The Timbers look to shake off a disappointing home opener as they welcome Nashville SC to Providence Park for the away side’s first road venture in MLS.
For the Timbers, it was an all too familiar looking performance against Minnesota on Sunday as they stumbled out of the gate in a 1-3 defeat. A 57% possession advantage meant very little as the Timbers struggled to create real chances and break down Minnesota. The Loons looked especially comfortable in the second half, sitting in their defensive positioning and pouncing on a vulnerable Portland defense on the counter that led to goals from Kevin Molino and Luis Amarilla. Portland’s offense mirrored much of what we saw from them in the preseason in creating few threatening chances from the run of play. A 56’ Diego Valeri penalty kept Portland on the scoresheet, but the Timbers managed just three shots on goal.
What kind of performance should we expect from Portland against expansion side Nashville? After the Minnesota loss, Coach Savarase explained, “We cannot be this team of two halves. We need to be a little more consistent. The first half is the team we need to be, but it needs to be complete in the match.”
If unlocking this offense is a question of consistency, this is not a new issue for the Timbers. Integrating the new players into the starting lineup will take time as none of the new guys had an immediate impact. Seeing Yimmi Chara sprinting down the field and connecting passes with brother Diego created some feel-good moments in the stands against Minnesota, but Yimmi will have to have a larger impact on the field going forward. Fellow newcomer Felipe Mora looked capable out there, but it was clear he needed more help from the midfield and surrounding players to put pressure on opposing defenses.
The Timbers can expect Nashville to try to replicate Minnesota’s template for beating the Timbers using a cast of familiar MLS veterans such as Walker Zimmerman (most recently with LAFC) and Dax McCarty (former captain of NYRB). Although they dropped their home opener 1-2 against Atlanta, they had 59,000+ in the stands and look to harness some of that energy and excitement in their trip to Portland.
The Timbers face Nashville SC on Sunday, March 8th at 4 pm at Providence Park.
Yimmi Chara eludes a sliding Ozzie Alonso
