by Matt Hoffman
The first half was a powerful reminder of what the Timbers can be at their best. The second half was a painful reminder of how infrequently they reach those heights.
“I will accept the blame for the first half. It’s my job to make sure the team is prepared and obviously that didn’t happen. So give credit where credit is due.” –Sounders Coach Brian Schmetzer
1. The set-piece game is where it’s at
Portland took the game to Seattle early with four good chances in the first 15 minutes. Just when you expected Seattle to begin pushing back, Vytas earned his first goal off a Jack Jewsbury corner. Jewsbury was a surprising choice to some given that Ben Zemanski was back to match fitness. In his post-match remarks, Caleb Porter explained that Jewsbury was there because of his set-piece ability.
In the opening minutes, Liam Ridgewell get sprung from a pick on a free kick. Wide open, Ridgewell’s shot was just East of the goal. It would have been a terrific opportunity had a Timbers player made a run on the net. In the end, the Timbers would have two goals from set-pieces.
This might be the way Portland manages the game from here on out.
Porter famously “flipped the triangle” last night placing Diego Valeri and Darlington Nagbe together in the middle. Not able to find replacements for Rodney Wallace and Jorge Villafana, Porter has largely retreated to his original notion of playing Diego Valeri flanked by two holding midfielders in the middle.
It’s easy to make the claim that defensive efficiency has come at the cost at goals. Truth of the matter is only four teams (only one of which is in the West) have scored more than Portland’s 41 goals. In fact only four teams have surrendered more goals than Portland’s tally which also stands at 41.
Porter said that the team only did the normal amount of set piece work in their training this week. True as that may be, it has become evident much of the Timbers successes in the final seven games of the season, just like Sunday’s match, would come from Portland’s ability to generate goals from set-piece play. Porter feels he has an ace up his sleeve in Jewsbury and his centerbacks, Steven Taylor in particular, to help the team generate chances down the stretch.
2. Another game of two halves
I hinted about this above, but it has to be said: Portland played well for one half, iffy in the other. Portland scored four goals and took fourteen shots in the first half. Following a 15 minute halftime break, the same side that so thoroughly dominated Seattle was outscored two goals to none and out-shot 12:1.
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer summed the Sounders response nicely: “Nobody gives up or they won’t play and we’re going to play for pride.”
If the Sounders play for pride for the rest of the year, the race for that final playoff spot could be thrilling.
The Sounders fell short but the Timbers nearly let them back in. Really the only life the Timbers showed in the second half was the fisticuffs thrown between Roman Torres and Fanendo Adi.
3. Steven Taylor will be an asset on both ends
After the match, Steven Taylor mused in amazement about the fan support in Portland saying he made a point of driving by the stadium early the last two mornings and watch in amazement the intensity and fervor of the fans.
I’ve never experienced that. Back in England, you don’t get that with them trying to get the best seats. I noticed the buildup before the game in Seattle. It was impressive, but today our fans were unbelievable. They were like a 12th man for us.
It’s going to take some mighty big feet to fit into Nat Borchers boots but if Taylor delivers like he did above, I like the Timbers chances.
Taylor has no reservations about doing the dirty work like setting a pick in the mixer or his ability to step between Jordan Morris and the ball like so:
Fun Fact: Apparently Newcastle had both Ryan Taylor and Steven Taylor on their squad. They were differentiated as “Raylor” and “Saylor”. H/t KebabMaster
Final Words
“I feel even better because I gave up a penalty in the first game, so now that I scored I showed I made up for it and I did it for the fans. All my family was waiting for the first goal, so here we go.”
