*Cue sad music*
The Portland Timbers played a depressing game on Sunday afternoon at Kansas. What it looked like a winnable match ended up a nightmare for the Timbers, who finished with a 1-4 score.
A good start and a terrible second half
The future looked bright for the Timbers when Franck Boli scored early in the game—minute 8’, to be exact—with a definitive one-touch. And even though Portland handed the ball over to Kansas City, the team didn’t look bad… at least in the first half.
The Timbers’ defense was compact—as you can see in the video below, where Sporting can’t find the proper channels to move the ball ahead and they’re forced to switch the point of attack, which leads to an unforced error.
Nonetheless, that discipline got lost in the second half, when Kansas City figured the Timbers out.
A massive hole in the defense
Dario Župarić missed the match due to yellow card accumulation, and his absence was felt. Larrys Mabiala replaced him, but unfortunately, he had a forgettable performance in the backline, even scoring own goal for Sporting. Mabiala also caused some turnovers that left more than one fan asking for him to be benched.
We already said that Portland lost their discipline in the second half, and that was clear in the second goal KC scored. If you look at the image below, you’ll see the huge gap the centrebacks left, which Sporting’s Dániel Sallói took advantage of.
Then, in the third goal, the Timbers got caught out of shape after Claudio Bravo’s pass didn’t find its target. Kansas City recovered the ball and sent a long pass that left Portland bewildered. Mabiala didn’t make things better by taking down KC’s forward inside the box and scoring an own goal.
The last tally of the game represented the second half in a nutshell. As you can see in the image below, the Timbers left attacking channels open, and KC had not one but two passing options that could’ve scored. The home team attacked the spaces pretty well, and Portland didn’t find a way to close them down, not even in the dying minutes of the game.
“We didn’t finish the game the right way,” said head coach Giovanni Savarese of the result. “But also I will take responsibility in substitutions, in changing the shape to a diamond to try to throw more players forward and try to create something more in the hope that we could find a way to tie with the players that we had. I take that responsibility.”
Boli as a No. 9
Boli has been the Timbers’ No. 9 in the last four games. He got the start for the fourth consecutive time against Sporting, and just like he did against Vancouver, he opened the score early.
It’s good that he’s getting playing time. But while Boli has managed to produce some goals in the final third, he also has missed clear chances in the last few games.
Against Kansas City, he had a clear chance at the end of the first half. Goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh was already beaten, and Boli had an empty net. Despite this, he couldn’t head the ball properly. (The chance yielded an expected goal probability of 36.36%.)
“It was hard to see the goal. I just tried to put it in, but, yeah, unfortunate,” said the forward regarding this chance. “We have to keep going and try again. It’s not easy.”
Time to find a new No. 9? Most likely, but the Timbers are almost out of options. Boli’s backup, Nathan Fogaça, has produced even less in the final third, and that’s maybe why coach Savarese keeps betting on Boli.
With this in mind, the news about Felipe Mora finally being in training for the first time in the season couldn’t be more welcomed. According to Oregonian reporter Ryan Clarke, he might be back in three weeks.
Felipe Mora, who returned to training today, said his goal is to return to play in about three weeks. #RCTID
— Ryan Clarke (@RyanTClarke) May 30, 2023
Timbers struggling with injuries again
It is no secret that Santiago Moreno has been one of the Timbers’ most reliable players this season. Sadly, he got injured against Kansas.
“Santi had a spasm in his back, and then he started feeling dizzy. I actually tried to hold it as much as I could on the field to finish the half. That way we made a substitution at the half,” said Savarese. “And still, with a little bit of dizziness, he was able to create a few moments, but he couldn’t run back. At some point, he couldn’t do some things because especially the spasm in his back beside the dissonance. So we had to change him.”
Despite that, Moreno was in training on Tuesday, which is a relief knowing the important match the Timbers have on Saturday.
When Moreno got injured, Yimmi Chará replaced him, but unfortunately, Chará also couldn’t stay on the field for long. He, too, got hurt, but unlike Moreno, he wasn’t in practice on Tuesday.
What comes next
The Timbers don’t have the luxury to dwell too much on this result. They have only a few days to lick their wounds and be ready for the game against the Seattle Sounders in Seattle on Saturday at 1:30 p.m. PT.
It’s going to be a doubleheader, with the Thorns playing later, so we expect a good atmosphere—and hopefully some points.