The Portland Timbers had to wait eight days to finish their game against the Colorado Rapids. On July 4, bad weather made it impossible to play the second half, and therefore the match was postponed. On Wednesday, the game resumed. The energy was different, but the score didn’t change.
A more entertaining second half
Our starters remain for the second '45 🪓
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) July 13, 2023
▪️ Asprilla is now amongst the subs #RCTID pic.twitter.com/BH6KzjTR6V
The first half didn’t give us much to be excited about, with the Timbers only shooting three times and with Nathan Fogaça being the only player who had a shot on frame.
The energy was different on Wednesday, though. Added to the bad soccer the Timbers are playing nowadays, they have some off-the-field problems regarding Santiago Moreno and head coach Gio Savarese. The Oregonian’s Ryan Clarke had previously reported that the Colombian had requested to transfer from the team. Now, after an extended stay in his home country, Moreno is back with the team and denies any conflict with Savarese.
Therefore, Moreno wasn’t among Portland’s available subs, and Dairon Asprilla took his place on the bench.
Despite this, the group somehow found some much-needed energy and gave us some good moments in the second half of this game. Franck Boli could’ve scored a worldie when he hit the crossbar with a powerful shot from downtown. As the central forward, he was the most involved in the attack, with a total of three shots—one on frame, and two off frame.
In the end, the Timbers didn’t create much, but they did better than they had in the first half. It would be good for them to be clinical and not waste opportunities, like the chance you can see in the video below.
In that attack, the Timbers outnumbered Colorado, but a heavy pass by Claudio Bravo killed the opportunity. They just don’t have the luxury of wasting looks like that. Being able to take advantage of chances means the difference between one and three points.
In a match where was hard to find something positive to say, defender Eric Miller found something to highlight. “I think for us a clean sheet on the road is always a really good thing,” he said. “I think obviously we’re in a situation now where we need wins. So, I think it’s a little disappointing […] but I think a clean sheet on the road in MLS is always a good thing.”
Last but not least, congratulations to Victor Griffith, who got his first start in this game in the midfield.
The future doesn’t look good
At this point, most Timbers fans are not hopeful anymore. The team hasn’t been able to get three points since June 11, when they got a 1-0 win against Dallas. And they haven’t won a game with multiple goals since May 13 when they won 3-1 against Vancouver.
Right now, Portland is 12th in the table, five points shy of the last team in playoff position.
May Saturday be different
Despite the tough reality the Timbers are going through nowadays, Saturday will bring something to look forward to.
Not only does the team goes back to play at home against Columbus Crew, but it will mean the return of Portland’s legend and Maestro, Diego Valeri.
The former Portland midfielder will be inducted into the Timbers’ ring of honor, and fans will want to be present at the stadium to cheer for such a special and beloved player.
Hopefully, that special day will bring much-needed a victory for the Timbers.
