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aljaz ivacic

Dairon Asprilla celebrates his goal against Minnesota.
Portland Timbers

Timbers hold off pesky Loons for crucial 1-0 win

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

Nothing about Portland Timbers’ 1-0 Saturday night win over a depleted Minnesota United FC was easy.

The Timbers scratched and clawed their way to victory thanks to a Dairon Asprilla header off a corner kick in the 61st minute. They held on despite 20 total shots from the visitors to earn their fourth straight win.

The Loons were without two of their best players: midfielder Bakaye Dibassy and attacker Emanuel Reynoso both missed the match due to injury. This was Portland’s chance to put out a dominant showing; a playoff-caliber performance en route to three points could inspire confidence for the rest of the season.

The Timbers didn’t get the playoff-caliber performance, but they did get the win.

Match Summary

The first half was all about Minnesota’s Mender Garcia. The 23-year-old Colombian had four good-or-better chances in the opening 45, forcing two saves from Aljaz Ivacic and putting another two shots into the side-netting.

In all, Minnesota totaled 13 first-half shots. Claudio Bravo and Bill Tuiloma each saved a shot off the goal line.

Santiago Moreno struggled to settle into the game, as did Sebastian Blanco. Yimmi Chara was inconsistent on the ball, while Eryk Williamson provided his usual flare. But it was Mr. October who stepped up a month early.

Asprilla weaseled between Michael Boxall and Luis Amarilla at the near post, redirecting the fellow Colombian Moreno’s in-swinger past Dayne St. Clair for the night’s only goal. It was Asprilla’s eighth of the season and third in the last four matches.

Minnesota pressed on, but only offered one or two dangerous moments. Portland’s back line held together despite shakiness on set pieces.

In the end, though, who cares about the performance? Portland are temporarily fifth in the Western Conference.

Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore

Notes

  • During this four-match win streak, Portland have scored only one of their seven goals from open play (Zac McGraw’s tap-in against Austin was against the run of play, as well). It hasn’t always been pretty, but it’s winning games.
  • Ivacic made five saves and now leads MLS in total saves. He hasn’t stopped calling himself the best in the league.
  • Bravo had three tackles and continues to lead MLS in total tackles.
  • Zac McGraw is suspended for the next match due to yellow card accumulation.
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Santiago Moreno celebrates with an "M" after scoring his penalty.
Portland Timbers

Santiago Moreno shines in Portland’s third straight 2-1 win

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

Santiago Moreno is a star in the making.

Portland’s 2-1 win over Atlanta United was dominated by the diminutive Colombian wingback in the first half, and it was his penalty earned and scored that made the difference in the match.

An otherwise sloppy and sleepy affair, Portland put away two penalty kicks and held on for a crucial win at Providence Park on Sunday.

Match Summary

This was a sluggish match. It woke up toward the end of the first half, then stayed in a weird limbo after Moreno’s penalty. Speaking of Moreno…

Santi was all over the place in the first half. An underrated part of his game this season has been his ball recoveries up the pitch. Even in a wingback/midfielder role, Moreno’s been good at pressing opponents on the ball. He was Portland’s most dangerous player by far, sending crosses into good areas and creating more chances off the dribble.

One of those tight turns created a chance that ended with Santi being brought down in the box for a penalty. He stepped up to take it himself, and confidently buried it in the top left corner.

Even with a lead, the Timbers surrendered (mostly useless) possession to Atlanta for free. Luiz Araujo had Atlanta’s best chance saved well by Aljaz Ivacic, who didn’t need to do a whole lot over the course of the afternoon.

Diego Chara was fouled in the box by Santiago Sosa, and Dairon Asprilla scored the insurance penalty to put Portland up 2-0.

It was an odd way to score two of Portland’s most important goals of the season. A look at the table will show the Timbers clinging to the final playoff spot out West by the thinnest of margins.

Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore

Ultimately, Atlanta didn’t throw a whole lot at the Timbers. Josef Martinez didn’t make an appearance until the 62nd minute, and he didn’t get his goal until the 88th.

Portland may consider themselves lucky in that sense, because the Five Stripes will be the last non-playoff team they face all season.

The tactics seem to be sound by now. Portland’s hybrid back-three-sometimes-four defense utilizes the wingbacks’ abilities in attacking spaces (especially Moreno’s), while keeping their current three best center backs on the pitch.

Asprilla starting in place of Niezgoda has been useful, as well. Dairon offers more tactical flexibility than Niezgoda, and his constant energy is very useful in the high press.

Zac McGraw held things down on the back line, playing a full 90 for the third consecutive match alongside Dario Zuparic and Bill Tuiloma.

Notes

  • Juan David Mosquera made the 18 for Portland, but couldn’t play because his work visa wasn’t approved in time by MLS.
  • Giovanni Savarese was not on Portland’s bench — he was suspended due to yellow card accumulation.
  • Eryk Williamson also missed out on yellow card accumulation.
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Claudio Bravo against Toronto FC.
Portland Timbers

Timbers can’t handle Toronto’s Italians, lose 3-1

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

Saturday’s match at Toronto FC didn’t just give gave the Portland Timbers a reality check on the standings.

The 3-1 result was a clear reminder of where the club stands in this current state of Major League Soccer.

Toronto have been the talk of the league since signing Italian stars Lorenzo Insigne and Federico Bernardeschi over the summer; but their role players also shined against Portland’s aging veteran core.

Jonathan Osorio. Richie Laryea. Chris Mavinga. These were the guys that shut down what was once a fearsome Portland attack. Two goals in the past three matches will probably quell that expectation.

Note: Yes, I agree Mavinga should have been sent off for that challenge on Eryk Williamson. But we are stuck with the facts.

The Timbers know they won’t sign any big European stars. But they have been arguably the best team at playing within their resources over the past few years. When a team plays with a unified mindset……..

I’m gonna stop myself right there, because none of it happened Saturday.

Toronto dominated the first half, especially down Josecarlos Van Rankin’s defensive flank. They survived a few hard challenges and broke through in the 41’ after Laryea rounded Claudio Bravo (Portland’s best defender this year).

Sebastián Blanco’s hopeful passes over the top were useless when being chased by the sometimes-deceptively-fast-but-not-actually-that-fast Jaroslaw Niezgoda. Yimmi Chará had a few nice tackles but jogged pretty much everywhere.

And those were just Portland’s Designated Players.

Aljaz Ivacic was the only Timber who played exceptionally well. He made eight saves (six from inside the box) and continued to validate his claim as (one of) the best net-tenders in MLS.

Everyone else? Not good enough.

Portland genuinely composed themselves and played better to start the second half. Of all people, it was Van Rankin who finished Blanco’s flick to make it 1-1 in the 73’.

Six minutes later, though, Insigne provided his second highlight goal in as many games. Bernardeschi followed soon after.

Portland will only get lucky in signing a player of that quality — and that’s fine. It’s worked out well so far.

But a new era of MLS is coming, and when Portland’s pillars start to fall (I’m talking about Diego Chará retiring), it gets harder and harder to scrape out results — especially in the playoffs.

The TSN announcers threw out a really interesting stat near the beginning of the game for Portland: The Timbers haven’t won a game outside the Pacific Northwest this year.

It would have been naive to assume the Timbers would win this game, but the point stands: Portland have been dreadful on the road, and not good enough at home.

Something has to give. The Timbers have just one remaining game against an unserious opponent (at Sporting Kansas City in eight days). If they lose that, it would mean five straight games without a win.

This was Portland’s first loss since May, but the three home draws on that stretch all felt a little bit like losses. The 4-4 fiasco in St. Paul did too. So did the late collapse in Carson, if we want to go back that far.

I called Portland’s game against FC Dallas last Saturday a must-win. They scored an own goal in the 100th minute to make it a 1-1 draw.

Unfortunately, right now, that seems like it’ll stick out as the big metaphor for this season.

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Aljaz Ivacic after a big save versus Nashville SC
Portland Timbers

Depleted Timbers draw ‘draw merchants’ Nashville SC 1-1 at home

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

A Portland side without its first-, second-, and third-choice midfielders drew Nashville SC 1-1 in Providence Park on Wednesday. Considering the circumstances, it’s a pretty solid result, and one that keeps the Timbers in the thick of the Western Conference playoff hunt.

It shouldn’t be a surprising result, either, given both teams’ propensities to share points this season. This is Nashville’s ninth draw of 2022, while the Timbers have a league-high 11. These teams also drew 2-2 in Nashville a month ago.

Also, Nashville have drawn 35 games out of 81 tries since entering MLS in 2020. That’s over 43%, and has to be some kind of record.

Portland’s back five handled MVP candidate Hany Mukhtar & Co. relatively well, although the visitors struck first via a Teal Bunbury strike off an uncleared corner kick in the 20′.

Luckily for Portland, Santiago Moreno woke up on the right side of the bed. The Colombian youngster equalized seven minutes later in a similar fashion to Bunbury’s opener.

He was easily Man of the Match, completing 44 of 44 passes, winning half his duels, completing four of five dribbles and generally providing a creative spark for an otherwise boring Portland offense.

The only one giving Moreno a run for his MoTM money was Aljaz Ivacic, who had two massive saves to keep the Timbers’ heads above water.

Portland were heated at referee Silviu Petrescu in the first half, but were perhaps fortunate he didn’t call a penalty on Moreno tackling Mukhtar from behind (nor a foul for Marvin Loria running into the back of Alex Muyl) in the second half.

Both teams lost energy as the game wore on, and both conceded half-chances that could have been goals. In stoppage time, substitute Nathan Fogaca hit the side-netting after scrambling away from his defender.

A point is tough to swallow at this stage of the season, but win the must-win against Dallas on Saturday and the Timbers are in a really good position heading towards the playoffs.

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Santiago Moreno celebrates with Dairon Asprilla after converting a penalty kick in the 34th minute.
Portland Timbers

Timbers down Dynamo 2-1 for second straight win

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

Ten yellow cards? Damn.

Two goals in three minutes? Wow!

Six points in five days? Even better!

The Portland Timbers defeated the Houston Dynamo 2-0 in Providence Park in Portland Wednesday night. Santiago Moreno scored a first-half brace for the Timbers, who are now riding a three-match unbeaten streak since the international break.

Bill Tuiloma’s second yellow card in the 75th minute meant Portland had to finish the night with 10 men, but it was probably worth it for the Timbers, who now find themselves one point outside the Western Conference playoff picture.

Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore

Match Summary

Prior to the match, the Timbers Army unveiled their annual Pride Tifo. This year’s edition did not disappoint.

Former Timber Steve Clark was a fan favorite up until this season, when he signed with Houston. He was given a resounding “DODGY KEEPER” chant by the Army, as is customary for any visiting goalie in Providence Park.

This match was chippy from the opening whistle, with 19 fouls and six yellow cards being issued in the first half alone.

Both teams had chances, with Bill Tuiloma making two crucial blocks in the first half to prevent would-be Dynamo shots on target.

Moreno belted home a penalty past Clark in the 34th minute after Yimmi Chara drew a foul in the penalty area.

Moreno celebrated his first goal by running to the bench and dancing with fellow Colombian Dairon Asprilla. Ironically, Moreno has essentially replaced Asprilla in the starting XI this season after being brought on as a U22 Initiative signing last year.

The younger Colombian wasn’t done, though. Just two minutes later, he put the finishing touch on Portland’s best team goal of the season.

Unlike on Saturday, the Timbers’ opponents came out with more punch in the second half. Houston subbed on Darwin Quintero Jr in the 58th minute, and the 34-year-old scored a wonder-strike in the 65th to make it 2-1.

Things got much worse for the Timbers 10 minutes later, when Tuiloma received his second yellow card for a hard foul.

Up 2-1 and down a man, the Timbers still didn’t cover themselves in glory. Houston maintained 73% of second-half possession, firing off 15 total shots (five on target).

Aljaz Ivacic made five saves and three high claims, and Gio Savarese brought on two center backs to go to a back five. Portland missed multiple counterattacking chances, but wasted just enough time to escape with three points.

Notes

Portland are still without a hat trick in MLS play. Moreno is the latest to miss out on a third goal, while Jaroslaw Niezgoda netted a brace with no hatty on Saturday.

Niezgoda was replaced by Felipe Mora in the 61st minute, though Savarese didn’t plan for it to be that early. According to the head coach, Niezgoda experienced some tightness before leaving the pitch.

Portland are now unbeaten in seven straight matches against the Dynamo, with their last loss coming in May 15th, 2019.

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Santiago Moreno against the Philadelphia Union.
Portland Timbers

Timbers fail to react, dealt 2-0 home loss by Union

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

The Portland Timbers needed a result. They did not get it.

After a bipolar pair of games last week (scoring seven in a home win and losing late away), Portland needed to show they were ready to compete with the league’s best.

Instead, they got complacent.

Aljaz Ivacic watched two Philadelphia goals trickle past him and the Timbers sunk back down to 10th in the Western Conference.

Philadelphia stole a goal just five minutes in through Daniel Gazdag’s overhead kick off a long throw-in. The ball slowly trickled past Ivacic, who stood rooted to his spot.

Ivacic redeemed himself five minutes later with a reaction save against Alejandro Bedoya, but he would again stand still as Pedro Santos gave the Union a 2-0 lead early in the second half.

Portland struggled to respond. When they finally did so in the 69th minute, Sebastian Blanco’s rebounded goal was called back for offside in the build-up.

In reality, it never felt like Portland had a chance in this game. They passed and passed and passed their way into the final third, but were horrendously uncreative once they got there. The home side’s first shot on goal came in the 86′.

Notes

Eryk Williamson left the match in the 15′ with an apparent leg injury, being replaced by Santiago Moreno. Williamson missed the second half of last season with a torn ACL. He walked off the pitch under his own power.

Portland tried in vain to equalize before half, but shots from distance by Moreno and Justin Rasmussen were off target. The Timbers’ only other first-half shot was a Bill Tuiloma header — also wide — compared to Philadelphia’s 10 attempts.

Portland’s next match will be a cross-country trip to Miami. That match will be at 5 p.m. PT on Saturday, May 28th.

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ivacic-colorado
Portland Timbers

Portland’s goalless streak continues with dismal loss at 10-man Rapids

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

Two goals conceded in three matches? Not terrible.

Zero goals scored in three matches? Disastrous.

This result was bound to peg consecutive scoreless draws as positive or negative for the Portland Timbers, who fell to the Colorado Rapids 2-0 on the road Saturday evening.

Diego Rubio’s first-half free kick and a smooth stoppage-time finish from Mark-Anthony Kaye gave the Rapids a well-earned win.

Despite going down a man, Colorado maintained control of the match. Aljaz Ivacic saved a 1-v-1 chance from Jonathan Lewis and Portland never gained any sort of momentum, even after using all five substitutions.

The Timbers’ best chances were all wasted:

  • Marvin Loria had a decent shot go right to Yarborough. Loria also skied a shot from close distance into the parking lot.
  • Zac McGraw’s header was saved comfortably by William Yarbrough.
  • Dairon Asprilla skipped a left-footed shot wide from the top of the 18.
  • Even a beautiful one-two between Yimmi Chara and Bill Tuiloma failed to hit target.

Ivacic had a standout performance in goal, making four difficult saves. He also went face-to-face with Auston Trusty in the 66′ after Trusty invaded his space during a high claim. Both players received cautions.

Those were two of the 11 total cautions in Commerce City Saturday night.

Match summary

The Rapids hadn’t lost a regular season* home game in over a year — with the asterisk being Larrys Mabiala’s 90th-minute playoff winner on Thanksgiving 2021, of course. He wouldn’t be as fortunate this time.

A sleepy first half woke up with a Diego Rubio free kick in the 30′. Mabiala received a yellow card for the hard foul leading to the free kick, and Rubio hit it right over the center back’s head for the opening goal.

Rubio’s fortunes turned in the second half, though. His slide tackle on Justin Rasmussen earned him a second yellow, bringing Colorado down to 10 men for the remaining half-hour.

Colorado had a goal called back by VAR in the 22′. Lewis blocked Ivacic in a narrow offside decision, denying Lalas Abubakar the opener.

Portland had a few key injuries in this one:

  • Marvin Loria replaced Sebastian Blanco in the starting XI.
  • Eryk Williamson made his second consecutive start for Diego Chara.
  • Justin Rasmussen started in place of Claudio Bravo at left back. 

Blanco and Chara were listed as out on this week’s injury report, but Bravo wasn’t.

Colorado’s newest player, Gyasi Zardes, missed a golden opportunity to open his Rapids account in the 55th minute. Zardes, who’s fallen out of favor with Caleb Porter in Columbus, started and played 80 minutes in his Rapids debut after signing on April 22nd.

Next up

Portland has a tough stretch ahead, with a trip to New Jersey next weekend and a midweek cup match at LAFC.

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Gio Savarese and Aljaz Ivacic celebrate a rivalry win in Vancouver.
Portland Timbers

Three positives from Portland’s big win in Vancouver

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

The Portland Timbers entered BC Place with reasons for skepticism last Saturday.

The Timbers had earned just one point from their three preceding matches, two of which were at home. The squad was still suffering from important injuries, as well. And despite their poor league record, Vancouver had only lost once at home under Vanni Sartini (7-1-1 coming in).

Nevertheless, second-half goals from Jaroslaw Niezgoda and Yimmi Chara were enough to lift Portland to a crucial victory. This match should have been over as soon as Niezgoda made it 2-0, though Cristian Dajome scored on the stroke of 75 minutes to keep Vancouver in it. Yimmi responded and despite some late diceyness, the Timbers held on for a win.

So what went right for the Timbers in Vancouver? What did they do to separate themselves from such a poor run of form? And, most importantly, can they keep this momentum going?

DPs stepped up

Yimmi Chara and Jaroslaw Niezgoda have not been Designated Player-level performers for the Timbers this season, full stop. Niezgoda had one (meaningless) goal before this match, and everyone knew Yimmi Chara’s pair of bicycle kicks wasn’t sustainable.

But against Vancouver, these two had the Timbers’ only two chances of the second half, and both got converted.

Niezgoda’s goal in particular was a phenomenal display of skill. It’s a striker’s goal, through and through: after receiving the ball from Blanco, he spun Florian Jungwirth and smashed it past Thomas Hasal with his left foot.

All three DPs were involved in this goal. Yimmi created the counterattack opportunity by flicking the ball past his defender. Sebastian Blanco then created the chance by relaying the ball to Jarek, who finished the chance.

Yimmi Chara’s goal wasn’t anything to write home about, but he was in the right place at the right time and took his chance well. It ended up being the match winner, and he earned an MLS Team of the Week nod for his efforts.

Chance of sustainability: above average

Niezgoda needs confidence more than anything else, and this is just the sort of goal to keep a striker hungry. His window of opportunity to compete for the starting spot is closing, but he has plenty of time to prove himself before Felipe Mora returns.

Blanco’s been his usual self when he plays, and he’s only getting healthier. So far he’s logged 244 total minutes, less than half of his potential ones.

Yimmi Chara remains an inconsistent enigma. His output seems to wax and wane every week. Sometimes he’ll score a world-class goal and other times he’ll be a non-factor in the final third. But if he gets hot, this Timbers side will destroy some unprepared teams.

Aljaz Ivacic breakout game?

This isn’t something you can usually say after conceding two goals, but Portland’s goalkeeper did more than enough to earn three points. Ivacic made five solid saves, including the first of two penalties, and avoided any glaring mistakes.

His first big save was a diving effort to deny Sebastian Berhalter’s long-range shot. The next, an acrobatic tip over the bar off a header. The next was his biggest yet as a Timber: a diving stop to save Dajome’s 88th-minute penalty.

Neither of Vancouver’s goals were Ivacic’s fault, either — Portland’s back line fell asleep on the first goal and goalkeepers are never expected to save penalties.

Chance of sustainability: medium

The worst things I can say about Ivacic are (1) he still struggles to hold the ball after saving it and (2) his distribution could improve. But like Niezgoda, his biggest hurdle is confidence, and he should feel more confident after this win.

The Timbers are healing

Sure, Blanco only played 45 minutes, but Larrys Mabiala’s full 90 should be celebrated. Giovanni Savarese has been saying the Timbers have four starting-caliber center backs, and he means it.

“I felt very good. I felt very well this game,” Mabiala said. “A little bit shaky at some moments, but I just needed to get the rhythm back. But overall, I felt very well today.”

Gio commented on Blanco’s health postgame:

“Having Blanco play two matches on turf, we needed to manage the minutes and I felt that [Marvin] Loría has looked very well in practice and gave us a very high level for 45 minutes in the way he did during the first half,” he said. “Then just making sure we put in another fresh player into the game because we knew that the match was going to be very physical with ups and downs. The guys did a very good job to manage those situations.”

Eryk Williamson is recovering despite his exclusion from this game. Felipe Mora is too. It’s only a matter of time before Portland have their full complement of options available. And when they do, they’ll be one of the deepest teams in MLS.

Chance of sustainability: high

Looking ahead

Don’t get me wrong, there are still plenty of problems with this team.

Earlier I lauded Portland’s potential depth. That being said, a frank discussion about outside backs is in order. They continued their poor run of form Saturday — Bravo nearly gave the game away all by himself — and there’s been no sign of improvement.

Maybe help arrives in the summer or Gio gets these guys into shape somehow, but the room is still averaging a red card every other match. Let’s fix that.

The “aging Timbers” narrative died down after Diego Valeri and Steve Clark left, but the Timbers are still the 10th-oldest team in MLS. I’m not ready to label that a necessarily bad thing, but just something to keep an eye on if injuries keep piling up.

The Houston Dynamo may still be a random Western Conference team in Timbers fans’ heads, and they will still be the inferior team talent-wise, but consider these factors:

(1) Houston are one of just six teams to score at least 10 goals so far this season (LAFC, Austin, Columbus, Montreal, Dallas, and Portland are the others). That includes seven goals in their last two games.

(2) Houston are undefeated at home this season (two draws, two wins) and the Timbers never win in Texas.

(3) According to American Soccer Analysis’ “goals added” metric, the Dynamo have the second-most goals added via passing against the outside back-occupied zones (per 96 minutes).

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Dairon Asprilla against LAFC
Portland Timbers

Three problems the Timbers can fix against Austin FC

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

The Portland Timbers nearly escaped Banc of California Stadium with a win Sunday night. A stoppage time goal by center back Mamadou Fall leveled the tie after Portland held on with 10 men for half an hour.

Portland struggled against LAFC. Gone were the open, free-flowing movements and combinations that gave the defending Supporters’ Shield winners fits in week one. Instead, Portland struggled to create any meaningful bite going forward, save for yet another bicycle kick by Yimmi Chara.

So what are the Timbers’ biggest (on-field) problems? How will this team get back to creating chances like they were against New England (particularly in the second half)?

Problem #1: Discipline

Questions about the severity of Claudio Bravo’s second yellow card are warranted, but everyone can agree that it was a poor gamble for someone already on a yellow. The Timbers have a league-high 10 yellow cards over their first two matches, while no other club has more than seven.

Those 10 do not include a pair of cautions to Gio Savarese, one in each match. If Savarese gets another yellow, MLS rules state he will have to pay a fine and miss the next match.

I’m not necessarily saying this is a Gio problem, but it is certainly a problem. Bravo’s yellow forced the Timbers to park the bus for the rest of the night, even without Carlos Vela on the pitch. MLS is a tough-enough test on squad depth already; adding suspensions to the mix only worsens things.

And if we know anything about the Timbers’ most important player (Diego Chara), he will be receiving at least five yellow cards at some point this season — the first threshold for suspension.

Type of Cautions Number of Cautions
Foul 6
Dissent 3
Persistent Infringement 1

(Numbers via MLS)

Discipline is inherently self-imposed. There hasn’t been enough matches to say how this relates to Austin FC. For what it’s worth, they drew two yellow cards against FC Cincinnati and four against Inter Miami CF.

Problem #2: Buildup play

Portland threatened New England’s goal in the season opener. They struggled to do anything against LAFC. The chart on the left is from the New England match; LAFC match on the right.

Three things stand out to me about these charts:

  1. Outside back involvement is a good indicator of how little the Timbers went forward against LAFC.
  2. Niezgoda was completely on an island against LAFC. 
  3. The center backs were not on the same page offensively against LAFC, despite their heroic defensive efforts.

Everyone from Ivacic to Niezgoda needs to be better in buildup. That means moving off the ball and giving more technical attention to controlling and passing the ball.

Timbers Statistics vs NE vs LAFC
Pass Completion Rate 80.1% 68.1%
Possession 55% 33%
Expected Goals 2.5 0.7

(Numbers via Football Reference)

Portland were down a man, yes, but they couldn’t complete a pass against LAFC. The home team created 17 shots to Portland’s two in the second half.

Austin are goal-hungry. They have an MLS-record 10 goals in two matches, albeit against weak opponents. Portland can’t afford to concede possession and operate strictly from a counterattacking approach.

Problem #3: Goalscoring

This might be a hot take, but Portland cannot rely solely on Yimmi Chara bicycle kicks for goals. With Felipe Mora out for another month or so, Jaroslaw Niezgoda needs to get on the scoresheet in the next month.

Niezgoda was basically invisible against LAFC. Some pointed out that this wasn’t the best matchup for him tactically, but that means he needs to adapt his game. The Timbers are staring down a “Dairon Asprilla at striker” situation if they can’t get things going soon.

Against Austin FC, that means taking the fight to them. The “Verde” have been at home both times, so it will be interesting to see how they respond in a tough road environment.

Stay composed in possession and get chaotic in the final third.

The Timbers can’t “fix” injuries. They just have to wait to get healthier. Savarese said both Dario Zuparic and Larrys Mabiala could be back as soon as this weekend — they’re not expected to start, but getting closer. Eryk Williamson is also farther back than we thought on his recovery.

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timbers-sounders-preseason
Portland Timbers

Timbers draw Sounders 0-0 in preseason opener

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

Portland and Seattle produce some thrilling shootouts every year, but Wednesday night’s affair was not one of them.

In their first match since MLS Cup 2021, the Timbers played the Sounders to a stalemate. About 2,000 fans showed up to create a surprisingly loud atmosphere at Kino North Stadium in Tucson, AZ on Jan. 26th.

The squad

Both squads heavily rotated a mix of first-teamers, academy players, draftees, and trialists. The Timbers gave 22 different players minutes.

“For young players, it’s a good thing to get them involved in these types of matches,” head coach Gio Savarese said. “It’s exciting to see our young players being able to play a match like this.”

Goalkeeper is maybe the position to watch in preseason, with David Bingham and Aljaz Ivacic competing for the starting job. Ivacic played the first half and Bingham the second.

Dairon Asprilla captained Portland. The full list of players, taken from the Timbers’ official recap, is as follows:

  • POR: Asprilla (Gutierrez %, 45), Bahachille #, Ferguson ^ (McDowd ^, 86), Ivacic (Bingham, 45), Loría (Bodily, 45), McCartney % (Dunne ^, 86), McGraw (Haugli %, 60), S. Moreno (Ikoba, 33), Niezgoda (Duran ^, 45), Toia # (Rasmussen %, 69), Wray ^ (A. Moreno ^, 74)

    % draftee
    ^ academy player
    # non-roster invitee

Who played well?

The match was not streamed, but we can glean some information from both teams’ tweets and recaps. Ironically, the only account posting videos of the match belongs to the hosts, FC Tucson.

It looked like Seattle had the bulk of the chances, but this one from 2021 draftee Diego Gutierrez may have been the night’s best opportunity.

 

Zac McGraw had a solid night, with a pair of clearances in the first half and a 60-minute stint at center back. He also earned a post-match interview.

One name to keep an eye on is trialist Abraham Bahachille, Portland’s only player to go a full 90 minutes. Bahachille is a 20-year-old Venezuelan midfielder who most recently played for Metropolitanos in the Venezuelan first tier.

Academy player Mitch Ferguson and 2022 draftee Dawson McCartney both went 86 minutes.

Next Up

Portland face Sporting Kansas City next on Feb. 3rd at 10 a.m. at Phoenix Rising FC Soccer Complex in Chandler, AZ. There will be no stream for the match.

You can view Portland’s full 2022 preseason schedule here.

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