On Saturday night, the Portland Timbers played FC Dallas in Frisco, Texas. After a good first half by the visitors, the tables turned. The Timbers had to find a solution to a home team that pushed them to the brink of another loss.
Ivačič is back
After goalkeeper David Bingham got injured in the game against LA Galaxy, Aljaž Ivačič had to leave any differences he has with head coach Gio Savarese aside and put on the gloves for the Timbers.
The Slovenian had a good game on Saturday night with some heroic saves (five total), like the one we witnessed at minute 62.
‘Jazzy’ made crucial saves during the entire game that helped the Timbers to stay in the match.
One aspect of his game he has to improve, though, is his distribution. Ivačič attempted a total of 34 passes, and he had a passing accuracy of 35.3%. Granted, the Timbers were playing direct, but still. If that’s the plan, you want the team’s goalkeeper to be more clinical with his passes, right? Out of those 34 passes, 30 were long and only 4 were short, which of course gives more room for inaccuracy.
Strong defending
If there’s a department where the Timbers are lacking more than others, that’s defense.
Portland has 11 goals against, the second most in the West conference after Real Salt Lake. So, they needed to revamp in this regard—a complicated task playing on the road, since teams tend to be stronger at home.
Nonetheless, they did improve against Dallas. We could see how the home team didn’t find proper channels to put the ball on the box, since the Timbers would put many people in the middle while staying organized. This made it possible for them to recover balls and make clearances.
Zac McGraw continues to be by far the King of Clearances for this team. In this game, alone, he made a total of eight, followed by Dario Župarić with six. And what about this block by McGraw?
The Timbers showed they can dominate if the entire team puts in a defensive effort, as we could see in the first half. The second half was a different story, though. The right side of the field became the preferred flank where Dallas would build its attack and Portland focused so much on the players passing the ball there, that they often missed the one coming from the middle, which became the obvious passing option.
That was how a Dallas goal happened. Thank goodness it was called off due to offside.
The crossbar denies Moreno, but Boli saves the day
The most dangerous and best-attacking sequence in the first half for Portland was undoubtedly the one they created 30 minutes into the match. It was a counter-attack that started and finished with Santi Moreno.
In said play, the team got from one end of the field to the other with just three passes. Sadly, the post denied Moreno.
And after an entire half with Portland in the driver’s seat, things leveled in the second half. Dallas ended up outshooting the Timbers 17 to six, with 11 of those shots happening in the last 45 minutes.
Despite this, Portland kept trying to create chances with fast transitions. That is how a promising counter-attack happened in minute 70. It was three Timbers against the world like it happened in the first half, but the difference was that the team was tired and unlike the first half, the ball ended nowhere near Dallas’ goal.
The home team goal came through a set piece, a corner. Portland tried to clear the ball without success and left five (!) opponents unmarked inside the box. One of them, Facundo Quignon, ended up scoring in the 74th minute.
Searching for the equalizer, Juan David Mosquera could’ve scored in the 76′, but the goalkeeper Maarten Paes made a great save.
The subs came in at minute 86 for Portland. With Moreno and Eric Miller out, Larrys Mabiala and Franck Boli got into the match.
The Timbers had to wait until second half stoppage time to level things up. The play started with Diego Chará sending a long ball to Dairon Asprilla, who was on the right wing. He beat his marker and sent a back pass. Boli was faster than any Dallas player and got to that ball first, hitting a powerful diagonal shot that beat Paes.
THE MOMENT 💥#RCTID pic.twitter.com/As6nJZ6F8F
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) April 2, 2023
The aftermath
“Our substitutions came in at the right time, and they provided what we needed,” said coach Savarese after the game. “After they found the goal, the group had that belief that they could not give up and that they could come back. What a great start for Boli, who came into this game and scored the tying goal that gave us the point.”
The man of the game, Boli, talked with the press about how the game unfolded. “It was a very interesting match,” he said. “There were a lot of moments and chances for both teams. If we could have finished our chances, we could have won the match, to be honest. It was fun to watch from the sideline. We started well, and once I came in, I knew it was for me to get participation minutes. I am thankful that the coach gave me at least five minutes. I enjoyed it, and I was lucky to be there at the right place and the right time to score the goal and help us get the tie.”
For sure, this was a valuable point gotten away from home, and the fact that the equalizer came after the 90 minute mark made it even better. To be honest, it felt like a win: Portland not only played good soccer most of the match, but now they have reasons to believe. Now they can believe that, despite all the injured players, the men coming from the bench have the key to keep going and find results.
Now, what’s next? It’s rivalry week! Portland will continue their road trip and will face Vancouver at BC Place next Saturday at 7:30 p.m. PT.
