Portland Timbers 2: Chicago Fire 2

In a parity environment like MLS going 8 wins and 2 ties in your last 10 league games is about as hot as a streak gets – 26 points from a possible 30 was the kind of form that visitors Chicago Fire were bringing to Providence Park on Wednesday night. Meanwhile the home side had 2 wins, 3 ties and 5 losses for a meager 8 points in the same time frame.

But form lines tend to blur when a team has to travel a long distance for a mid-week fixture in MLS – a home win would certainly still have been the Timbers target. But they had to settle for a 2-2 tie, despite battering Chicago in every measurable part of the game (shots 24-6, corners 8-1, possession >60%), they conceded two goals to a team that barely created 2 opportunities all game.

Portland were still short their captain and best paid defender Liam Ridgewell after a set-back in his recovery from injury last week, and were also missing their two main defensive midfielders, Diego Chara (injured) and David Guzman (Gold Cup international duty). However, things were evened up somewhat in the starting line-ups as Chicago were missing two mainstays of their midfield,  World-Cup winner Bastian Schweinsteiger and Dax McCarty (one less World Cup win) for the same reasons.

On the sidelines, despite a balmy summer evening, Portland head-coach Caleb Porter sported his usual suit and tie, showing no sign that he was feeling any literal or metaphoric heat. While opposite number Veljko Paunović looked Euro-casual in trainers and club shirt. Given his team’s current record the former Athletico Madrid man could probably rock Speedos and sandals in the technical area if he so desired.

Portland worked their way into the game and started to run the show after 15 minutes. Adi chested a ball down for a decent hit from the edge of the box by Ben Zemanski for their first chance and minutes later the big striker could not get quite enough on his glancing header from Blanco’s cross to get it on frame.

A few minutes later a long switch from Valeri was met with an excellent header across the box by Asprilla, as Adi flicked it back, former LA Galaxy man Juninho deflected it away with a clumsy handball. Referee Sibiga had no hesitation in pointing to the spot for Portland’s fourth penalty in as many games. Valeri had his penalty saved in the last game against Kansas by going straight down the center, but that didn’t deter Adi from rolling his down the middle – he did make sure the keeper had dived out of the way first though, which is a key component of the central penalty strategy. At first Adi’s penalty style for Portland seemed a little clumsy and maybe lucky – but as he keeps scoring most of them it’s becoming apparent he has a knack for sending the keeper the wrong way – playing poker against this guy would be ill-advised.

Portland continued to work well after the goal. Valentin was having a nice game at right back getting forward with some good passing and keeping a close eye on Chicago speedster David Accam. Blanco had tested the referee’s patience early in the game, and it looked like he maybe had not calmed down enough after his recent red card – but he soon settled into a focused game. Valeri was back at his silky best after struggling, at least by his standards, through some recent games after his injury a few weeks ago.

The patch-work defensive-mid partnership of Zemanski and Nagbe didn’t show much adventure and were not overly challenged by Chicago, but they were ticking along with reasonable efficiency. It was all going very nicely for Portland. Until it wasn’t.

Just after the half hour Arturo Álvarez hit a decent in-swinging cross from the right, Nemanja Nikolić ran onto it between the two center-backs and while he didn’t get a touch he did enough to distract Gleeson and let the cross go directly into the far corner. The equalizer came from nowhere and involved no great play from their opponents and yet despite a promising half hour of work the home team were back to square one.

It has been quite a familiar story for the Timbers in recent weeks. This goal was a bit like one Christian Ramirez scored against them for Minnesota 2 weeks ago. An in-swinging cross, a striker splitting the two center-backs with a fairly basic run – again past a defensive line that was not straight. In this goal Valentin was slightly behind his two center backs playing Nikolić’s run onside – one of a number of small but crucial factors. A little more pressure on the cross, a bit better spacing and tracking from the center-backs, Gleeson maybe starting a bit further off his line – all minimal things that would go unnoticed in a lot of games but are really adding up to punish the Timbers right now in this slump.

Undeterred, Blanco and Valeri continued to work well for the rest of the half – the highlight being an over the shoulder volley from Valeri that went just wide.

The Timbers came out at the start of the second half and threw absolutely everything at their opponents for 15 minutes. Asprilla had been enjoying a physical advantage over Brandon Vincent all game and also showed some good patience on his crossing. He seems at time to be second guessing himself and taking too long – but in most cases he is looking up and waiting for runners to arrive, he picked out Adi’s drop-off to the edge of the box well on several occasions. Adi and Valeri both saw shots saved as Portland dominated their opponents.

Then they conceded another goal from nowhere.

The second sucker punch started when Roy Miller stepped out from defense to win a nice tackle on the left sideline, but he then tried a dangerous flicked pass that went right to an opponent leaving him out of position with Chicago running at Portland.  Accam drove down the middle, finding Álvarez in the right side of the penalty area, his low cross eluded Olum and fell to Vincent who hit a very tasty finish into the top corner.

Portland kept their heads up and were not behind for long. Asprilla and Valentin kept up the pressure on the right flank, but it was the Argentine duo in the center that brought the equalizer. Blanco’s movement found himself a little pocket of space in the right side of the box and when Valeri found him with a nicely disguised pass he made no mistake, with a low, hard finish across the keeper.

Chicago’s 5-4-1 defensive formation to end the game was beginning to look more solid, as the home team’s push for a winner seemed to slow a little as legs tired with 10 minutes to go. But Porter had few options on his bench – such were the absences due to injury and international duties that he had only five outfield players and one empty chair to call on. In the end he livened up the left side of Portland’s attack on 87 minutes bringing in Marco Farfan and Victor Arboleda.

The two youngsters made the most of their limited minutes – Arboleda made some clever runs across the Fire defense, just offside on one occasion as Nagbe picked him out with a dangerous through ball. In the third minute of injury time an Adi header looked to have given Marco Farfan his first assist as a Timber – but the referee called it back for a push by the big striker. Some might call that decision soft, but when you put two hands on the defender’s back you are making the call easy for the referee. Adi had position to win the header without an obvious push – a more natural aerial predator would have made his jump and moved the defender with a subtle little forearm to the back – never called.

Another entertaining game for neutrals, another frustrating one for Timbers players, staff and fans. A confident team on a run of wins would have won this game easily, one stuck in a rut found a way to split the points.

Portland will be keen to get new defender Larrys Mabiala into the mix to try to stem the easy concessions. In front of their defense they have the makings of a pretty good team – but there are lot of questions to be answered. Will Guzman and Chara establish a chemistry that allows one to protect the back four consistently? When Asprilla invariably gets pulled to allow Nagbe to return to a slot on one of the wings, will the Timbers suffer a lack of directness? Could Chara or Guzman ever sit to allow Nagbe to stay in the middle? Is the midfield playing around and not with Adi in certain games?

The Western Conference is super tight – Portland could go to the top or to the red line depending on the answers.