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
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
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.
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