by Ed Pham, Seattle

When the round of 32 match-ups came out for the U.S. Open Cup, there was one matchup that really made everyone scratch their heads because of how early it was in the tournament: Portland at Seattle.

For the second year in a row, one of the two teams was going to eliminate the other in the USOC at Starfire Sports Complex. History was not on Portland’s side. Sounders were 19-0-1 at Starfire, 15-0-1 as a MLS franchise. Portland had lost four straight to Seattle in the USOC. To compound this, Diego Chara was out due to his red card in last year’s cup match against Seattle and Will Johnson was out on international duty.

But history is set aside when the whistle blows and the game starts. Like all cup tournaments out there, anything can happen.

Lineups

Sounders made a few changes  with Clint Dempsey and Tyrone Mears on the bench. Sounders also brought in youth with Aaron Kovar and Oneil Fisher in midfield and defense, respectively. Martins was also in the lineup for the Sounders, alongside Lamar Neagle.

For Portland, the key changes were in the backline and the defensive midfield positions. Diego Chara (red card suspension) and Will Johnson (international duty) were out. Liam Ridgewell was a late scratch due to sickness. Jack Jewsbury and George Fochive took over in Portland’s double pivot, while Nat Borchers and Norberto Paparatto were Portland’s center backs. Diego Valeri was also in the lineup after missing the last few weeks due to injury.

Adi versus Marshall and the Possession Battle

Probably the key matchup was between Fanendo Adi and Chad Marshall. It proved to be the most entertaining one as Adi was up for the task of trying to hold up the ball and play a more physical game against Marshall. Portland wasn’t afraid to try to get it direct to Adi, who would bring the ball down and hold the ball up for the Timbers to transition into the attack.

Adi being an outlet was part of the larger picture of the first half, which was the possession battle between the two teams. The first half had each team going back and forth with good spells with the ball. While neither team created many chances (Seattle had two shots to Portland’s one at halftime), both teams were content with trying to work the ball around and try to win the attrition battle in case the game went to extra time. Aaron Kovar had the game’s best chance with a half-volley from outside the eighteen-yard box that hit the side netting.

Teams were more willing to foul as the first half progressed to disrupt the other team’s possession. The game grew more physical and became very “chippy.” Seattle had ten fouls and two yellow cards to Portland’s five by halftime. This proved critical.

Cup ties can have a more conservative approach early, as teams typically look to avoid going down early or make mistakes. There is always the possibility of 30 extra minutes at the back of minds. It becomes more of a waiting game to see who can make the first mistake or be forced to make the first move rather than creating your own chances, as seen with the early Kovar strike.

This makes every forced substitutions far more harmful and it was Portland was also put in the first bind with Alvas Powell having to be subbed off in the 36th minute due to injury. Taylor Peay came on, but left the Timbers with two subs left with the possibility that the game could go to all 120 minutes. Advantage Seattle.

Portland Scores Early in Second Half and Seattle Responds

Coming into the second half, Portland came out wanting to attack. Nagbe was central to the build-up with the Timbers’ first goal, as he did well to keep the ball in play on the right sideline and get the ball to Rodney Wallace, who picked out Valeri running into the box and poking it in for the game’s first goal.

The Sounders quickly responded with their own long attacking spell, finding chance after chance after chance against the Timbers’ defense. However, Portland was up for the task and did well to deny their chances. Adam Kwarasey showed some world class saves with a huge double save against Martins’ curler and Neagle’s on the rebound. He then followed it up with another huge save against Kovar, who had an open shot inside the six yard box. Timbers eventually regained control of the game and began to try to take the air out of it through periods of possession.

Evans’s Red Doesn’t Change the Game…

The refereeing was rather unusual for this game, as he looked to try to control the game in every aspect, even down to location of the throw-ins from the players. He was not afraid to show cautions to players as need be, as he had shown Evans and Andy Rose yellow cards in the first half already. 10 days ago, a referee during the Sporting Kansas v Sounders game had been criticized for allowing too much to go unpunished. There was no danger of that here.

In the second half, Evans was shown his second yellow and sent his marching orders by the referee for his challenge on Jorge Villafaña.

With the man advantage and 1-0 up, Portland should have been able to capitalize and close out the game. However, Seattle showed the resilience that has categorized their approach all year and continued to play as though they were at full strength. Portland did well to analyze the threats provided by Seattle and organize a plan against them. When Seattle looked to counter, the Timbers were ready with multiple players deep to defend against the likes of Dempsey, who came on in the 71st minute, and Martins.

However, set pieces continued to be an issue, as Kwarasey made a huge blunder by missing the clearance on Seattle’s corner with his punch. The cross fell to Martins’s feet and he poked it to the back of the net, tying it up at 1-1.

Martins’s Injury Tweaks Match against Sounders …

Sounders are defined as a 4-4-2 on paper, but with Martins’ willingness to drop in deep positions, Sounders can been seen as a 4-5-1 or a 4-4-1-1. It gives them a lot of fluidity on the transition or whenever they need to possess the ball but cannot get any passing going. As expected, he created these problems for the Timbers by receiving the ball deep or making those runs unmarked because he was so deep in the midfield.

Sounders had made their final sub moments before Martins went down with his injury, with Tyrone Mears coming on for Leo Gonzalez. Martins’s injury changed the entire outlook of the game, especially as extra time was looking inevitable. Sounders not only down to nine players, but were now without the key cog to their attack.

Timbers knew they really had to capitalize on the man advantage and the fact Martins’s attacking threat no longer present in the game. Timbers possessed the ball and found open players easily, distributed the ball around, and forced the Sounders to play in a very defensive posture because of the deficit.

Portland Capitalize Easily

With the two man advantage, Portland capitalized on the opportunity in extra time. Possession wise, they utilized the open space conceded by the Sounders’ lack of players to move the ball around effortlessly. With no Martins and a player missing in both the Sounders’ attack and midfield, it made defending very straightforward for the Timbers. Taylor Peay and Villafaña were given full freedom to find another goal to take the lead, as seen with Villafaña’s shot on the near post. Playing for penalties was Sounders’ best hope.

Eventually, Portland found the game winner, as George Fochive took a shot off the Sounders’ clearance. Dylan Remick blocked the shot, but the ball found the feet of Rodney Wallace, who hit it past Troy Perkins to give the Timbers the lead for good. It was a night where fortune had favored the visitors. Portland then looked to take the air out of the game by possessing it for long periods of time in extra time.

The game ended in complete chaos, as the second half of extra time resulted in red cards for Michael Azira for stomping on Gaston Fernandez and Dempsey for his protests against the referee, giving the Timbers a now four man advantage to end the match. Urruti found his mark on goal with his near post shot past Perkins, who should have done better to keep it out of the back of the net.

Final Thoughts

Cup ties are always very unkind affairs regardless of who is playing. Mistakes, injuries, and some luck can all mean the difference between advancing and being knocked out. In this case, it was the moment when Martins left the game, leaving Seattle down to nine men. It was ill luck for Sounders FC so soon after their third change.

What looked to be a potential epic finish heading into extra time between the two rivals ended in a state of disarray with the injury, more red cards, and Timbers dictating the game for the majority of extra time.

Timbers made their mark by becoming the first team to defeat the Sounders at Starfire and ended their four game USOC losing streak to Seattle. They also did it without Chara or Johnson and with key defender Alvas Powell leaving the game early.

Like all cup tournaments out there, anything can happen.

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