First minutes of the season for Will Johnson – he turned in a solid performance.
By Niall McCusker
Triangles – invented by early coach Pythagoras and first featured in the Ionian championship play-offs in 554BC. You can have equilateral triangles, scalene triangles, isosceles triangles and even acute, oblique and obtuse triangles.
But if you have less than three players on the field who are capable of nice one-touch passing you can’t have passing triangles.
So for Timbers fans it was refreshing to see Urruti, Fernandez and Nagbe moving the ball about with crisp, little passes in pretty geometric patterns – such as triangles. I believe they even threw in a rhombus or two for good measure when Asprilla joined in.
When you’re in the middle of playing three games in eight days there is no better opponent than one who is on their fifth game in sixteen days. Portland had three players making their first starts of the season in Johnson, Paparatto and Fernandez, so facing a DC team who also had something of a makeshift midfield and attack was a bonus.
It was a nominal 442 formation with Urruti and Fernandez up front, but with both forwards often dropping deep they seldom had the numeric disadvantage in the middle that hurt the Timbers badly the last time they started with two strikers against Orlando.
This week it was Portland’s turn to get an early goal, they kept the pressure up for the rest of the first half and should have added at least one more before halftime. DC United had a decent spell on either side of the break, but did not overly trouble Kwarasey. Normally the failure to add a second goal when on top will come back and viciously bite a team in the hindquarters. But despite spurning three more good chances in the second half, the Timbers held on reasonably comfortably for a deserved and badly needed win.
Here are the individual ratings.
Adam Larsen Kwarasey 6.5: After last weeks good work, with a possible save of the season contender, ended in the defeat, the keeper will not be too disappointed that he was not called into any significant action. He came off his line for a far post corner on the half hour, but got nowhere near the ball, luckily Birnbaum missed his open header, other than that both center backs kept him well protected.
Alvas Powell 7: Not many problems defensively with Aguilar, he made one risky looking tackle in the box on 18 minutes, but it worked out for him. That was one of only two moments in the first half when DC got behind Portland’s midfield and took advantage of their slightly different shape.
Going forward Powell did better in this game than he has been recently, with some decent crosses and he showed good determination to poke the ball to Fernandez in the run up to the goal when he looked like losing it. The only possible blot on his copybook was on the corner DC almost scored from, it looked like he was meant to pick up Birnbaum, who ended up totally free.
Norberto Paparatto 7: During the opening to last season center-back was a revolving door, with injuries, losses of form and suspensions contributing to just about every possible pairing being tried out. This season the same back four had started every game up to this one, but Paparatto stepped in like a solid pro who looks to have been training hard and patiently awaiting his chance.
Paparatto watches his header from Johnson’s free kick drift over the bar.
He was very dominant aerially, but lost out a few times on the ground in the opening period, first to Arrieta after a Chara error and then he let Doyle get a shot off at the edge of the box. In the second half he gave up a free kick at the edge of the box, but luckily for the Argentine, nothing came from it.
He could have scored from a set-piece header after 21 minutes, getting on the end of Johnson’s delivery, but he couldn’t keep it down. At 34 Borchers may need to be rested on a few more occasions and on this showing Paparatto looks like a fairly solid back-up.
Liam Ridgewell 8: In the absence of his bearded partner, Ridgewell had to step up and do a bit of dirty work himself and he seemed to quite enjoy it. Anything Paparatto was not on the end of in the air was cleared well by the Englishman, who also positioned himself nicely to cut out any low crosses DC managed.
He spared Chara and Paparatto’s blushes with a fantastic sliding block following mistakes at the top of the box. One great run forward in the second half should have earned him his first goal of the season, but Asprilla failed to cut it back to him on the edge of the six. As the attacking unit could not add a second goal, the defense needed to keep the clean sheet and on this occasion their DP and captain led them very well in the endeavor.
Jorge Villafana 6.5: There wasn’t much for him to do on his side defensively, he got forward well in the first half being hit with some nice first time balls courtesy of Fernandez. A quietly effective game.
Dairon Asprilla 8: OK, so he should have cut the ball back to Ridgewell in the second half instead of shooting at Hamid from a tight angle, but this was an excellent performance from the young Colombian, easily his best as a starter.
His tenacity to get the ball back to Fernandez in the run up to the goal set the tone for his performance. He took down some long balls with good skill in his capacity as a ‘target winger’ and also drove to the end-line on multiple occasions getting in some good crosses and earning corners.
Asprilla has had some nice cameos off the bench – this was his first good full ninety.
The only thing missing from his offensive performance was a goal and it took a great Hamid save to deny him in the 70th minute. However, the thing his coaches may be most pleased with was the three or four balls he recovered back in his own half to start counters. If you have a skillful young player also putting in the hard work, it makes it really hard not to start him.
Diego Chara 7: Now I know what Chara does on Sunday mornings, he goes onto Irish TV and watches Gaelic football. Trap your opponents arm under yours as he chases you and go to ground pulling him on down top of you earning yourself a free-kick. A classic, nicely done sir!
He drove forward early on, hitting some nice low balls through to Nagbe and Fernandez and added in one excellent long switch to Asprilla to keep DC’s defense spread. A solid game, marred only by one loose touch at the top of his own box in the first half which led to a DC shot on goal.
Will Johnson (off in 84′) 7: Do you remember that scene in the Sopranos were Tony is coming back to work after having been shot by his uncle? Worried the chaps might think he has gone soft, he looks around and picks a fight with his largest underling, administering a proficient beating and in the process re-establishing his hard-man credentials.
That’s pretty much how I pictured Johnson’s comeback.
Fortunately the Canadian chose a different approach, a nice sensible game doing the the simple things effectively – with more numbers committed up front than in most Timbers games this season, he could just sit back and play himself back into form. A good match with not many signs of rust at all – I will await his Tony moment in a more chippy encounter.
Darlington Nagbe 7: This was a game were Portland had a good range of attacking ideas and players, Nagbe was just a solid cog in that machine, which, one suspects, is how he likes it. He had a couple of good runs, but more importantly, he showed again that he can play some simple pass and move football – when he had sufficient like-minded players with which to do it.
He deserved an assist on the night, but 3 or 4 players failed to capitalize on his excellent through-balls.
Gaston Fernandez (off in 60′) 7: “You’re starting today Gaston” – Fernandez must have needed that re-translated a couple of times before he was sure it wasn’t a mistake or that T2 weren’t playing down the road.
It amazing what happens when you play a guy in his actual position – as a withdrawn forward “La Gata” had a good game. He made his assist to Urruti look easy, which of course it was for a quality professional. Five minutes later he was back in his own half, winning a ball which fell to Chara and ended in Hamid’s unconventional but successful block on Urruti outside his box.
Fernandez: no I will not ‘hustle’ but I will play some football if you like.
Fernandez continued to direct the flow of Portland’s attack in the first half, switching it out to both wings and preventing things from becoming predicable. He didn’t look too pleased to be withdrawn on the hour, but moving Nagbe into the middle worked out quite well for Porter.
It might not be ideal against every team, but this attacking formation clicked nicely for Portland in this game and showed that ‘La Gata’ as a starter might have been something worth trying before the thirteenth game.
Maxi Urruti (off in 75′) 8: That imaginary quiver must have been pretty heavy to carry around with only one imaginary arrow having been fired in anger from it this season. Urruti took advantage of Borcher’s absence to draw level with him as Portland’s second highest scorer of the season and he really should have overtaken him on the day.
Urruti should have had more goals, but turned in a good performance.
Nagbe’s ball released him on a counter just after his goal and it looked like he could have rounded the advancing Hamid, then five minutes later he really wanted to be attacking the six yard box to get on the end of Asprilla’s cross from the end line. But, while a second goal would have been nice, it would be churlish not to recognize his all round play in this game.
With Asprilla and even Fernandez chasing back he could lead the line more and he did it well. Flicked headers, one touch play (including a few tasty back-heels) stood in stark contrast to the static work of Adi in recent weeks (no triangles there).
Did enough to earn another start, but may not get it.
Substitutes:
Rodney Wallace (on in 60′) 6.5: Intended to give Portland a more solid look to close out the game Wallace worked hard, hit a decent shot ten minutes after coming in that was just tipped wide by Hamid.
Fanendo Adi (on in 75′) 5.5: The Nigerian DP’s touch looked heavy when he came in, might find himself on the bench again against Colorado if Urruti’s form is rewarded.
Jack Jewsbury (on in 84′): not on long enough for rating. Jewsbury will be on more limited playing time as Johnson comes back, but he might well start against Colorado at the weekend as two games in four days is likely beyond Johnson at this point.
