Blanco netted his first Portland goal. He did a nice job in Valeri’s play-maker role.
FC Dallas have topped the Western Conference in each of the last 2 regular seasons with 60 points, Frisco is a fortress – they posted a 12-1-4 home record last season and 13-2-2 in 2015. Under Caleb Porter in the regular season the Timbers have lost in Frisco 4 times, with 1 tie and a solitary win on the last day of the 2014 season. This season Dallas were 3 wins for 3 home games before Portland’s visit on Saturday.
So with that in mind a point was a great result and certainly one the Timbers would have taken going into the game.
Dallas might have felt the same way when they visited Portland last April, a trip to the defending champions on a cold, mid-week evening. They might have settled for a point – instead they got a 3-1 win. That’s the sort of statement that conference and Supporter’s Shield contenders need to make. Portland had the chance to make such a claim, taking the lead twice, only to allow Dallas to claw back level on both occasions.
According to the recent player’s union release the Timbers have the second biggest payroll in the West this season so there is no reason why they shouldn’t be looking to top the table.
Without Mauro Diaz to lead their attack Dallas have been mediocre on the scoring front so far, only 10 goals compared to Portland’s league leading 20. But while trailing Portland and Kansas in the standings Dallas do have the most points per game in the West – and that has been mainly down to their stingy defense. Even including the 2 Portland scored at the weekend they have allowed only 5 all season, second only to uber-misers Kansas on 3.
Portland were short their attacking talisman Valeri – but that did not slow down their scoring. Sebastián Blanco moved to the center and deputized admirably for his missing countryman.
In a scrappy first half Fanendo Adi powered home a rare header from Guzman’s excellently served free-kick. Blanco capped a fine performance with his first Timbers goal in the second half. But Portland could not make either lead stand up. So Portland’s attack is excellent and their defense is a little shaky – nothing new in that observation. But what about the role of the midfield?
From hero, with last week’s great strike, Nagbe became a little bit of a villain this week. Losing the ball in front of his own box to Urruti on the first Dallas goal and failing to track Grana’s run, allowing him to serve the cross for their second equalizer. But defending is not Nagbe primary job. In the midfield that falls to Guzman and Chara.
Chara was supposed to get off the leash to be a box-to-box midfielder this season. He seems very pleased about it.
At the start of season the narrative seemed simple – as explained by coach Porter.
“When I look at those two guys it’s gonna be a really easy pairing, because Guzman’s gonna wanna come and play deeper and get the ball off the backs, control that space and Chara’s gonna wanna push on and play as an ‘8’ and play box-to-box. In the past there were times were maybe Chara felt he had to play as a ‘6’ and we played him as a ‘6’, and he’s not a ‘6’. If you know Chara and you know the game he’s an ‘8’, a box-to-box modern midfielder”
On the distribution side the above has been the case. In the 4-2-3-1, the full-backs push out, the center-backs split and Guzman comes back in the middle to help work the ball out. On the defensive side things are a little less clear. Generally Portland defend in a 442, Adi and Valeri (in this game Blanco) stay high and harass the defense, trying to limit their angles of distribution and looking for any sign of weakness in their opponent’s comfort on the ball. If any situations start to look promising for a turn-over in a dangerous area the hunting pack will arrive as their quarry is cornered – the wide attackers and Chara should be at the forefront of this press. But since around the Sporting Kansas city game the player most keen to press opponents deep in their half appears to be David Guzman.
David Guzman was supposed to be the guy providing security for the back four – but seems to have acquired some wanderlust in the last few games.
That sort of enthusiasm is to be welcomed at times – in this most recent game Adi lost the ball, but trapped Grana in the corner and the second man in support on the counter-press was Guzman. The ball was won and recycled to the opposite wing for Portland’s second goal. But on other occasions in the second half, as has been the trend in recent games, the defensive midfielders being too high can cause Portland problems.
After Asprilla’s unsuccessful penalty appeal, as Jesse Gonzales prepares to take the Dallas goal-kick both Chara and Guzman are still in the Dallas half. The ball is flicked on from the goal-kick and from nowhere Portland’s defense in on the back foot and in trouble.
An easy 5 vs 5 for Dallas from a kick-out after Portland’s defense was left isolated (screen grab from MLS Live)
As Dallas work the ball quickly down the left, Chara has recovered position but Guzman is nowhere to be seen in the picture as Acosta sprints toward the penalty arc without any Portland company. Acosta should score when the ball is centered to him, but blasts too close to Antinella in the Portland goal. The visitors were winning 1-0 at this point in the game – surely the ‘6’ needs to be sitting deeper so that their defense is not left isolated?
This was the most stark example, but there were other instances in this game and in recent matches that illustrate the same point. Olum has been playing well, but is still considered a back-up defender. Ridgewell and Vytas were only in their second game back after injury and Powell apparently forgot his long studs – so they could have used a midfielder floating reliably ahead of them.
As the season progresses Chara and Guzman may develop a nice fluid relationship about the when and where of who should press high, but for now they may want to prioritize protecting their defense.
