Borchers wasted no time getting into the grinder against his ex-team mates
Timbers Defense, Rimando’s Heroics Steal the Show in Season Opener
by Matt Hoffman, Portland
Portland, OR.
In its existence, season openers for the Portland Timbers have a tradition of being high-scoring affairs with the Timbers allowing eight goals over four games.
That tradition came to a screeching halt on Saturday. With a scoreline of 0-0, both sides took a point as a stout defensive effort kept Real Salt Lake off the scoreboard while Nick Rimando’s magic reminded us of why he is the best goalkeeper in the league.
Borchers and Ridgewell paired well. They didn’t even appear to be players who hadn’t played a match together until only two weeks ago. They worked well to apply pressure to really prevent RSL from doing anything in the field’s final third.
Yes, RSL did have a passing percentage of 67% however these were mostly back and lateral passes. Few attempts were promising and they were quickly snuffed out as an interception or one of the Timbers nine blocked shots.
RSL had recently gone to a 4-3-3 and that formation appeared to be pay dividends in preseason. However the Portland defense so stymied the RSL attack that the club did not get a shot on goal until the 82nd minute.
RSL did not attempt a corner the entire night.
Kwarsey earned a cleansheet in his first MLS start
Adam Larsen Kwarsey was quiet on the scoresheet but was active in the game.
The “sweeper keeper” was true to form, often perching above his line and calling off defenders who fell back to retrieve the ball. When needed in goal he was decisive and calmly in control.
In the Timbers first game, Kwarsey became the only Timber goalkeeper to have a clean-sheet on opening day. In fact, the 2015 Timbers didn’t get their first clean sheet until May 28th (13 games into the season) against Chivas USA.
As for RSL, it’s difficult to say what went right for them. The team has been rebuilding on the fly for years but several of the team’s talented pieces were healthy and in the match including (but not limited to) Javier Morales, Jamison Olave, Alvaro Saborio and Luis Gil.
The team had spent most of their offseason acquisitions on defense but it’s difficult to say that they had nearly the return on their investment that the Timbers did. Yes, they did earn a clean sheet but that’s more as a result of Rimando’s amazing abilities.
Portland coach Caleb Porter praised Rimando after the game calling him, “a great goalie.”
“Sometimes you just don’t find the goal,” Porter said. “Sometimes it’s because the other team has a really good goalkeeper that makes a couple plays.”
RSL defenders meanwhile did have 63 clearances (roughly one every 90 seconds).
It was not the win that the Timbers would have hoped for or wanted. However the lesson of 2014 was that a poor defense can kill you even if you are among the top scoring teams in the league. The scoring will come. The Timbers depth is being tested. The team’s top three (possibly top four) midfield starters all missed the game due to injury.
As they return to the field, the team can at least find solace that it has, for the moment at least, got the defense part under control.
