After their huge 4-1 season opening win against Colorado Rapids, Portland Timbers head coach Phil Neville and crew would host D.C. United.
Earlier in the week, the Timbers announced they had terminated their corporate partnership with DaBella, effective immediately. The news came after the club and fans learned of allegations of misconduct at the company from a court filing made public Feb. 23. The Timbers and a third party conducted a thorough pre-deal vetting process and didn’t learn of the filing until Feb. 27, the club said. Within a day, the organization made the decision to end the sponsorship with DaBella.
According to César Luis Merlo and Tom Bogert, the Portland Timbers are in advanced talks to sign sign forward Germán Berterame from CF Monterrey, with a bid of around $15 million, with their backup option being Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodríguez of Club América. General manager Ned Grabavoy and Neville were hoping to have their record-setting designated player signed and ready for the United match, but that was not to be.
Maxime Crépeau made his Portland Timbers debut in goal. The lineup remained unchanged outside the goalkeeper switch. (James Pantemis was exceptional last week for his Canadian colleague.) The team had hoped Evander would be ready, but he looks to be another week away.
D.C. United was without the services of their superstar forward, Christian Benteke, who was a late scratch. Benteke motioned to the trainers during pregame warm ups and went back to the locker room.
After a forgettable first 15 minutes, Santiago Moreno drove the ball down and laid it off perfectly to an onrushing Dairon Asprilla to put the home team up 1-0 in the 18th minute.
In the second half, D.C. United had a few chances that, quite frankly, should have been put away. In the 61st minute, Santiago Moreno made them pay, after a looped ball in from Eric Miller found its way to the Colombian.
United flipped a switch after that.
The replacement refs gifted the visitors a penalty kick in the 72nd minute, which Mateusz Klich calmly finished.
Crépeau made the biggest save of the night in the 78th minute. He did it again in the 80th minute, saved two consecutive point-blank shots in a span of minutes, either of which would have equalized for D.C. United.
In the 82nd minute, Portland’s resistance would be futile. Kristian Fletcher put away the easiest goal of his life on an empty net, when Crépeau valiantly tried to stop the low driven cross, but barely missed.
The last 25 minutes of the game were completely dominated by the visitors, and they probably should of left with three points.
“I think D.C. created enough chances probably to win the game,” Neville said, “and that’s pretty fair from our point of view.”
Santiago Moreno prediction
In the preseason, I predicted that Santiago Moreno would lead the team in goal contributions. He is on his way to proving me right.
With his family moved to Portland, Moreno has found a peace with the club and city. He is happy again. After the saga from last season, it is very apparent how much he has grown.
Neville has also allowed Santi to just be himself on the pitch.
“I feel really good,” Moreno said. “It’s a position where I feel very comfortable, and I always try to play free and play with the ball in front of me.
“We showed that in the first half. I think we always just want to win, at least myself. I always want to win. We couldn’t do that tonight, but hopefully we can do it in the next match.”
He was the player of the match with a goal and assist—and he leads the team in goal contributions currently with three.
Replacement refs
In the 72nd minute, the head official awarded a penalty kick for a hand ball that was clearly offside. That was the worst offense, but the officiators consistently missed calls all evening.
Those heading into the season, thinking the officiating couldn’t get any worse was so wrong. Not only are they replacement referees unable to do the job at a passable level, they are making the product suffer as a result. Players will suffer the most, especially with more injuries possible due to the nature of how these games are being called.
MLS needs to do the right thing and stop this nonsense.
Late game substitutions
The Portland Timbers were up 2-0 after Moreno’s goal. In the 65th minute, Neville opted to bring in Dario Župarić for Eric Miller, shifting Kamal Miller to left back. David Ayala also came on for Eryk Williamson, putting all the attacking midfield pressure on Cristhian Parades which was asking too much.
At this point, the team was trying to hold on for dear life. The game completely flipped.
In Neville’s defense, he doesn’t have enough options right now to adjust and implement his tactics.
Still, in the 85th minute, Neville brought Miguel Araujo on for Juan David Mosquera. At this point, the Timbers had four center-backs on the pitch. They do not have enough players on the bench right now to kill off games properly.
“We’re definitely short on depth. You look at our bench, we’re short on depth on our bench,” Neville said. “We know we can’t fill our bench at this moment in time. You think about adding Evander to that, Claudio Bravo to that, Marvin Loria to that, then you can bring players on.”
Evander’s pending availability next week, even in limited minutes, will help big time.
Bonus: The heroics of the MC
Without the heroics of Crépeau, this game would have been out of reach for the Portland Timbers. He is already one of the best goalkeepers to ever suit up for club, with his endless list of accomplishments and accolades.
By the numbers
xG: Portland Timbers: 1.5, D.C. United: 3.45
Shots: Portland Timbers: 10 (3 on target), D.C. United: 12 (8 on target)
Passes and crosses: Portland Timbers: 291, D.C. United: 398
Corners: Portland Timbers: 4, D.C. United: 8
Clearances: Zac McGraw: 5 (The team had 12 total.)
Moreno led the team in goals, assists, shots on goal, sitters, ball possession phases, and passes.
Crépeau had six saves, and at least half were from point-blank range. He is one of the best keepers in the league.
