Urruti! Urruti! On the opposite side. Photo courtesy of Mark Murray.
by Matt Hoffman (follow on Twitter @mhoff)
The body language said it all. Down 3-0 at the half a furious Nat Borchers slammed the ball down in the turf as the teams headed towards the tunnel.
The scene wasn’t entirely unfamiliar to the Timbers. Not this year. Since their season opening win against Columbus, only once in four games did Portland not face a two goal deficit.
Dallas had not previously won in Portland but liked their chances mightily. In the two games leading up to Wednesday’s fixture, FC Dallas had at least fifteen shots off target in each fixture.
That same relenting attack would again be on display on this brisk April evening, as Dallas handed the Portland Timbers a comprehensive 3-1 loss.
The Timbers were in the hole almost immediately. Dallas moved the ball quickly into the Timbers box with Michael Barrios opening the scoring four minutes into the match.
Portland’s attack sputtered before suffering the double gut punch of surrendering goals in the 26th ad 29th minutes.
A key talking point entering the match was that Portland had suffered yellow cards that were retroactively turned into red cards in three consecutive matches which may or may not be a record but yes, probably is a record.
In truth, the Timbers themselves may be the lucky beneficiaries this time around as Ned Grabavoy’s tackle in the 16th minute looked like the sort of reckless challenges MLS officials are wanting to stamp out.
A lot of red jerseys spent time on the ground in a physical match. Photo courtesy of Mark Murray.
Before second half play, first three Timbers to march out to the field were Jack McInerney, Jack Barmby, and Darren Mattocks. Only McInerney would enter in the 46th minute, but each player would eventually put in a shift on the pitch and each would do their work to swing the tide to the home team’s favor.
The attack that had once stalled out showed renewed vigor resulting in a avalanche of chances. The Timbers attack for the first time showed teeth and purpose.
There will no shortage of talking points from this match. Both sides have ammunition to think that they were shortchanged by Referee Juan Guzman. Mattocks had a reasonable argument for a penalty. Dallas players spent considerable time on the ground. Dallas might have wanted harsher punishments for physical aggression, the Timbers would argue for time wasting.
In the end, it was not enough. The Timbers would only score once maintaining their spot in the Western cellar.
It is the sort of match you don’t want to dwell over for long which, thankfully, the Timbers will not need to do with San Jose coming to the Rose City on Saturday.
