Do not blame those valiant Portland Timbers for this odd streak they are experiencing currently. After their run with perfection, this one day had to end. Opening the possibilities of a squad displaying a more lose and with any worries in its game. As the tables can turn for the better or worse, and the latter one is, what the Timbers are experiencing lately. All of a sudden, we see the Portland squad submerged in a streak of three consecutive losses.
Still if we recall the Rose City squad playing three matches in a period of eight days that tells you a lot. The load of work this squad is getting after their Saturday match flying to the East coast and set camp over there. In addition, after their Wednesday game and with just two days’ rest, they had to face off one of their toughest of foes on Saturday. No wonder the signs of fatigue and poor football displayed in the field lately.
Still the squad needs to correct a number of issues. Forget fifteen and now focus on making the playoffs, something not envisioned or foreseen by many after Savarese took the job. The man delivered a new kind of football, and we love it. Unfortunately, good things take time to develop and for Gio every match is a learning experience. As the going gets tough, the Portland Timbers need to get tougher.
So far, we are already past the middle of August. However, the race to be above the red line intensifies and Portland is just ahead of their two Cascadia foes in sixth place. As the league competition deepens, so too does the regular season schedule and for the Timbers their upcoming matches will not be a walk in the park, regardless of the foes these play against, you do not underestimate anyone. One thing manager Giovanni Savarese and his squad are one bold and amazing team to watch. Regardless of the oddities, we are seeing.
To start at this point being a harsh critic or point fingers about these group is a failing proposition. Unjust will be for me after being a fully converted soccer aficionado now turned writer. Anyway getting back to my point, let me tell you the following my dear Portlanders. This slump is not the end of the world, not even the end of a campaign which has already provided so much excitement and with more to come.
Still the Portland Timbers are in need of making many corrections in their game. Defensively speaking, this area does not need to be their Achilles heel. To the contrary it needs to be their strong point. The club needs to step up their game and be overzealous in their approach to defend their ground.
The need to stop allowing many liberties to the opposing teams is necessary. With many essentials missing as a lack of communication among its defenders and these need to be more possessive with the ball. Not only the defense but also the initial eleven focus more in control of the ball. The arrival of Jorge Villafaña and Lucas Melano to Rose City predicts that this group will fulfill one of Gio’s attainments.
These two for sure can add a little more spice in Portland attack, which has so far missed in creativity and more options to destabilize the opposition defenses. By far the group focusing on the middle attack is becoming too obvious for the opposing defenses already knowledgeable with their strategies.
The focus is to see a revival of this group so far struggling lately. Still it is easy to see how this group can rebound and stage a spectacular comeback. Believe that Giovanni Savarese can return to the group a sense of trust and confidence lost in these past three games. In Gio we trust!
MLS Western
Portland
