In an exciting match, the Portland Timbers got a point on the road and extended their unbeaten streak to seven games.
A Diego Chará- and Evander-less Portland traveled to Los Angeles to play the LA Galaxy on Saturday night.
Timbers ahead… wait, not so fast!
It didn’t take much time for the Timbers to put themselves ahead. A good team play positioned Dairon Asprilla to run with the ball on his feet on the right wing. The Colombian sent a low pass to the far post, and Santiago Moreno held his run to come from behind and buried that ball home with one touch.
The lead wasn’t going to last for long because Portland failed to defend a corner in the 10th minute. Eriq Zavaleta headed the ball home despite Juan David Mosquera’s marking.
The Timbers took another hit when Cristhian Paredes had to be replaced by Noel Caliskan in minute 36′ for a no-contact injury. So far, the club hasn’t released any news regarding the Paraguayan player.
Lady luck played its part
Portland put themselves ahead in the score again before the first half finished. A quick combination between Felipe Mora and Moreno made it possible—with some help from Zavaleta who, while trying to defend, scored an own goal.
Sadly, the advantage wasn’t going to last long. LA Galaxy equalized again some minutes later. You can say they got lucky, too, because when Noel Caliskan tried to clear the ball, it hit Raheem Edwards and fell right into the feet of Douglas Costa. The winger was totally unmarked and smashed it home.
The hosts were going to hit again before halftime after a soft foul by Brian Acosta near the box. Tyler Boyd faked the service, but it was Costa the one who sent the ball to the far post. That little movement confused the Timbers’ defense and both Zavaleta and Edwards ended up unmarked—and onside near the 6-yard box—to head the ball in the back of the net.
Timbers and set pieces… am I right?
The players might have wanted to kick themselves at halftime knowing they let the Galaxy equalize twice and then put themselves ahead on the score in such a crucial moment of the game.
A different attitude
Despite the Timbers conceding a late goal before halftime, the team was able to embrace the words of Fred Astaire sang in his famous song, “Pick Yourself Up.”
“Don’t lose your confidence if you slip,” Astaire says in the song. “Be grateful for a pleasant trip. And pick yourself up. Dust yourself off. Start all over again.” And that’s exactly what Portland did.
In the second half, they created some nice buildups and didn’t get deterred by the absence of a key player like Paredes. Caliskan did well helping Bryan Acosta and Moreno in the midfield. Maybe Portland’s fullbacks were quieter than usual, but other than that, the team worked as a unit.
Captain Felipe Mora strikes again
In the end, the Timbers found the equalizer thanks to the never-give-up attitude they’ve found under interim head coach Miles Joseph. And who else but captain Mora could’ve done it? The Chilean has been instrumental for the Timbers since he fully recovered from injury. (Let’s remember that he was the one who scored the winning goal in Portland’s previous game against the Colorado Rapids.)
Mora’s right-footed shot from the center of the box to the top right corner showed his constant awareness of any goal opportunities that might arise—and how he’ll always do his utmost to take them.
The final recognition of this takeaway is for the substitutes. All of them contribute to something, no matter if they played many or just a few minutes. You could see how lively Sebastián Blanco, Franck Boli, and the others looked and how they kept the energy high.
A point on the road with important players injured is not a poor result. Maybe it can boost Portland in their next match against the Montréal Impact, the penultimate game of the season.