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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”