Caleb Porter. Photo/Diego Diaz
Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter feels like Sunday’s 1-1 tie against the New England Revolution at Providence Park was two points lost, not one point gained.
The Timbers had no business giving up their one-goal lead to an out of nowhere equalizer by the Revolution’s Lee Nguyen in the 84th minute. Portland appeared to have full control of the game, while the Revolution hardly threatened in the attack.
But Portland made a hash of defending the decisive play.
Kei Kamara—who was utterly silent and non-creative for most of the night—sent a driven cross into the box. It deflected off Teal Bunbury at the near post, then Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson bobbled the loose ball and allowed possession to spill in the six-yard box, where an oncoming Nguyen slammed it into the roof of the net.
It was a lucky, albeit hard-fought goal for the Revolution, but was a product of Portland’s lackluster defending as well as Porter committing a huge tactical blunder.
Porter didn’t make a single substitution. He expected his back line to continue keeping the Revolution at bay—and almost got away with it. Almost.
“Tough to give up the late goal,” Timbers coach Caleb Porter told reporters after the game. “It never looked like we would. That’s this sport.”
It actually did appear New England were going to somehow claw their way back and tie the game. The Revolution dominated possession between the 80th and 85th minutes, which was the five-minute spell in which Nguyen scored. The Revolution also had the edge in possession between the 65th and 75th minutes, so there were clear signs the Timbers needed an injection of energy and fresh legs.
To make matters worse, Porter allegedly told Julie Stewart-Binks, ESPN’s pitch-side reporter for the game, to tell the Revolution coaching staff on the adjacent sideline that he wasn’t going to make a substitution as the match winded down. Was Porter being funny, playing mind games or a victim of his own hubris?
Hey @JSB_TV did Caleb Porter really tell you to tell the Revs coaching staff he wasn’t making a sub?
— Julian Cardillo (@JulianCardillo) April 3, 2017
@JulianCardillo @JSB_TV @AdrianHealey Honestly I didn’t believe it but apparently he did
— Taylor Twellman (@TaylorTwellman) April 3, 2017
Whatever the case, he and his team paid for their error.
New England, on the other hand, used all three of their substitutes, two of which came before Nguyen equalized. One of those was switching Teal Bunbury for Juan Agudelo, who had been ineffective, in the 69th minute. Fifteen minutes after entering play, Bunbury’s individual effort led to a goal and enabled the Revolution to exit Portland with a critical point.
Credit Revolution coach Jay Heaps for using all the cards he was dealt, and to the players for the way they sought out the equalizer. It was an ugly game and New England’s attack still needs work, but kudos to the whole team for sticking it to Portland on the road.
The Timbers dominated most of the game but seemed to lose their trigger finger after Diego Valeri’s wonder strike in the 12th minute. They continued to probe, but weren’t able to generate the necessary second goal. The gun-shy attack and the poor defending on Nguyen’s goal were the proximal cause to Sunday’s game finishing 1-1.
But Porter’s tactical error is the distal cause—and a significant one, at that.
Follow Julian on Twitter @juliancardillo or email him at julianccardillo@gmail.com
