May 23, 2015; Toronto, ON, Canada; Portland Timbers midfielder Jack Jewsbury (13) controls the ball in the second half at BMO Field. Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer-Portland Timbers
by Matt Hoffman
It’s best meets West on Wednesday when the Timbers welcome D.C. United to Providence Park for a mid-week fixture at 7:30 P.M. (Root Sports). The game will be shown simultaneously against Seattle versus Colorado (7 P.M.) and LA versus RSL (7:30 P.M.).
D.C. United stand atop the Supporter’s Shield standings despite their last two games in which they:
a) lost to a last minute goal to a languishing Philadelphia Union team;
b) and were unable to score against New England despite having a two-man advantage for most of the second half.
Mired in the bottom of the Western Conference meanwhile, the Timbers are desperate for a result. They stand tied with Colorado at 13 points, but could well be alone at the bottom should Colorado get a result better than the Timbers outcome.
On that score, they will be in the unpleasant situation of relying on the Sounders.
The reality is not lost on Caleb Porter who said following closed training at the team’s complex in Beaverton today:
“The bottom line is we need to get three points.”
The Timbers are coming off a a three-game road trip in which the team won once but lost twice. Both losses came from having allowed early goals.
Speaking with reporters following the match at Toronto, defender Nat Borchers says the best defense is a good offense:
“We got to do the same thing to DC that what happened to us on the road: we need to be aggressive and find that early goal. The game is definitely easier from there as we are a possession type of team.”
That’s going to be tough to do against a D.C. United club that has been able to grind out wins with great defense, in lieu of the short returns they are getting on offense. Eddie Johnson’s contract may be voided due to his heart condition, but that still doesn’t quite address the hole that is up top.
Chris Rolfe currently leads the team with three goals and is getting rave write-ups locally.
A win tonight would be a huge boost for the Timbers to reverse their spiral to the bottom of the West and keep them in touch with teams like RSL and Houston.
Defeat with the possibility of propping up the Conference can only intensify the pressure and increase the volume of the questions already being asked.
Listen to Matt’s audio preview on the Radio MLS show below:
