A week ago today, the Portland Timbers fired the winningest coach in the history of the franchise.
Gio Savarese gave everything he had to the club, fans, and city for over six seasons as head coach. He and his family will be missed for everything they did in the community.
There will never be anyone else like him. We, at the Rose City Review, wish Gio and his family all the best.
Former assistant Miles Joseph was asked to take over as the interim head coach in this final stretch, starting at home against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Even with the incredible effort the Timbers showed in the second half, it was not meant to be. They fell to Vancouver 2-3.
The loss was the Timbers’ lost their fourth straight defeat in all competitions.
Our Cascadia Rivalry XI 📝
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) August 27, 2023
▪️ The Godfather returns ©️
▪️ Mora leads the attack 💥
▪️ Antony in support off the bench 🇧🇷#RCTID pic.twitter.com/peiFsmcQlE
In the 13th minute, the Whitecaps’ Ryan Gauld got the road team on the board, when a deflection fell perfectly to him. In the 36th minute, Gauld placed a brilliant cross and found the head of Brian White to double Vancouver’s lead.
The Timbers would not go down without a fight.
In the 53rd minute, Darion Asprilla hit a perfectly pinpointed cross to find the head of Felipe Mora, who scored his first regular season goal of the year.
In the 60th minute, Evander recklessly tackled Richie Laryea in the box and gave up a penalty kick. Gauld would finish past David Bingham for his goal contribution hat trick (two goals and one assist).
In the 84th minute, the home team would respond once again. Sebastián Blanco, who came on as a second half sub, played a low driven ball near the top of the box to Evander, who made no mistake with it to cut Vancouver’s lead back to a one-goal difference.
During the final moments of the game, the Portland Timbers gave it all they had, but they couldn’t find the equalizer.
Interim
Taking over for someone as successful and beloved as Gio Savarese is a tall task.
Joseph has an uphill climb to bring Portland to the playoffs.
Still, his energy is fantastic and on display constantly. The players seem to be responding positively to it, both at training and during the game.
And he seems to have a game plan for the team.
“We trained this week on the wide triangles and trying to open up the field, especially against Vancouver,” Joseph said after the match. “The first half we were getting a little bit too narrow. So, we presented some video at halftime, and they corrected it. We needed to get to the end-line more, and we did. We got a goal out of it.
“I think as we stick to the process and move forward, we’re gonna create a lot of scoring chances.”
No Bash Bros
Although star center back Zac McGraw returned to training this week, he was not ready to start. Miguel Araujo took his place once again. Unfortunately, any pairing outside of Dario Župarić and McGraw has been unsuccessful for the Timbers this season.
Each time one of the stud centerback duo is not available, it is a struggle for the team.
Without McGraw starting the last two games, the Portland Timbers have surrendered eight goals.
This shows the lack of depth the team has, Araujo’s need for more time to get used to the pairings and system, and the importance of the Zs duo.
Cascadia Cup
Coming into the game, the Portland Timbers could have controlled their own destiny with a win or a draw at home against Vancouver Whitecaps.
With the loss, they now need to win next weekend in Seattle and for Vancouver to lose to Seattle in their Cascadia Cup finale.
With this result, Vancouver takes the top spot in the Cascadia Cup standings. The Timbers can retake first next week with a win in Seattle, but retaining the Cup is now out of their hands. #RCTID
— Stumptown Footy (@StumptownFooty) August 27, 2023
Photo of the Match
