with Felipe Mora

Post author By Phuoc Nguyen
Post date May 10, 2024

Photo by Matthew Wolfe.

Tags Felipe Mora, kickin it, MLS, Portland TImbers

Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 0, Charlotte FC 2

Post author By Melina Gaspar
Post date May 9, 2024

Photo: Kris Lattimore.

The Portland Timbers collected another loss Saturday in a hard-to-watch game.

The Timbers continued their quest on the road, this time against Charlotte FC. The Eastern team is not the brightest in that conference, but Portland had a flat match with almost no chances on goal.

Both teams finished with only three shots on goal, but the hosts got 14 chances to test goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, while the Timbers only had six shots total.

A Portland team without Evander is something that is not pretty at all. The Timbers also had to play without Diego Chará, which contributed to the poor final product on the field.

Passing sideways

Eryk Williamson, Cristhian Paredes, and David Ayala were tasked with distributing the ball, but their ball distribution was not the best, to say the least. When we see the maps below, we can see how most of their passes were sideways, and they failed to progress the ball properly, contributing to the lack of opportunities the Timbers had in the final third.

Passes by Williamson, Paredes, and Ayala. Via Opta.

Six shots are not enough, and we know the Timbers have had a hard time being clinical.

Due to the absence of Evander—or any other true playmaker—Felipe Mora had another very quiet game. The balls weren’t getting to his feet, and he finished his shift with zero shots, six passes, and only one touch inside the box.

Passes by Felipe Mora. Source: Opta.

Portland’s new designated player, Jonathan Rodríguez, was on the field, but couldn’t put his name on the scoreboard like he had against LAFC. He could’ve scored at the end of the first half; Charlotte’s goalkeeper gifted the ball inside his box, but Rodríguez failed to make a simple finish that could’ve changed the whole dynamic of the game.

Rodríguez’s performance in this match was disappointing. He has been hired to score goals, and in matches like this one, he needs to get his hands dirty and show why he’s Portland’s biggest signing this year.

That was ’embarrassing’

“The two goals we gave away again were embarrassing,” Timbers head coach Phil Neville said. “Things have to change and change very quickly because if they don’t, we’re in trouble.”

The thing is, the Timbers are already in trouble and have been for some time now. They haven’t won in almost two months and have conceded goals like crazy. It looks as if every Portland opponent has gotten a check with at least two goals in their favor before every game, no matter who the Timbers play.

And Neville was right about how embarrassing the goals were. Even before the second half started, Portland was getting roasted in defense. Kamal Miller couldn’t suit up due to illness, so Zac McGraw started in his place. According to Opta, McGraw finished the match with eight clearances, four blocks, five recoveries, three duels won, three duels lost and one foul won. That’s not exactly impressive, but in the end, they’re just cold numbers.

However, when we combine those stats with what we saw from him… Well, we can say he’s not in the same form we saw last season.

It was a miracle the Timbers went to halftime without having conceded. (Though VAR saved Portland from conceding a penalty kick at the end of the first half.)

Nonetheless, the parity in the score didn’t last long. In the 54th minute, Nikola Petković left McGraw and the rest of the defense behind.

Source: Apple TV / MLS

“Embarrassing” indeed.

It didn’t help was that Miguel Araujo had to be subbed off at the end of the first half, and Dario Župarić replaced him. Araujo didn’t have an excellent performance. but he did well and covered for some of his teammates’ mistakes. Putting a centerback who has been surrounded by rumors on the field maybe was not the best, but Neville didn’t have much of a choice with Kamal Miller unavailable.

A week set aside

After three games on the road and only one out of nine possible points collected, Portland is finally going home. On Sunday, they’re going to play a very important match—not only for the rivalry but because the team will have a new chance to collect three points again. Their fans will play a very important part in this match, and the Timbers must use them to the team’s advantage.

By this point, the fans are disappointed but keep waiting for a convincing performance from their team. This rivalry match is the perfect opportunity to make them happy again—and to give them a reason to regain confidence. After all, the reality between these two teams is pretty similar. Portland sits 12th in the table with 10 points, and Seattle has the same number of points, although they’re 11th. The big difference between these two? The number of goals conceded. The Timbers have conceded 10 more goals than Seattle but have also scored seven more.

It should be an even match, one where the midfield can make the difference. No doubt the best news Portland(ia) received this week was Adam Susman’s report that everybody was fit and good to go against Seattle, including Evander and K. Miller.

Hopefully, Sunday will be a turning point in the season.

Tags charlotte fc, Phil Neville, Portland TImbers

Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, LAFC 3

Post author By Melina Gaspar
Post date May 3, 2024

Photo by Kris Lattimore.

Not even a point. The Portland Timbers fell 3-2 at BMO Stadium on Saturday.

Portland was disappointing to watch once again. They conceded two goals to Los Angeles FC, which made them chase the match as they have countless times this season.

Can’t stop conceding

“We cannot keep giving teams a two-nil [lead] and expect to win games of football,” Timbers head coach Phil Neville said after the match. “It’s unacceptable, it’s on me. We need to fix it, and we need to fix it quickly.

“We are so close to being a good team if we learn that one bit. If we don’t learn that one bit, it will be a long season.”

And Portland’s coach couldn’t be more on point. The Timbers have shown so much potential—not only this season, but we could see glances of what they were capable of last year. It’s a shame, though, that they keep making the same defensive mistakes. And Neville is once right, too, that it’s on him—and on previous Portland coaches. You don’t wake up one day and become terrible in defense. This problem has a history.

The Timbers remain in second place for most goals against in MLS this season, reaching 21 in the match against LAFC. On the flipside, they’ve scored the second most goals of any team in the Western Conference. Is that enough for this club?

“We’ve been receiving a lot of plaudits for the way we attack,” Neville said. “To be honest, right after the game on Saturday, the first thing I thought about was, ‘I’m getting fed up with that.’ I want people to praise us for winning games of football, not playing well and losing.”

By winning Saturday’s match, LAFC inclined the scale in their favor, since the California side has only won three of their last 11 regular season matches against the Timbers. Nonetheless, LA seemed the stronger side going to this game, since they were unbeaten in eight straight home games and, just like the Timbers, had scored multiple goals in seven of those eight matches.

What fullbacks?

LAFC found themselves very comfortable in Portland’s wings, especially in the left. Denis Bouanga, Mateusz Bogusz, Eduard Atuesta, and Ryan Hollingshead found space and time to do as they pleased.

Timbers Miguel Araujo and Juan David Mosquera had a complicated night, which helped the home team find their way to open the score. Mosquera was caught ball-watching, completely unaware of Bouanga until too late. As a consequence, Araujo had tried to stop Bouanga but couldn’t. The LAFC attacker crossed the ball, and Kamal Miller ended up pushing into the back of his own net.

Capture: MLS / Apple TV

Portland wasn’t having a good first half. LA’s wingers were killing them, and if not for some lucky offsides, the match would’ve gotten very ugly very early. But even so, scoring an own-goal hurt a lot. Friendly fire is always hard to deal with, and if we add another goal against just seconds before halftime… well, let’s say it was a hard pill to swallow.

It feels like the Timbers are under a lot of self-imposed pressure to not concede, and that’s playing against them; it’s messing with their heads instead of making them play with a chip on their shoulder to prove everybody wrong.

Diego Chará’s Series of Unfortunate Events

On the day when Portland’s iconic captain, Diego Chará, became the player with the most appearances for a single club in MLS history, everything went south for him.

Not only could he not enjoy the special day with his fans in Portland, but he collected a loss. And he he, in his good old-fashioned way, collected a yellow in the 72nd minute.

One minute later, Santiago Moreno scored the equalizer for Portland, and two minutes later, Maxime Chanot received a yellow for a foul on Chará. Then, Chará received his second yellow, when, after being dispossessed by Atuesta, he fouled the LAFC midfielder trying to recover the ball in the 76th minute.

As a result, Cristhian Paredes had to come into the match for Felipe Mora, who had a quiet game. The absence of Evander harmed Mora, since he wasn’t fed with as many balls as needed.

LAFC grew after Chará’s send-off, and goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau had to intervene many times to keep Portland in the game.

Outside of the box

Due to Evander’s absence, the game’s fluidity wasn’t there. Portland’s goals weren’t as fancy as they have been.

However, it was good to see Jonathan Rodríguez finding the back of the net again for Portland’s first goal of the evening. He showed great technique in his tally and was the Timber with the most shots in this game, with six (two blocked, two off target, and two on target).

It was also good to see that the Timbers had some luck in this game. If it wasn’t for a deflection, Santiago Moreno’s goal—Portland’s second—wouldn’t have happened.

It was a shame the Timbers couldn’t get at least a point. Bouanga’s confidence was high after scoring not only a brace in the previous game against LA Galaxy but also the equalizer in stoppage time.

The Timbers showed they have problems defending second balls, and Bouanga took advantage of that when he showed up completely unmarked after Crépeau stopped a header and the defense couldn’t clear it. The striker shot a diagonal ball that hit the far post and got in. As a result, Bouanga scored the winning goal in stoppage time again and left Portland empty-handed.

The Timbers will continue their string of road games against Charlotte when they play at Bank of America Stadium May 4 at 4:30 p.m. PT.

Tags Diego Chara, LAFC, MLS, Phil Neville, Portland TImbers

Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Columbus Crew 2, Portland Timbers 2

Post author By Melina Gaspar
Post date April 25, 2024

Photo: Kris Lattimore

The Timbers got their third draw in a row Saturday, this time against the Columbus Crew. It was a more rounded performance for Portland, but a Steven Moreira screamer tied the game and forced the spoils to be divided.

Has Portland found their new centerbacks?

It’s not news that Portland’s defense has been struggling for more than a year. Last season, Zac McGraw showed a lot of growth in the centerback position, which cemented his spot on the team and helped him to get a call from the Canadian national team.

This year, he hasn’t had the best of performances in, and then an injury sidelined him from the last two games.

Dario Župarić, on the other hand, has been surrounded by rumors that he has requested a trade and has missed training due to personal reasons.

Župarić and and McGraw’s unavailability forced Timbers head coach Phil Neville to make changes in the defense, and changes to Portland’s backline look like they have been for the best. Neville put Kamal Miller and Miguel Araujo as the new centerback pair, and despite the newness of this, it seems to be working out.

However, there’s a lot of work to do. In the screen capture below, we can see one of the reasons why Portland let the Crew get 24 shots off . A huge space between the centerbacks allowed Cucho Hernández space to run through the middle and receive a pass that would, seconds later, finish with a goal. VAR intervened, and it was disallowed in the end, but it was a very close call.

Image via MLS/Apple TV.

And it happened again in the 44th minute, this time with Cucho onside and in a one-vs-one with Timbers goalkeeper James Pantemis. However this time the keeper came off his line in time and closed his shooting angle, which helped the defense clear the ball in time. You might argue that Pantemis should’ve kept that ball, but let’s look at the bright side and be grateful that it didn’t end in a goal.

Image via MLS/Apple TV.

While the new centerback pair needs time to work as a well-oiled machine, but the raw material is there. Let’s see if Neville gives McGraw another chance to start in the next game or if he’s committed to the Miller and Araujo partnership.

A goal-scoring machine and the holes in defense

We have already gone over how Portland’s defense has not been on-point, although the team is working on it. The Timbers are the second team with the most goals scored against them in the West Conference with 18, only behind San Jose with 24.

However, Portland has also been a goal-scoring machine. So far, they have registered 18 goals, making them the team with the second-most goals scored, only behind the LA Galaxy, who sit at the top of the table. The Vancouver Whitecaps, second in the table, have tallied 17 goals so far.

Portland’s second goal against Columbus was the product of beautiful teamwork and a demonstration of the beautiful soccer we have caught glimpses of the Timbers playing in moments of the game. However, knowing the defensive problems, every player should be committed to helping the backline.

In the screen capture below, we can see Evander has dropped to “help” with the defense, but it would’ve been the same if he hadn’t been there at all. The playmaker just stayed there, watching Diego Rossi get inside the box, receive a pass, and make the assist for Cucho.

“On your left.” Image via MLS/Apple TV.

And then suddenly we have too many opponents unmarked inside the box and nobody is marking Cucho at the top of the box. Portland’s defensive line realized the striker was unmarked too late, and when he received the ball, the damage was already done.

Image via MLS/Apple TV.

In the capture below, we can see Cucho once again wandering at the top of the box, and no one is paying attention to him. This leads to Diego Chará having to wrestle with him once he gets in possession of the ball inside the 18-yard box. The Timbers were lucky the referee didn’t award Columbus a penalty kick.

Image: MLS/ Apple TV

Eryk Williamson had the job done

Neville has been alternating between a 4-4-2 and a 4-2-3-1 formation in possession while trying to see what works best for Portland. It’s good that he hasn’t settled for just one formation, since it gives some flexibility to the team.

In his search for what best suits the team, Neville has used a midfield double-pivot when in a 4-2-3-1 formation, with Chará and Cristhian Paredes occupying those positions.

Chará has been the unmovable piece in that space, except in the draw against Sporting KC, when Neville used Paredes and David Ayala, and Eryk Williamson came to the field in minute 96’. Williamson has been gaining consistent minutes after the game against the Houston Dynamo, and he started in the match against Columbus.

In Saturday’s game, Williamson made 12 passes, had 66.7% passing accuracy (70% in the opponent’s half), and won three duels and lost six. Compared to Paredes and Ayala, the ball hasn’t passed through Williamson’s feet his feet as much, but he’s been used mostly as an attacking player. No wonder he registered one chance created, one shot on target, and one assist against Columbus.

The double-pivot has allowed Williamson to go up while Chará has been staying back as usual. In this lineup, Evander drops deeper than Williamson, which explains why the ball is not going through Williamson’s feet as much.

Going forward, it’d be good for the Timbers to start Williamson if he’s available. He’s an attacking-minded player, and since the defensive issues are going to take some time to be fixed, Portland needs goals to keep compensating for their lack of defensive awareness.

The introduction of Paredes to the game didn’t bring much to this match, to be honest; Neville still needs to figure out where he can create the most impact.

Congrats, Diego Chará!

The Colombian is a city-wide treasure at this point, and nobody would dare to argue that. Most recently, he gave the fans another reason to build his statue outside Providence Park, when he tied Chris Wondolowski for the most MLS regular season games played with one club in league history.

Image via MLS.

What lies ahead

The Timbers have another tough test on the road, this time against LAFC. After three draws, it’s time to see if they can get three points. It will be difficult, but if they keep working like they did against Columbus and the coach can keep tweaking the defense, they might be able to get the win.

Tags Diego Chara, Eryk Williamson

Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, LAFC 2

Post author By Phuoc Nguyen
Post date April 16, 2024

Photo by Kris Lattimore

After a dramatic tie against Sporting KC, the Portland Timbers returned home to Providence Park—to earn another draw against Los Angeles FC.

“I thought it was a brilliant game of football,” said Timbers head coach Phil Neville. “We spoke three weeks ago about mentality, and I think we showed that mentality today. There’s a clear identity forming with our mentality, and I’m super proud with the way that they played.”

In one of the most aggressive moves of his tenure, Neville opted to play Jonathan Rodríguez on the left and Felipe Mora in the middle, starting the Timbers’ two best attackers in the same game for the first time. Their limited time together has been super effective—and one the head coach was forced to field due to Mora’s stellar play.

Neville also put Diego Chará and David Ayala in a double pivot for the first time. Ayala has been drawing rave reviews from Neville and the coaching staff. He has been influential in every game thus far.

In the 12th minute, Evander slipped in a beautiful ball to Mora, who somehow guided it home for the 1-0 lead. The home team’s sequence of play started with Juan David Mosquera winning a turnover and dribbling toward the right side of the box before laying the ball off to Evander.

Portland dominated the early proceedings. They didn’t allow LAFC’s first shot until the 21st minute (and by that time the Timbers already recorded four shots).

Unfortunately, all it takes is one bad moment. In the 22nd minute, the Timbers’ backline fell asleep, and Mateusz Bogusz made them pay dearly with a perfectly pinpointed far-post shot past Max Crépeau. Kamal Miller tried to close it down, but he had absolutely no help from Miguel Araujo, who was nowhere to be found in the sequence.

After being outshot four to zero in the following 10 or so minutes, Mosquera hit a nicely-weighted cross to Evande,r who smashed home a gorgeous volley in the 34th minute. That goal came against the run of play.

Unfortunately, the second half could not have started in worse fashion for the home side.

In the 48th minute, Crépeau came off his line hard, but could not win the ball and was given a red card for denying an obvious goal-scoring opportunity. This forced Portland to take off Mora and bring on James Pantemis.

Bogusz struck the ensuing free kick brilliantly to equalize for LAFC in the 52nd minute.

In the 66th minute, Evander struck a nice free kick at the top of the box, but it hit off the post. Even down a man, the Timbers continued to fight.

The teams traded shots back and forth the rest of the way, but neither was able to put together enough for a win. The game ended with a 2-2 draw.

Although they went down a man, the Portland Timbers worked their butts off to preserve the point.

No ZZs

Photo by Kris Lattimore.

Zac McGraw and Dario Župarić were both unavailable for the game, due to a concussion and personal reasons, respectively. That left Miller, Araujo, and Larrys Mabiala as Portland’s only options at centerback for the game.

Miller and Araujo ended up with the starts. Miller has been a starter all season, and Araujo made his second consecutive start.

The results were very mixed in their first start together. In this regard, Neville had no choice due to lack of options.

“It’s growing better and better,” said Miller. “Those goals […] could have been avoided, but all throughout the run of the 90 minutes, I feel like we’re defending strong. And to go man down with so long left in the game, against a team like LAFC that keeps possession of the ball so well. I felt like we defended well, and I believe we got a clean sheet with a man down.”

Their chemistry is building, but I do think McGraw should be starting all future games alongside Miller.

Jon and Pipe

The first start together for Rodríguez and Mora was not a surprise and was the right move by the head coach. Neville has spoken to the media about the sense that they paid to play Rodríguez as the No. 9. Mora’s stellar play as a reserve forced Neville’s hand, and rightfully so.

Although their connection is new, the duo are currently Portland’s best two goalscorers and finishers. They only got to play 48 minutes together, but the team looked extremely dangerous, with the attention both of them draw opening space for Evander, Mosquera, and Antony.

Moving forward, they are going to scoring tons and providing a ton of assists. This is just the start for the dynamic duo.

Another new pair

Photo by Kris Lattimore.

Neville and his staff have talked up Ayala big time since his return. He does all of the hard work necessary in the midfield and has an accurate left foot. His passing has surprised some, but it shouldn’t. Ayala can switch the point of attack, do the defensive work, and keep the attack moving.

His pairing with Chará is a bit special, as Ayala has been seen as a possible heir apparent.

This midfield looked sharp with those two rotating the defensive and attacking assignments. Their chemistry looked smooth and efficient. Although the Timbers have Eryk Williamson and Cristhian Parades, who are both extremely talented, Ayala offers the perfect balance. Depending on the matchup, Williamson should still get his fair share of starts, as should Parades.

Neville’s range of available options in the midfield is a blessing. For now, it seems like he has finally found the right mix (especially once Ayala returns to full fitness).

The Evander

“I think Evander is the best player in the conference at this moment in time. He’s playing incredibly well,” said Neville. “I don’t see a better No. 10 in either conference at this moment in time than Evander—that’s how highly I rate him.”

In the past three games, Evander has five goal contributions (three goals and two assists), including his golazo against LAFC.

He has quickly become one of the most dangerous players in all of MLS and is heating up at the perfect moment.

Tags David Ayala, Diego Chara, evander, Felipe Mora, Jonathan Rodríguez, LAFC, MLS, Portland TImbers

Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 3, Sporting KC 3

Post author By Melina Gaspar
Post date April 12, 2024

Photo: Kris Lattimore

After three consecutive losses, the Portland Timbers finally got a point on the road against Sporting KC on Sunday.

The Timbers proved once more that they’re perfectly capable of scoring goals and getting a result. However, they also proved once again they like to shoot themselves in the feet.

When it rains, it pours

Not only did the Timbers have a terrible first half, but they also had bad luck. Portland wasn’t playing poorly at the beginning of the match, but KC’s fortuitous 13th-minute goal was like a bucket of cold water that sent the team into a spiral, and the home team smelled the blood in the water.

In the 19th minute, Sporting’s forwards counter-pressed near the visitor’s box, and it led to a shot that was just inches off target.

The Timbers’ shambolic defense made another appearance about half an hour into the match. Four players were too focused on William Agada and completely forgot about Dániel Sallói. As a result, the KC No. 10 had all the time and space to receive a pass and shoot.

Image: MLS

Portland was surely grateful that goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau protected his near post well—and that Sallói shot off target. However, this led to a corner, where Crépeau was beaten by Daniel Rosero when trying to make a clearance, putting Sporting up 2-0.

What is more, Juan David Mosquera and Miguel Araujo weren’t complementing well, and space on the left half was a highway for Portland’s opponents.

No wonder Timbers head coach Phil Neville decided to make a change in his backline at halftime—just like he did against Vancouver. He subbed out Mosquera and moved Eric Miller to the right, and Claudio Bravo came in and occupied the left.

It remains unclear what the Timbers were doing in the third goal KC scored on them, but it’s safe to say that they looked like complete amateurs, and the coach had enough.

Source: Twitter

Leveling the score

By now, coach Neville’s halftime speeches must be something worth listening to if they can make the team turn 180° in less than 15 minutes.

Even so, the second 45 could’ve started with disaster, when Agada beat Araujo and almost scored KC’s fourth goal. The Peruvian recovered and prevented what could’ve thwarted Portland’s plans to revert the score in their favor.

We could see the change in attitude early in the half, with the Timbers pressing high and trying to occupy Sporting’s side of the field.

A new disaster loomed on the horizon, though, when in minute 59’, Claudio Bravo fouled Erik Thommy inside the box, and the referee awarded a penalty kick. In play that led to this defensive mistake, Portland left way too much space in between their lines, which helped KC move the ball freely and get to the Timbers’ box in only six passes.

Luckily for the visitors, Agada shot a terrible penalty that went out of bounds. KC’s mood fell after that. Only one minute later, Tim Leibold fouled Felipe Mora inside the box, and the Timbers were awarded a penalty. Finally, a Timber had the chance to step up to the penalty spot. It was Evander who buried the ball in the back of the net and put Portland in the game.

Felipe Mora

Portland was encouraged by Evander’s goal and immediately looked for another. The Timbers stayed wide, and that helped Antony receive the ball and then send the cross that helped Portland to score their second. Sporting did an awful job positioning defensively inside their box, which we can see in the screen capture below. KC left at least three Portland players very open to be recipients of Jonathan Rodríguez’s assist. One of those players was Felipe Mora.

The Chilean forward has been on a mission since he came back from injury. His goal in this game puts him at two goals and one assist in two matches.

Image: MLS

Another important detail: Rodríguez on that left wing did some serious damage, and the Timbers recognized crosses to that side were causing problems for KC.

Antony’s magic

A lot has been said about Evander, and rightly so, but his countryman proved in this game that he can do a lot of damage on the right wing with his crossing and dribbling abilities.

He not only got fouled and earned the free kick that led to Portland’s equalizer, but he sent the cross to the box that Rodríguez headed to Eric Miller’s finish.

Antony has proved in this game that he can certainly make a difference in the team and influence the outcome of a match. No wonder his coach has such high expectations for him.

Source: Twitter

The team was certainly relieved to stop accumulating losses, and after two matches on the road, it’s time to go home. Will Portland be able to play for 90 minutes instead of just 45 and get a win against LAFC next Saturday?

We certainly hope so, since they’ve showed they have the tools for it.

Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, Vancouver Whitecaps 3

Post author By Melina Gaspar
Post date April 5, 2024

Photo: Kris Lattimore

The fun is over. The Portland Timbers are officially just as frustrating as they were last season.

Just when we thought Portland did a 180° turn… the last three games were as if reality slapped fans in the face.

“Unacceptable”

In the first Cascadia derby match of the year, Timbers head coach Phil Neville’s squad went down 0-1 only 90 seconds into the match. “I felt that the first 30 minutes were totally unacceptable for a derby game,” Neville said. “You don’t start a derby game like that, going down in the first 90 seconds.”

It’s the same old story: The Timbers look like a world-class team one minute and then look like clowns the next.

On the flipside, the first goal Portland scored was stunning. It’s an example of how the Timbers can play in every game. Those guys have a nag for shooting themselves in the foot, and they showed that outstanding ability again in this game.

Look at the buildup: Cristhian Paredes not only occupied the half space well, but Jonathan Rodríguez did well distracting defenders, which helped Evander stay unmarked at the edge of the box. The positioning also gave Evander enough space and time to produce a world-class finish, one that was almost impossible to stop.

So, the question is: How can the Timbers look that good and then play like complete amateurs?

“You can’t […] concede three goals and expect to win games“

We’ll rephrase coach Neville and point out the way those three goals were scored. Of course, the Vancouver Whitecaps deserve some recognition for finishing them, but we cannot help but think the Timbers contribute a lot to those goals. Heck, they should even get part of the expected goal credit!

In the first one, Ryan Gauld entered the box through the half-space, while Diego Chará failed to track him. Then, Zac McGraw couldn’t clear the ball, and the rebound fell to Gauld’s feet. The forward finished with a shot to the near post that beat Maxime Crépeau.

It didn’t take the Whitecaps much hassle—only four passes on the right wing, in fact—to get to the Timbers’ box for the second goal. Well, that and McGraw’s backheel assist.

For the third… well, Crépeau couldn’t hold the ball, and then Portland’s entire defense forgot to watch their backs, making it too easy for Ryan Raposo to get into the box and hit that ball home.

So, if we rephrase the coach, we would say, “You can’t […] concede three goals in that way and expect to win games.”

Do they know how to build from the back?

Correct me if I’m wrong, but many times it looked as if the Timbers didn’t have a clue about what to do with the ball when trying to build from the back. When Crépeau sent the ball to his centerbacks instead of sending a long pass, the defenders moved the ball here and there, but they had serious issues with the progressive phase.

Actually, that’s what led to Vancouver’s second goal. If we rewatch the tape, we’ll see that after six passes, McGraw tried to send the ball to the midfield where Rodríguez was, but it was blocked. Vancouver took advantage of the interception to regain possession, switched the point of attack, and ended up scoring.

We know the Timbers have more often than not played direct in the past and felt more comfortable being in the back seat regarding possession. They’re used to forcing errors and then going fast in counterattacks. But in this match, it was different.

Vancouver let Portland press in the final 20 minutes of the first half, and then the Timbers took the main seat in the second half. Evander grew exponentially—and he was everywhere, scoring and assisting.

They were things of beauty, his finish and his assist. But no magic designated player can save a team that has serious lapses in defense. As we already established, the three goals scored by Vancouver were preventable if Portland’s defense had stayed organized. And as long as the Timbers can’t get their defense together, no designated player will save them.

Going back to build up, the Timbers need to learn to feel comfortable with their ball at their feet. They need to learn how to build from the back and use the midfield properly. It is true that Chará might not be the same as he has been in seasons past—age is taking its toll—but the team has a true creator in Evander, and Santiago Moreno can be his partner in crime in that midfield.

Speaking of Moreno, he needs to get his act together. He did well against Vancouver, staying high to steal balls and always staying connected to the game, but he needs to connect better with his teammates in the attack to make chances count.

The Timbers will play again on Sunday, this time against Sporting KC. If they want to get at least a point on the road, they need to stop gifting the ball to their opponents, and they need to stop doing that in dangerous positions.

It finally looks as if the attack won’t be a problem this season, but who cares if the team can score beautiful goals if the coach has to sub one of the centerbacks out at halftime due to a very poor performance among other serious defensive problems?

Tags evander, Felipe Mora