Tag: Dairon Asprilla

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, D.C. United 2

Photo by Matthew Wolfe.

After their huge 4-1 season opening win against Colorado Rapids, Portland Timbers head coach Phil Neville and crew would host D.C. United.

Earlier in the week, the Timbers announced they had terminated their corporate partnership with DaBella, effective immediately. The news came after the club and fans learned of allegations of misconduct at the company from a court filing made public Feb. 23. The Timbers and a third party conducted a thorough pre-deal vetting process and didn’t learn of the filing until Feb. 27, the club said. Within a day, the organization made the decision to end the sponsorship with DaBella.

According to César Luis Merlo and Tom Bogert, the Portland Timbers are in advanced talks to sign sign forward Germán Berterame from CF Monterrey, with a bid of around $15 million, with their backup option being  Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodríguez of Club América. General manager Ned Grabavoy and Neville were hoping to have their record-setting designated player signed and ready for the United match, but that was not to be.

Maxime Crépeau made his Portland Timbers debut in goal. The lineup remained unchanged outside the goalkeeper switch. (James Pantemis was exceptional last week for his Canadian colleague.) The team had hoped Evander would be ready, but he looks to be another week away.

D.C. United was without the services of their superstar forward, Christian Benteke, who was a late scratch. Benteke motioned to the trainers during pregame warm ups and went back to the locker room.

Crépeau, Mosquera, McGraw, K. Miller, E. Miller, Paredes, Chara ©, Moreno, Williamson, Antony, Asprilla Subs: Pantemis, Araujo, Zuparic, Ayala, Fogaça, Ikoba

After a forgettable first 15 minutes, Santiago Moreno drove the ball down and laid it off perfectly to an onrushing Dairon Asprilla to put the home team up 1-0 in the 18th minute.

In the second half, D.C. United had a few chances that, quite frankly, should have been put away. In the 61st minute, Santiago Moreno made them pay, after a looped ball in from Eric Miller found its way to the Colombian.

United flipped a switch after that.

The replacement refs gifted the visitors a penalty kick in the 72nd minute, which Mateusz Klich calmly finished.

Crépeau made the biggest save of the night in the 78th minute. He did it again in the 80th minute, saved two consecutive point-blank shots in a span of minutes, either of which would have equalized for D.C. United.

In the 82nd minute, Portland’s resistance would be futile. Kristian Fletcher put away the easiest goal of his life on an empty net, when Crépeau valiantly tried to stop the low driven cross, but barely missed.

The last 25 minutes of the game were completely dominated by the visitors, and they probably should of left with three points.

“I think D.C. created enough chances probably to win the game,” Neville said, “and that’s pretty fair from our point of view.”

Santiago Moreno prediction

In the preseason, I predicted that Santiago Moreno would lead the team in goal contributions. He is on his way to proving me right.

With his family moved to Portland, Moreno has found a peace with the club and city. He is happy again. After the saga from last season, it is very apparent how much he has grown.

Neville has also allowed Santi to just be himself on the pitch.

“I feel really good,” Moreno said. “It’s a position where I feel very comfortable, and I always try to play free and play with the ball in front of me.

“We showed that in the first half. I think we always just want to win, at least myself. I always want to win. We couldn’t do that tonight, but hopefully we can do it in the next match.”

He was the player of the match with a goal and assist—and he leads the team in goal contributions currently with three.

Replacement refs

In the 72nd minute, the head official awarded a penalty kick for a hand ball that was clearly offside. That was the worst offense, but the officiators consistently missed calls all evening.

Those heading into the season, thinking the officiating couldn’t get any worse was so wrong. Not only are they replacement referees unable to do the job at a passable level, they are making the product suffer as a result. Players will suffer the most, especially with more injuries possible due to the nature of how these games are being called.

MLS needs to do the right thing and stop this nonsense.

Late game substitutions

The Portland Timbers were up 2-0 after Moreno’s goal. In the 65th minute, Neville opted to bring in Dario Župarić for Eric Miller, shifting Kamal Miller to left back. David Ayala also came on for Eryk Williamson, putting all the attacking midfield pressure on Cristhian Parades which was asking too much.

At this point, the team was trying to hold on for dear life. The game completely flipped.

In Neville’s defense, he doesn’t have enough options right now to adjust and implement his tactics.

Still, in the 85th minute, Neville brought Miguel Araujo on for Juan David Mosquera. At this point, the Timbers had four center-backs on the pitch. They do not have enough players on the bench right now to kill off games properly.

“We’re definitely short on depth. You look at our bench, we’re short on depth on our bench,” Neville said. “We know we can’t fill our bench at this moment in time. You think about adding Evander to that, Claudio Bravo to that, Marvin Loria to that, then you can bring players on.”

Evander’s pending availability next week, even in limited minutes, will help big time.

Bonus: The heroics of the MC

Without the heroics of Crépeau, this game would have been out of reach for the Portland Timbers. He is already one of the best goalkeepers to ever suit up for club, with his endless list of accomplishments and accolades.

By the numbers

xG: Portland Timbers: 1.5, D.C. United: 3.45

Shots: Portland Timbers: 10 (3 on target), D.C. United: 12 (8 on target)

Passes and crosses:  Portland Timbers: 291, D.C. United: 398

Corners: Portland Timbers: 4, D.C. United: 8

Clearances: Zac McGraw: 5 (The team had 12 total.)

Moreno led the team in goals, assists, shots on goal, sitters, ball possession phases, and passes.

Crépeau had six saves, and at least half were from point-blank range. He is one of the best keepers in the league.

 

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Soccer

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 3, Colorado Rapids 2

Photo by Kris Lattimore

The Portland Timbers went into Saturday night’s match against Colorado Rapids coming off three straight wins and unbeaten in their last five matches.

The home side desperately needed three points, with the playoff race in the West insanely crowded. Being in eighth place leaves almost no room for error the rest of the way.

With Saturday being Portland’s third game in six days, interim head coach Miles Joseph would rotate in Noel Caliskan, Antony, Felipe Mora, and Dairon Asprilla into the starting XI.

Bingham, Mosquera, McGraw, Zuparic, Bravo, Acosta, Caliskan Moreno, Asprilla, Mora (C), Antony Substitutes: Sulte, Araujo, Mabiala, Miller, Rasmussen, Loria, Blanco, Boli, Gutierrez

In an unexpectedly chaotic game, Portland found a wild 3-2 win over Colorado.

After controlling the early action, in the 20th minute, the Timbers struck first, thanks to a beautiful header by Antony and the excellent service of Asprilla.

Antony’s first goal with Portland could not have come at a better time. Under Joseph, this team has played on the front foot and shows no signs of slowing down. The structure he has put forth highlights this team’s true strengths in attack.

In the 30th minute, Caliskan played a perfectly disguised pass to find Santiago Moreno, who calmly finished to double the lead.

However, for the second match in a row, Portland conceded almost immediately after scoring. Diego Rubio would cut the lead down to 2-1 for the visitors.

The momentum was not done shifting completely. In the 44th minute, Andrew Gutman ripped a shot that deflected off a Timbers defender into the back of the net. Portland went into the break tied 2-2 after a dominant first half where they outshot the Rapids nine to four and out-possessed them 65% to 35%.

Heading into the half with a 2-2 scoreline was unacceptable. “First half, we felt we had the game in hand a little bit,” Joseph said. “Then we let it slip. We gave up a couple opportunities, and it was unfortunate.”

In the second half, the game got chippy, physical, and brutal. Looking to pick up three points, both teams traded blows.

In the 71st minute, though, Mora dribbled around the goalkeeper and slotted home the goal to give his squad the 3-2 lead. Asprilla provided his second assist of the game with another perfect ball.

Photo by Kris Lattimore

“Scoring the goal, I’m just very filled with happiness,” Mora said. “Definitely makes it a lot better when I’m able to score and celebrate with our fans.” 

Although Joseph subbed in defenders Miguel Araujo and Larrys Mabiala, the team never stopped looking for the fourth.

The relentless counterattack from the end-of-the-game backline of Juan David Mosquera, Zac McGraw, Araujo, Mabiala, Dario Župarić, and Eric Miller one-of-a-kind look from the Timbers. That surprise helped preserve the 3-2 win.

Joseph said he was glad Portland made the necessary adjustments to close out the huge win.

“I was happy we got the third,” he said. “In that situation when teams are desperate and they’re in your house, you have to make some changes to play the game out, and I felt we did a really good job getting the guys on at the end of the game to close the game out.”

The Timbers are now unbeaten in their last six matches and on a four-game winning streak.

Timbers U22
Photo by Kris Lattimore

The Timbers young talent stepped up in a huge way on Saturday. Antony, who occupies an international and a U22 Initiative Slot for the team, made his first start and scored his first goal.

“I think you’ve seen the progression of Antony, and he’s still going to progress. Tonight was just a small little highlight of what you’re going to see,” Joseph said. “He’s an electric player. We’re building his minutes, and I think, as we progress and get into the playoffs and then make our run, he’s going to be an important player.”

Moreno also occupies a U22 Initiative Slot and joined the party with his second goal of the year. He led the team with 21 completed passes in the final third and 12 recoveries.

And we can’t leave out Mosquera. JDM put in one heck of a shift. He led the team with five chances created, two successful dribbles, and two fouls won. This player is one of the best young attacking fullbacks in the MLS.

These young players are set to be the future of this team, but they are not willing to wait. The present is also theirs.

More rotation
Photo by Kris Lattimore

Joseph’s willingness to rotate his lineup during short-turnaround weeks has paid dividends. The only players to play full minutes for the three games were the bash bros: McGraw and Župarić. Joseph gave minutes to 17 different players, which demonstrates his trust in the players and his squad’s depth.

The closers

As mentioned above, Joseph presented yet another tactical wrinkle with the late game backline of Mosquera, McGraw, Araujo, Mabiala, Župarić. It was a departure from Joseph’s regular aggressive subbing patterns late in the game.

When you are the one in charge, these decisions impact whether or not you win a game. Joseph continues to surprise with tactics and his ability to make the right call.

Having six on the backline to close out the game was brilliant. Joseph said he wanted to bring on players that would push the wingbacks up but also lock down the team’s defense—especially given all the squad rotation.

“I think closing out—like having experienced guys and at the end of the game—was really important,” he said. “They know how to close games out.”

Photo by Kris Lattimore
Key Stats
  • Bryan Acosta led the team with 46 completed passes, three tackles, and two tackles won.
  • Dairon Asprilla paced the team with two assists.
  • Felipe Mora was an attacking force with six shots, two shots on target, and the game-winning goal.
  • Zac McGraw had a huge game defensively, winning five aerial duels and three tackles.
Photo by Kris Lattimore
Categories
Soccer

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2, LAFC 0

Photo Taken by the Amazing Matthew Wolfe

International duty made a mark on this game for both teams.

Five Los Angeles FC players missed the match due to international duty: Denis Bouanga, Stipe Biuk, Denil Maldonado, Christian Torres, and Cristian Olivera.

Three Portland Timbers got call-ups for their countries: Juan David Mosquera, Miguel Araujo, and Bryan Acosta. However, the most notable absence was Dario Župarić, who was out due to yellow card accumulation.

If you play against LAFC, you never know which stars will show up—even on the road.

Unfortunately for Will Ferrell, who is a member of the LAFC ownership group and made the trip up to Portland for the match, a shorthanded LAFC had no answer for the home side.

Interim head coach Miles Joseph led the Timbers to a 2-0 statement win over one of the best sides in MLS.

Although LAFC is struggling as of late, this takes nothing away from how tough of a season it has been for Portland, and how big of a victory this was.

LAFC goalkeeper John McCarthy misplayed two balls in a span of two minutes that allowed the Timbers to strike first.

In the 28th minute, Larrys Mabiala had his biggest moment of the season with a headed goal off the corner kick.

 

In the 53rd minute, Claudio Bravo finished one of the best-worked goals of the season for the Timbers.

The home side were absolutely dominant in the second half and could have scored even more.

But Portland’s backline was the key. Defenders scored both of the goals and kept the clean sheet.

“I was really pleased with the performance from the start of the game all the way to the end. It was really a complete game for us,” Joseph said. “We even came in at half time and spoke a little bit about some adjust[ments] and showed a little bit of video again, and we came out an scored a goal in that exact way. It was pretty impressive.”

Photo by Matthew Wolfe
No Župerman? No Problem!

Larrys Mabiala filled in for Župarić and Araujo in both of their absences. Did he deliver? Absolutely.

His first half goal set the tone for the Portland Timbers.

Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Mabiala led the team in shots and shots on goal and was third on the team in possession won.

“The back line was shorthanded, but those are the same guys that are going out every day on the training ground,” Mabiala said. “We know what we have to do; the instructions are very clear from the coaching staff, and we all try to make a positive point. We are trying to show the coaching staff and everyone that the guys that are not playing that much, we can have a chance, and they can count on us whenever they need us. […] It doesn’t matter who’s playing just as long as we’re all targeting the same thing, which is getting the wins on the weekend to qualify for playoffs.”

His partnership with Zac McGraw and with fullbacks Eric Miller and Claudio Bravo helped preserve a rare shutout for the team.

Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Bravo, in particular, was brilliant. It doesn’t get much tougher than Carlos Vela as a defensive assignment, but Bravo met the challenge head-on. He also led the team in tackles, tackles won, possession won, shots on target, and tied for one goal.

Offense! Attack!
Photo by Matthew Wolfe

Joseph has led a resurgence for the Timbers in the attack.

In his four games at the helm, they have scored two goals in each.

Joseph said scoring was something Portland has been focused on in the postgame presser.

If he can somehow lead the team into the top nine of the table, does the interim title get removed for a permanent one?

Don’t say it

Could this Portland Timbers side really make a late season push? Joseph and the team are giving themselves a chance and making things very interesting.

McGraw put everything in perspective.

“It’s known to everyone we haven’t won two games in a row yet this season all year,” he said. “We need to build off this. Obviously, last year we went on a similar run winning games at the end, but it came down to decision day, and ultimately, we didn’t make the playoffs.

“All we can do is really go into Austin, which is not an easy place to play by any means, and push for three points,” McGraw said. “LAFC is a great team; they’re defending MLS champions, and it’s a big morale booster for the team.”

Matthew Wolfe
Photo by Matthew Wolfe
Photo by Matthew Wolfe
Photo by Matthew Wolfe
Photo by Matthew Wolfe
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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 2-2 Seattle Sounders

Credit: Kris Lattimore
Credit: Kris Lattimore

The Timbers traveled to Seattle after last Wednesday’s win at home in search of the elusive back-to-back win. What looked like the end of their unbeaten streak at Lumen Field took a wild turn, helping Portland gain a point and spoil Seattle’s party.

This was interim head coach Miles Joseph’s third game in charge of the Portland Timbers, and he made changes to the starting XI after Wednesday. Eric Miller, Yimmi Chará and Felipe Mora started instead of Claudio Bravo, Franck Boli, and Sebastián Blanco.

Source: Timbers FC
Graphic via Timbers FC

In terms of attacking prowess, Bravo brings more to the table than Miller. But after some poor performances by the full-back, it was understandable that the coach wanted to see what Miller might bring to the table. That and the match being the team’s third game in one week might have been the reasons to let Bravo rest a little.

Unfortunately, it wasn’t the best of games for Miller—losing Raúl Ruidíaz’s mark less than 10 minutes into the match wasn’t good at all—but he didn’t give the ball away as easily as Bravo, which is always welcomed. Miller also didn’t get into as many duels as the Argentine does, but the times he did, he was more successful. (He won 67% of his duels, while Bravo only won 37.5% last match.)

Seattle’s first half was a party

Of course, the Timbers handled the ball to their rivals. That’s how they play and how they’ll probably keep playing until the end of the season. Still, seeing Portland playing catch against the Seattle Sounders wasn’t fun at all. What also hurt was to see five-and-a-half-feet tall Ruidíaz beat Miller in a set piece.

Eric Miller marking (?) Ruidíaz. Source: MLS / Apple TV
Eric Miller marking (?) Ruidíaz. Source: MLS / Apple TV

When you see that caption, you might wonder, ‘What is Miller doing trying to cover Ruidíaz from behind?’ Well, I don’t have the answer for that question, other than that he tried to zone mark but ended up leaving Ruidíaz in a perfect position to head that ball home.

And speaking of full-backs, Juan David Mosquera going forward is good and all, but most of the time he was caught in transition when the Timbers lost the ball in the midfield, and he wasn’t fast enough to backtrack on time. Other times he would just fail to read the play well and cut pass lanes, leading to most of Seattle’s attacks coming from the Timbers’ right flank.

Y. Chará didn’t have the best of games either and contributed little to nothing on the attack.

Thank you for the celebration, Léo Chú

Half an hour into the game, Cristhian Paredes checked his back twice, saw Albert Rusnák nearby, and when Diego Chará passed the ball to him, he checked João Paulo’s position but never registered Léo Chú’s.

Source: MLS/ Apple TV
Paredes checking Paulo. Source: MLS/ Apple TV

The Sounders attacker came from Paredes’ blind side to steal the ball, and the rest is history. At the half-hour mark, the home team was already up 2-0. The minute the goal was scored went to the books, but Chú’s celebration did not, although that was crucial for the final outcome of this game as well. Chú took off his shirt and earned a yellow card—setting the stage for the second half.

It looked as if the Sounders were unbeatable in the first half. The Timbers had a great opportunity in the 40th minute, but the ball refused to go in, and João Paulo had a lot to do with it. Then, Portland had a free kick near the end of the first forty-five that was so close to goal! You could say it was the prelude to the golazo Evander would score in the second half.

A three-minute spell

You might say the foul on Zac McGraw was soft, but that didn’t matter to the referee, who didn’t hesitate to show a second yellow to Chú for tackling McGraw when he already won the position and the possession of the ball.

Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer couldn’t believe it either.

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

In the 67th minute, Joseph made a triple substitution and put on the pitch a player that has built a reputation around scoring important goals for the Timbers. That’s right: Dairon Asprilla stepped on the field along with Blanco and Boli. The Colombian would prove to be key once again only seconds after he got into the game.

“Asprilla comes in and scores the goal,” Joseph said. “As long as I’ve been here, he’s amazing. I just couldn’t have been more pleased at that moment to get that goal that turned around the half for us.”

Kudos to McGraw, because he flicked the ball, and by doing so, he discombobulated Seattle’s defense—a move that left Asprilla unmarked to head that ball home. The Colombian received a yellow card for his celebration, like Chú, but there was a difference between those two.

Source: MLS/ Apple TV
Kids, don’t take your shirt off when celebrating a goal if you don’t know how to play on a yellow. Source: MLS/ Apple TV

Three minutes later Evander tied the game. His goal was incredible, but so was the Sounders’ apparent short-term memory. Just before halftime, the Brazilian was close to scoring—which he has from that spot (screen capture below) many times now this season.

How did Seattle give him so much space and time? That is a real doozie.

Evander's shot. Source: MLS/ Apple TV
Evander goal’s xG= 4.15 (Opta). Image: MLS/ Apple TV
Final thoughts

In a year where almost everything seems lost, games like this have the power to make people believe again… or at least make them come back home with a smile on their faces. Spoiling Seattle’s party is always fun and this match will go into the Cascadia rivalry games history book  as one to remember.

A point on the road is not much. Due to this draw, Portland lost the Cascadia Cup (congratulations, Vancouver), and they’re four points shy of the playoffs. But having come back from being down 0-2 against the Sounders in Seattle tastes sweet.

A lot has been said about how this draw also extends Portland’s unbeaten streak at Lumen Field, but not much has been said about how this draw might have given the Timbers the momentum they needed.

“It’s been a long week,” Joseph said. “Guys are tired, and this is a huge point for us. And that carries us through to next weekend against LAFC.” 

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Soccer Timbers

Diego Valeri Day: Portland Timbers 3, Columbus Crew 2

Photo via Portland Timbers FC

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Diego Valeri Day

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

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

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

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

Thank you, Diego, Florencia, and Connie.

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

Hat Trick watch

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

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

Unfortunately, after 62 minutes, he was subbed out.

The wait continues.

Heavy heart

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

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Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland Timbers 0, Real Salt Lake 0

Photo: Kris Lattimore
Photo: Kris Lattimore

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.

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: FC Cincinnati 2, Portland Thorns 1

Santiago Moreno. Credit: Kris Lattimore
Santiago Moreno. Credit: Kris Lattimore

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.

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Takeaways: Portland 4, Seattle 1

Dairon Asprilla's bicycle kick goal in the 71st minute is a candidate for MLS goal of the year. Elite Photo Credit: Matthew Wolfe
Dairon Asprilla's bicycle kick goal in the 71st minute is a candidate for MLS goal of the year. Elite Photo Credit: Matthew Wolfe

Heading into Saturday’s game, the Seattle Sounders were first in the table and were the top scoring team in the West. The Portland Timbers, meanwhile, were 12th in the table and had not won a game since their regular season opener against Sporting KC on February 27. The Timbers were winless in their last six matches.

After losing Eryk Williamson to season ending injury, this team could of continued their downward spiral.

After playing one of their best halves of football, the Portland Timbers looked down and out.

In the 58th minute Sounders superstar Raúl Ruidíaz scored to put the visitors up 1-0.

But all it takes is one moment to change all the momentum. In the 71st minute, Dairon Asprilla scored the MLS goal of the year to tie it at 1-1 with a brilliant bicycle kick.

That goal gave the Portland Timbers a sense of belief and ignited the attack for the first time all season.

Nathan Fogaça gave Portland the 2-1 lead with a beautiful dribble and two touches to get around Sounders defender Yeimar. Seattle Goalkeeper Stefan Frei managed to get a hand on Fogaça’s shot, but it wasn’t enough to stop the ball from going into the back of the net.

Jarosław Niezgoda has struggled to find his form all season and was subbed in the 72nd minute for Franck Boli. Less than 10 minutes later, he put away a rebound to score his first goal of the season.

Juan David Mosquera put the game away in the 89th minute, with a rocket on a quick counter.

The Portland Timbers completed the comeback to win 4-1, with all of their goals scored in the last 20 minutes.

These are the games where we are reminded why we love this game and these players.

Best lineup of the season

Since the season started, Portland has not had their strongest XI. Although Williamson is out for the year, the Timbers had a majority of their first choice squad for the first time.

This starting XI came out on the front foot and outshot Seattle 7-4 in the first half. Unfortunately, they lost control of the game early in the second half.

Once Portland head coach Gio Savarese made substitutions, they regained the upper hand. Many of the Timbers starters for the game are still coming back to full fitness.

When Yimmi Chará returns, they will have all of their first choice starters except Williamson.

The starters played well in the first half, and the substitutes’ fresh legs will give this team a lot of positives moving forward.

Franck Boli starts
Franck Boli made his first start for Portland as they took down Seattle 4-1.Credit: Matthew Wolfe
Franck Boli made his first start for Portland as they took down Seattle 4-1.
Credit: Matthew Wolfe

The Timbers signed Ivorian forward Franck Boli from Hungarian top-flight side Ferencvárosi on March 13.

Boli has been getting up to speed, learning the system, and building a rapport with his new teammates over the past month.

In two sub appearances, he had played 28 total minutes before the Seattle game—including time in which he scored the game tying goal at FC Dallas.

Boli made his first start against the Seattle Sounders.

After the match, Savarese said he was impressed with Boli’s performance and extremely excited to see him with more opportunities. “He started to figure things out,” Savarese said. “You can see the special things that he has. In some moments, you saw how quick he was to get in front of the Seattle defender… He can get in good areas.”

The Timbers head coach believes Boli’s only going to get better with more time to learn the system.

“He has a good understanding of the way we want to play,” said Savarese. “Now it’s about generating the chemistry with the guys. He just arrived. Evander just started to play with him. Some of the guys started to get to know the two of them more and more.”

Forwards can score, too!
Nathan Fogaça scored his first goal of the 2023 season against the Seattle Sounders.Credit: Matthew Wolfe
Nathan scored his first goal of the 2023 season against the Seattle Sounders.
Credit: Matthew Wolfe

The Timbers had only scored six goals in their first seven games. Out of those, each line had contributed two each. The only forwards who had scored prior to the Seattle game were Boli and Tega Ikoba.

That all changed in this game.

Asprilla, Fogaça, and Niezgoda all opened their scoring accounts for the season. If their frontline can continue to produce, this team is going to be scary the rest of the way.

David vs. Goliath

The first place team facing off against the 12th place team. The Sounders went into the game with a +12 goal differential, while Portland was at -6.

Still, the Timbers started off the game on the front foot, outshooting the Sounders in the first half.

At the start of the second half, Seattle could not have started much better. They found the opening goal in the 58th minute and nearly scored again on several occasions.

Seattle’s attacking soccer and ruthless barrages continued, and they kept chasing a second goal.

The Timbers being down a goal with 20 minutes left in the game, things were not looking good to even get a result.

Portland has been beat up all season, but they got up and fought like heck the rest of the way.

Thanks to their forwards, Santi Moreno’s assists, and the return of their dangerous counterattack, Portland was able to take down Goliath.

Shoutouts
JDM celebrates his second goal of the season versus the Seattle Sounders. He continues cement himself as one of the best right backs in MLS. Credit: Matthew Wolfe
JDM celebrates his second goal of the season versus the Seattle Sounders. He continues cement himself as one of the best right backs in MLS.
Credit: Matthew Wolfe

Juan David Mosquera scored his second goal of the season and continues to put in the effort on the defensive end. He led the team in touches, shots, shots on goal, crosses, and possessions won.

Claudio Bravo made a goal-saving intervention in the 39th minute before Jordan Morris could put it in the back of the net. Bravo was near the team lead in a bunch of stats.

The first three goals had Santi Moreno‘s signature all over them. He assisted on the first two goals to Asprilla and Fogaça. On the third goal, he followed up Fogaça’s shot, which allowed Niezgoda to finish it.

Fun stats
  • Portland has now beaten Seattle four consecutive times
  • Portland Timbers xG: 1.38 – Seattle Sounders xG: 1.33
  • Portland had more total shots and shots on goal
    • Portland: 17/8 – Seattle 15/5
  • Diego Chará completed  97.2% of his passes
  • Dario Zuparic led the team with seven aerial duels won
  • Dairon Asprilla also had eight dribbles and six successful dribbles to lead the team.
Coaches’ corner

Savarese on the win: “When you don’t get too many good results, and you’re putting in a lot of work, and you’re trying to manage a lot of things in a difficult way, the way we started—a win like today’s is incredible. It’s amazing, because we needed it. We needed it. We needed the three points; we needed a win like this to feel that we’re capable of competing at the highest level. And we still have some players that need to come back.

“I think with that said, I felt tonight the guys wanted to win. You felt it. And I think, as I said, a goal like Asprilla’s just gives that energy at the end to make sure that the guys just felt that we can win this game.

“Now we have to continue to work. It’s not staying on one game and that’s it. It’s about all the games that are coming, and we need to prepare very well, because now we have Cincinnati. We have the U.S. Open Cup. Then we have to go to St. Louis. We have a difficult schedule, but now with players coming back and finally getting a bench that is full, we can compete to a better level.”

Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer on his postgame message to the team: “I told them I don’t feel that it’s a rivalry. That’s my initial gut thought. At 1-0, we have to have that killer instinct against a team that has beat us three games in a row, that’s had our number. At their place, stick the knife in, kill the game. I don’t give a shit if it was the second goal or extending possession. After the game, some of our staff members, everybody talking, laughing. It’s like another loss. It’s not another loss; it’s against the Timbers.

“We have to get back to understanding that this is a rivalry. And that’s what I said to everybody. That’s the reflection that I have. It’s not good, it’s not good. We don’t have the killer instinct to put them away. We gave them life; we talked about it, messaged it before the game. They were using this game as a springboard. They have to go to Cincinnati next week. They get a bad result here and have to go to Cincinnati, that could doom them. But we give them life.”

Quote of the night

Asprilla, on if practicing bicycle kicks during practice attributed to his goal: “Yes. I talked to [David] Ayala before the game. ‘You wait for [the] bicycle’. It’s my confidence.”

Categories
Soccer Timbers

Asprilla Bicycle Steals Show as Timbers Beat San Jose

Photo by Matthew Wolfe.

There have been precious few uncomplicated good things about the Portland Timbers’ 2021 season.

Long before last night, Dairon Asprilla was one of those things. A career-long inconsistent, temperamental depth player turned—seemingly out of the blue—into an everyday starter, hustle machine, and consistent goal scorer, one of the first names on the team sheet each week, all year long.

The improbability of a player like Asprilla, at 29 years old, in his seventh season with the club, making the turn and having a season like he’s had this year is difficult to overstate.

The one thing that Asprilla has always had, from the moment he arrived in Portland, is knack for the late-season spectacular. And on Wednesday night, with the Timbers hosting the San Jose Earthquakes in the thick of a battle for playoff positioning, he delivered the kind of signature moment to punctuate this career year that only he could. In the 55th minute, with the Timbers leading San Jose 1–0, Santiago Moreno, spotting a streaking Asprilla, slightly overhit his through pass. It should have been an easy play for Earthquakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski.

But as Marcinkowski came to claim the ball ahead of Asprilla, he bobbled and spilled it on the top left corner of the box. Asprilla controlled the ball with his back to goal, popped it up into the air with his first touch, and then, still going backwards, away from goal, launched an exquisite arching bicycle kick that sailed over the retreating Marcinkowski’s head and in one hop nestled into the back of the net.

A bicycle kick goal in any game, at any level of soccer, is a rarity to savor. A bicycle kick goal like this one—with Asprilla picking up a loose ball, back to goal, setting himself up, and still getting the power and precision on the overhead required to beat the defense, is like little else you’ll ever see.

In a vacuum, it was an astonishing moment. Add in all of Asprilla’s history in Portland, and it was the that much more extraordinary.

After all, it was just two seasons ago that Asprilla scored a similarly jaw-dropping bicycle kick in a game not for the Timbers, but for T2, facing not the Earthquakes in a crunch MLS match, but the Las Vegas Lights in a sleepy USL encounter. And keep in mind, Asprilla was not a rookie that March night at Merlo Field. He was approaching his 27th birthday, having scored a grand total of five regular-season MLS goals in four years in the league. He looked for all the world like an entertaining player who had neither the ability nor the mentality to be an everyday contributor for the big club.

But perhaps because of that spark, that feeling that Asprilla could be a special player if only he could get the support he needed and mentally lock himself in, the Timbers stuck with him. It is a testament to the club’s faith and Asprilla’s faith in himself that he’s still with the Timbers this year to produce a season like the one he’s had and this goal that no one in Portland will ever forget.

The accolades poured in almost immediately, from Alyssa Milano, from SportsCenter, and from newspapers around the world. Asprilla is deserving of every one.

From a competitive standpoint, the goal—as Asprilla’s always do at this time of the year—mattered a great deal as well. It all but put away the Earthquakes, handing the Timbers a massive three points and stopping their three-game skid.

Otherwise, it was a night of positives for Giovani Savarese’s team. Santiago Moreno turned in by far his best performance for the club, the defense kept its first clean sheet in nearly a month, and, perhaps most importantly, the attack threatened consistently and scored twice with Sebastian Blanco sitting on the bench.

The Timbers’ first goal, which came with just more than ten minutes to play in the first half, was excellent in its own right. Bill Tuiloma, back at his natural position at center back, brought the ball out of defense and pinged an entry pass in to Yimmi Chará, who combined with Felipe Mora and hit Moreno, who returned the ball to Mora, who whipped a dangerous low cross into the middle that Diego Chará stabbed in to open the scoring.

It was quietly one of the best team goals of the season—made by the excellent central attacking midfield play of Yimmi Chará, the equally excellent center forward play of Mora, and the awareness of Diego Chará, the captain, making up the numbers to unbalance the Earthquakes defense and finishing instinctively.

That one goal would have been enough. The Timbers were compact defensively, allowing the Earthquakes nearly 60% possession and getting out-passed 490–336, but San Jose lacked the creativity or cohesion to break Portland down. Though they eventually took 17 shots, they located just five on target. Steve Clark’s only memorable save came from very little shortly after the restart, when a quick spin and shot from Jeremy Ebobisse on top of the box had Clark stretching to turn it wide. Other than that, and a scuffed chance in the opening ten minutes, Ebobisse had little to show for his return to Providence Park.

The Timbers could have run up the score further in this one as well, with Blanco nearly scoring the night’s second world-class goal on a signature slaloming run through the box shortly after coming on, but San Jose made it to the final whistle with a respectable scoreline intact.

The Timbers now get a full off week before they travel to Utah to face Real Salt Lake for a playoff-positioning six-pointer, one that they should have Blanco back in the starting lineup for. But when that game kicks off, and for many games to come, we’ll all still be basking in the glow of that Asprilla moment—reminder, amidst a difficult season and continued, righteous, painful acrimony between the club and its supporters, of what a joy this sport can be.