“Hey Merritt I’m gonna need the ‘big bikkies’ soon mate!”
By Niall McCusker
This was a good win for Portland, they beat a Toronto side who look better balanced this season and have been doing well, despite playing all eight games on the road.
It was a game in which neither side got what they deserved from the half they controlled.
In the first the home team came out strong, keeping their middle solid and attacking well down both wings. When the opening goal came it was fully deserved and nicely crafted, but the Timbers could not add to their lead despite getting into several more dangerous positions. Toronto equalized 5 minutes before halftime from Portland’s only real defensive error. Giovinco finally found space and as Chara, Nagbe and Borchers, belated and possibly illegally converged on the ‘formica atomica’, the ball squirmed free to Will Johnson who stroked it home from the edge of the box.
Any disparity in luck was balanced out in the second half as the visitors completely took over. Portland seem happy to live on much less possession than in previous seasons, but less than 30% in a home game against a side with such a range of ways to hurt opponents seems like taking that a little too far. Toronto set up camp in the Timbers half and while the home side defended well enough in numbers they gave up set-pieces around the box that they were lucky to survive. Giovinco’s pinpoint delivery and the home-side’s inability to deal with everyday screened runs left Gleeson to rescue them with two point blank saves from headers.
Porter switched back to his 4-2-3-1 formation ten minutes into the second half, but it did little to turn the tide. Adi missed their one great chance on the counter and it took a long range free kick from Valeri to give Portland an unlikely lead. Toronto kept up the pressure, but a couple more good saves from Gleeson allowed the Timbers to close out the win.
Here are the individual ratings:
Jake Gleeson 9: In his first regular season start in Portland since the 2011 season, the Kiwi showed his game has been progressing nicely. He warmed up corralling a deflected free kick early in the first half but saved his best work until after the break. His first save was the best, getting enough on Drew Moor’s header off the turf to deflect it onto the bar. A few minutes later Altidore put another close-range header right into his frame but the keeper still did well to get hands to it and push it away. If there was a little Hollywood in how he pushed Micheal Bradley’s shot away near the end he can be forgiven the indulgence. Toronto kept him busy into injury time – Will Johnson was denied a second, and while he could have placed his header better, Gleeson’s quick footwork in getting across to the optimal position deserves credit.
Perhaps Kwarasey is better suited to the type of Kasper Schmeichel-esque distribution Portland might need if they continue to transform into a Leicester-type countering style, but if he continues this quality of shot-stopping Gleeson has a chance to make a case for himself as a starter.
Zarek Valentin 6.5: A tidy player who looks more confident in the right back slot, his versatility has been a real asset in Portland’s injury hit defense so far this season. He took care of Giovinco on a few occasions when he slid out right in the first half and his positioning was generally good. The main weakness in Powell’s game is crossing, Valentin would need to excel at that to make a real challenge for the position. In this game he may have been under instruction to cross early from deep so as not to leave his wing exposed, but he could have done a bit better.
Nat Borchers 7: The pogonophilic defender likes to keep the game in front of him and wisely left Giovinco to the midfielders when possible. The times he had to step out to his diminutive rival (Tormund vs Tyrion anyone?) was when Portland got into trouble. Both Will Johnson’s goal and his chance at the death came from these situations, but in general Portland’s defensive shape (at least from play) was pretty good.
Borchers got busy at the start of the second half winning plenty of balls to stem Toronto’s onslaught and his interception started the counter that Adi should have finished.
“What’s that on your chin Jozy? Oh it’s a beard? I’m sorry.”
Liam Ridgewell 7: He has played 2 games both of which Portland have won. Admittedly a small sample size but perhaps an indicator of the intangibles his experience brings to the team. When he had a chance to leave something on Giovinco he took it – as any decent center back should. In the end Portland managed to hold out despite a complete loss of any control of the game in midfield, so the defense deserves credit for that.
He should definitely have done better when he allowed Altidore to block his run leaving Moor a completely free header and he was feeling the heat at the end dousing his boots with water on several occasions – but he will be a welcome return to a defense which has struggled for consistency thus far.
Luckily for Portland Toledo spotted this elbow on Ridgewell.
Chris Klute 6.5: The left back looked very confident on the ball, with skills that look more like those of a midfielder and played a role in the opening goal. However, just like Ridgewell, he did lose his man (Altidore) completely on a free kick and might have tired toward the end when he had some wayward clearances.
Diego Chara 7: Portland took a chance in reverting to a single defensive midfield formation against such a dangerous opponent and the Colombian was a major reason why they were able to get away with it. He was disciplined in position and in the tackle, which limited Toronto’s chances from play in the second half despite their overwhelming possession advantage. Of course there were occasions when Giovinco found space between the lines, but he is an exceptional player and Chara could have perhaps have used a little more help.
Lucas Melano (off in 81′) 7: A perfect ball to Adi in the second half should have earned him an assist, but he looked more dangerous when Portland were on top in the first half. Portland looked to overload the left side and then switch to a fast dangerous player on the right. To risk belaboring Leicester references this week, it is a lot like what they do with Mahrez ($600k from Ligue 2!)
Off to the races.
Darlington Nagbe 6.5: He retreated deeper following Valeri’s return from suspension, after a good game further up against New England where he even made some elusive box entries. In this game, even before switching to the left in the second half, he operated mainly on that side. A decent game, but he could have done a little more to help Chara defensively in the first half and help the team get some possession in the second.
Valeri earns the free kick that he would net to win the game.
Diego Valeri (off in 93′) 8.5: A very nice assist to Adi and a stunning free-kick goal earned through his own hard work, but the scary thing is that he could actually have played better. He had a couple of errant passes and even when he earned the winning free-kick it followed a mis-control on the initial pass. Since his return from injury Valeri is the hardest working player on the team (yes that includes Chara) and he kept Michael Bradley busy all game. Portland just need to figure out a way to allow their midfield to hold possession a little bit more and slow the pace at times.
Darren Mattocks (off in 56′) 6.5: The Jamaican showed some lively footwork in the first half, though the ball escaped him a few times. It was important for him to show he could operate as a wide player with Adi in such good form in the middle and he even showed some appetite for defensive work. The highlight of his game was controlling a difficult Valeri pass and finding the Argentine again nicely in the lead up to the first goal. He was unlucky to be sacrificed for Zemanski as Portland sought to regain some control of the game in the second half.
Fanendo Adi 7: The big man has been in great form so far, leading MLS with seven goals, so he can be forgiven his second half miss. Disturbingly for Portland he is still the only starter to score from play this season, they will need to broaden their goal-scoring in order to take their season to the next level. While his new-found physicality was on display from the start as he muscled Moor off the ball to create a chance after 30 seconds, he wasn’t asked to hold the ball up much in this game as Portland looked to work it down the wings.
Adi rolls in the first goal after unselfish service from Valeri
Substitutes:
Ben Zemanski (on in 66′) 6: Normally Porter doesn’t like to bring in a substitute so early, but this was a decisive, if not entirely effective, early move, as he sought to curtail Toronto with a more defensive player. Zemanski filled some gaps but didn’t really alter the flow of the game too much.
Dairon Asprilla (on in 81′) 5: The Colombian entered the game with a bang as he fouled 3 players in two minutes (3 fouls in soccer rules, but only 2 in Toledo rules, so he played the referee well). He took the ball to the corner with a couple of minutes to go, which was a nice professional move, but then inexplicably kept it in play in the last minute of injury time to allow Bradley to launch a final attack. Competition for wide spots has increased with the arrival of Barmby and Mattocks so he will need to make the most of his minutes.
Jack Jewsbury (on in 93′): He was not on long enough for a rating, but his introduction right before a set-piece surely worried more superstitious fans.
