The Portland Timbers hit the road to play NYC FC on Saturday afternoon, and after a great second half, they flipped the score in their favor and got the three points.
The Timbers arrived at this match with one win and one draw on the season, and they showed some positive things on the field that were absent in 2023—with the highlight being a better end product in the final third.
A change in the lineup
Due to Eryk Williamson’s absence, head coach Phil Neville started Evander, who supposedly couldn’t go 90 but finished the game on the field as a hero. The rest of the lineup remained the same as last game’s against D. C. United.
“He probably should’ve played 60 minutes maximum coming back from injury,” Neville said of Evander after the match. “He didn’t want to come off; he could smell the game was there for him. He was enjoying his football, and in this league, you are going to suffer adversity away from home, and it’s how you deal with that.”
Not a very good first half
The game didn’t start in the best way for the Timbers. After a corner that Portland never could clear, the marking in the box was a mess, and the post helped Santiago Rodríguez to open the score for the home team. The early goal against in the 10th minute made them lose all their nonchalance, leading them to make bad decisions when passing the ball.
After that, the defense looked shaky, with Zac McGraw not having the best time. Five minutes later he lost the mark of one of NYC’s wingers. Timbers goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau came up big and stopped what could’ve been the second goal of the night for the Citizens. The left wing was a highway for NYC, and if it weren’t for their lack of aim and Crépeau’s timely interventions, Portland could’ve lost the match in only 45 minutes.
McGraw was beaten by his opponent on at least three occasions and didn’t look solid as usual. Still, he had the most duels won of all Portland’s defenders with eight, was second in passing accuracy with 88.2%, was first in tackles with four, second in clearances with seven, and tied with Eric Miller for two interceptions.
It took the Timbers half an hour to produce a nice build-up. At the beginning of the game, they were hasty and weren’t very assertive with their passes going forward. They chose to make long passes, which more often than not ended with a loss of possession in the midfield, helping New York attack Portland’s box over and over again.
In the following video, we can see the Timbers making 10 passes before deciding to go forward. Then, the progression phase is pretty fast, and they lost possession, but Diego Chará recovered it and made a key pass in the process, giving Antony the chance to shoot. Sadly, his finish was very amateur-like.
Although the home team kept controlling the ball and tempo in the first half, Portland started to show more patience after this good buildup.
(The above play also shows how NYC left some space in the right top of the box that the Timbers could exploit—and would in the second half when they found the equalizer.)
A different game, a different mentality
It was nice to see the players’ work ethic in the second half. Unlike the first half, Portland started to press NYC high and recover the ball on New York’s side of the field, near the box, over and over again. They collected second balls and rebounds, won duels, and therefore didn’t let the home team make counterattacks. Portland stopped them before they could cross the midfield, and in this way, kept the risk of NYC doubling the lead at bay.
It was also nice to see how the Timbers took matters into their own hands in the second half. The home team could barely touch the ball from minute 50 on, and if not for NYC’s disciplined defense, Portland could’ve gotten the equalizer sooner.
The plan worked just fine. On previous occasions, Portland had found some space on the right top of the box. Just watch how open Juan David Mosquera is, and how much time he has to send the ball to the box in the following video:
So, it wasn’t a shock when, after a second half of intense pressing, Evander opened up to the right, where Mosquera was above, and sent a low cross to the penalty spot where Antony was placed. The Brazilian beat the goalkeeper with a high shot, and the Timbers still had some minutes to try to turn the score in their favor.
The ball was clearly on the Timbers’ side, and they took advantage of it.
They didn’t give up, not even in the dying seconds of the game. And although it was indeed Evander’s magical right foot that beat goalkeeper Matt Freese, center back Kamal Miller deserves some recognition; he was the one who played smart and sent the precise aerial pass to Antony in the first place.
Then, the Brazilians worked their magic and produced the winning goal in the last minute of the game. A lot has been said about Portland’s next designated player, and the performance by Evander shows why it’s important for the club to sign one and soon. Those are usually the game-changers and the ones who can help a team to win matches.
“You saw the benefit of having a designated player with high quality and what happens when one person on the team shows quality and courage the rest take confidence from that, and that’s exactly what happened,” Neville said of Evander. “I thought his winning goal was just a reward for a brilliant performance.”
What could’ve been a loss on the road ended with three points in the bag for Portland, thanks to this team performance, and ultimately, to the Brazilians on the team. Evander’s stoppage time screamer gave the visitors their second win in three games. And what is more, the Timbers are at the top of the table of the Western Conference.
I think it’s safe to say that it’s time to get excited about this team now.