The Timbers return to Portland to play the New England Revolution on Sunday night. Despite suffering their first loss, Portland head coach Caleb Porter has good reason to feel confident as the team returns to Providence Park
Minus the team’s best passers the Timbers put an emphasis on playing a transition counter-attacking game. The results were Portland scored two goals–both from transition, Porter added during his mid-week press conference–and were in the match until the dying moments.
Porter opted to shift Sebastian Blanco to the left and give Dairon Asprilla his first start of the season. The move was vindicated when the two wingers combined to give the Timbers the goal in the 5th minute. With four goals in the first fifteen minutes, Portland leads the league with the best starts.
With any loss, there are lessons to be learned and they go beyond the missing personnel. “We feel we gave the ball away too much,” Porter said adding the team, “May have relied on [transition]too much,” noting that Columbus is a very good possession team.
“We still were very organized and did not allow Columbus many chances,” Porter said.
Portland wasn’t the only team to play during the International week. New England hung five on Minnesota United and Porter is aware of the challenges New England poses noting the Revolution’s front five of Kei Kamara, Juan Agudelo, Lee Nguyen, Diego Fagundez and Kelyn Rowe “belong in the conversation” of the best front five or six in the league.
New England opted for a 4-4-2 diamond last week which Porter noted was reminiscent of the RSL teams of Jason Kreis that were dominant not all that long ago.
The formation brings, “a lot of interchanging and movement,” which Porter says the team must be mindful of before adding: “[but]you can find opportunities and we will look to do that.”
New England
Portland
