(8) Portland Timbers (0,0,2, 2 points) vs (1) Austin FC (2,0,0, 6 points)
Saturday March 12, 2022, KO 7:00 PM PST/ 10:00 PM EST
Providence Park, Portland, Oregon
Portland Timbers Briefly
The Portland Timbers, being within minutes of their first win of the season up at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, were suddenly denied by a heartbreaking equalizer by Mamadou Fall in stoppage time.
With Giovanni Savarese talking to the media and addressing the return of some players getting close to fully suiting up and mentioning the team’s mentality being in its all-time high, Gio’s words were seen as encouraging.
With Yimmi Chara enjoying a good start and with a continuance maybe we can see him considered among the league nominations for MVP. Still, for the younger of the Chara clan, the man is playing one amazing game of football and in every game, the man is showing off his skills.
For Santiago Moreno, to become an undisputable starter the man needs to step up a little his defensive game and put more hunger and ambition in the end. Contrary to Jaroslaw Niezgod,a the need to look and fight for more opportunities will be imperative for the success of his team and solidify a spot when Mora comes back from the IL.
So far, the team is playing a good ball and needs to become more prone to extend their leads and score to assure the result that in the end can translate to wins and not be surprised by late goals.
My conclusion is that the Portland Timbers have all the elements to be the protagonist in this season and despite the early results this team can make a turnaround for the better and deliver. Patience is one amazing virtue and optimism the entire squad has, the return of many important players from IL will be elemental for this team’s success.
Despite Austin’s early success and taking advantage of Portland’s slump last season and with an edge in the series, the Timbers is enjoying a positive start in the season, nothing is written as any team can get the win.
Probable Lineup:
GK Aljaz Ivacevic, Josecarlos Van Rankin, Zac McGraw, Bill Tuiloma, Pablo Bonilla; Diego Chara, Cristhian Paredes; Santiago Moreno, Yimmi Chara, Dairon Aspirilla; Diego Gutierrez
Austin FC Briefly
For manager Josh Wolff, he never imagined a start like this for his side. With back-to-back routs over FC Cincinnati and Inter Miami, it makes us think of this team’s seriousness for some prime time.
Still, for Austin’s manager, their next match will be played on the road, where his side didn’t perform well on their debut season. This match against the Portland Timbers will be a huge test for his club-winning momentum as well for its threesome of Ethan Finlay, Cecilio Dominguez, and Sebastian Driussi.
It will be a sort of homecoming reunion for former Timbers Maxi Urruti and Julio Cascante coming back to the place where both had many memorable moments in the colossus of Goose Hollow.
In Austin’s debut, they had Portland’s number after they had the home field advantage and in their last game of the season playing in Providence Park, the Rose City side got an amazing result along with a clean sheet.
That was then and now the Timbers defense will have to become stingy and play smart to the likes of the FC top scorer Driussi, Dominguez, and Finlay playing like he is in his youth.
For the defensive game, with manager Wolff’s 4-2-3-1 formation, the goal will be to stop the likes of red hot Yimmi Chara, but they need to pay close attention to either Dairon Aspirilla or Santiago Moreno in the attack.
Probable Lineup:
GK Brad Stuver, Nick Lima, Julio Cascante, Kip Keller, Zac Kolmanic; Alexander Ring, Daniel Pereira; Diego Fagundez, Sebastian Driussi, Cecilio Dominguez; Maxi Urruti
Meetings
11/07/2021 Portland Timbers 3-0 Austin FC
08/21/21 Austin FC 3-1 Portland Timbers
07/21/21 Austin FC 4-1 Portland Timbers
Forecast
I won’t dare to give anyone the edge, but Austin come with an undefeated record to town
