Will Johnson may not make the match (leg)
by Matt Hoffman
For one weekend the soul-crushing, heart-breaking, torpid disappointment of the Timbers season was interrupted by the soul-crushing, heart-breaking, torpid disappointment of the U.S. Men’s National Team.
But tonight we are back, (October 14, Rio Tinto Stadium, 7:30 p.m. MT)
Real Salt Lake has long been in the Western Conference cellar but have gotten hot as of late winning four of their last six games, including shutouts against Seattle and the LA Galaxy.
A loss would be caustic for Portland. Tied at 43 points, Portland would be superseded by San Jose and RSL under the new guidelines for tie breakers because of the Timbers listless -5 goal differential.
A draw would be acceptable, if not preferable. That point bump might be enough to skirt them ever so slightly ahead of San Jose and their seemingly massive goal differential of +2.
So when the Timbers could really use all three points, why is a draw acceptable?
Well, consider these statistics that lovers of scoreless draws will surely salivate over:
- Offensive ineptness: Portland and RSL are 19th and 18th in goals scored this season.
- Goalkeeping: Adam Kwarasey and Nick Rimando have 20 shutouts between them.
- The history: For the last three years, the final game between Portland and RSL has ended with 0-0 scoreline.
Hoping to make a spark, Caleb Porter re-inserted Rodney Wallace in at left wing during the team’s 2-1 win at Columbus on September 26th shifting Lucas Melano to a substitute role. Porter stayed with that lineup in the 1-0 loss to Sporting a week later.
Though the Timbers lost the second game, Portland still took 17 shots, six of which were on goal. In all, the Timbers were thwarted not by a scheme, but rather were stymied by Sporting’s goalkeeper Tim Melia (who went on to win the MLS Player of the Week award, an honor seldom awarded to goalkeepers).
That’s not to gloss over the loss. The Timbers win over Columbus showed a team whose style was played more directly as was evident in the shot charts from the last two games.
Sporting forced Portland to go wider. Portland still managed to put pressure on Melia and the Sporting back line but, in the end, Sporting’s D was rendered bent, but not broken.
Following a loss that he called, “really hard to swallow,” Timbers coach Caleb Porter reflected, “This will hurt. It’s not going to be easy to get over.”
With ten days having elapsed since then, the Timbers have the first of three chances to secure the team’s second-ever MLS playoff berth.
With the finish line in sight (the last day of the season is next Saturday), Portland still controls their own destiny. Put simply: if the Timbers win their remaining games, they will make the playoffs.
It all starts tonight against RSL a team that Portland has famously struggled against. Portland has won the last two meetings in Sandy which could bode well for them.
Speaking of streaks, Portland has scored in each one of it’s road games stretching back to a scoreless draw with San Jose in early August.
