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Zac McGraw

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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Bill Tuiloma's sixth goal of the 2022 season gave Portland a first-half lead in Austin.
Portland Timbers

Timbers somehow scrape out a 2-1 win in Austin

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

The Portland Timbers exited last Friday’s landmark 2-1 win over their rival Seattle Sounders full of optimism (as they should have). The win momentarily moved Portland above the playoff line and secured the Cascadia Cup — possibly Portland’s only hardware of the 2022 season.

But anyone paying attention to Portland’s upcoming schedule might not have been so rosy. Of the six remaining games, only Atlanta United are situated outside the playoffs in the current table.

The odds were always stacked against the Timbers tonight. In Portland’s two previous trips to Austin, the Timbers lost by a combined score of 7-2. Those were against Austin’s expansion side, as well, a team that suffered a Western Conference-high 21 losses and second-worst 31 points in 2021.

That trend died midweek, as the Timbers somehow overcame a shot deficit of 26-14 to bring a crucial 2-1 win back to Portland.

** BUT FIRST! HERE’S YOUR REMINDER THAT THERE WAS A 2-HOUR LIGHTNING DELAY, ICYMI **

Match Summary

Austin flew out of the gates from opening kickoff, squashing Portland with relentless possession. Aljaz Ivacvic was forced into a big save early, but the Timbers found counterattacking daylight against Austin’s super-high lines, especially on corner kicks.

Despite countless missed opportunities on these counterattacks, Portland would eventually find their breakthroughs.

It began with Bill Tuiloma’s header off an Eryk Williamson free kick assist — his second in the past two matches.

MVP frontrunner Sebastian Driussi predictably retook the Golden Boot lead — it was his goal which brought Austin back into the match in the 79th minute — but like Seattle, Austin arrived with too little too late.

In a game where Austin bossed possession and kept the Timbers on the ropes (and Diego Fagundez created 9 chances), it was Zac McGraw playing the unlikeliest hero role, cleaning up a saved Williamson shot in the 73rd minute. It was one of Williamson’s five chances created on the night.

Speaking of Williamson, the USMNT hopeful has been involved in all of Portland’s last four goals (drawing the penalty against Seattle, the two free kick deliveries, and the saved shot for McGraw’s tap-in). Gregg Berhalter said Williamson would need to be at the top of his game for the rest of the season if hew was to be considered for a World Cup roster spot, and the 25-year-old midfielder is doing his best.

But despite the heroics of the Williamson-Diego Chara midfield, tonight’s flowers can only go to one group: the back line. The back-four of Claudio Bravo, Dario Zuparic, McGraw and right-back Tuiloma only let five shots leak on target, with Ivacic making four saves (and the woodwork helping out a bit).

I doin’t care how many expected goals Austin had (they’ve been over-performing those numbers all year anyways). I don’t care how many times they hit the post. We know what this Timbers team is good and bad at by this point. All that matters are results.

And what a massive result Portland pulled off tonight.

Notes

Newest Timber Juan David Mosquera arrived in Portland in time for Seattle game last week and made the trip to Austin with the team, though he did not play in either game.

This was McGraw’s first MLS goal. That makes me smile.

portland now owns their all-time series vs Austin FC (3-0d-2). This was the first time a home team has dropped points in the series.

As with the last recap, Portland end the night just barely on the good side of the playoff line.

Standings provided by SofaScore LiveScore

Next up, the Timbers host Atlanta United this Sunday. Kickoff is 2:55 p.m. on big FOX.

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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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Portland Timbers

Timbers announce initial roster updates

by Charlie Folkestad
written by Charlie Folkestad

Major League Soccer never stops, even right after the MLS Cup final. The Expansion Draft will take place Tuesday, Dec. 14th and free agency opens Wednesday, Dec. 15th.

The Timbers announced a bevy of roster decisions Monday, including the list of unprotected players for tomorrow’s Expansion Draft.

No matter how you feel about general manager Gavin Wilkinson and owner Merritt Paulson, they have a lot of important decisions to make in the coming weeks.

Who’s gone?

Jorge Gonzalez, Ismaila Jome, Manny Perez, and Renzo Zambrano are all not re-signing. We know they’re gone. Gonzalez and Perez never saw action for the first team and Jome barely did. All four of these guys are unprotected for Charlotte FC’s expansion draft.

Who’s staying?

Portland left 10 of its 21 players on the current roster (so, not including the four names above) unprotected. The 11 protected players which Portland will definitely have next season are:

  • Goalkeepers – Hunter Sulte
  • Defenders – Dario Župarić, Bill Tuiloma, Claudio Bravo
  • Midfielders – Blake Bodily, Diego Chará, Yimmi Chará, Marvin Loría, Santiago Moreno, Cristhian Paredes, Eryk Williamson, Dairon Asprilla
  • Forwards – Felipe Mora, JarosÅ‚aw Niezgoda

Who’s in limbo?

The ones we don’t know about yet:

  • Goalkeepers – Steve Clark, Jeff Attinella, Aljaz Ivacic
  • Defenders – Larrys Mabiala, Zac McGraw, Josecarlos Van Rankin, Pablo Bonilla
  • Midfielders – Sebastian Blanco, Diego Valeri, Andy Polo, George Fochive
  • Forwards – N/A

The Timbers are looking to re-sign Sebastian Blanco, Steve Clark, Aljaz Ivacic, and Josecarlos Van Rankin. I’d be shocked if Blanco didn’t re-sign. Not so sure about the other three. Briefly, here’s why:

  • Van Rankin was on loan from Chivas Guadalajara this season. There have been rumors of him both re-signing in Portland and re-joining Chivas. I could see this one going either way.
  • Clark is 35. He’s had some great moments for Portland, but he’s certainly more replaceable because of his age.
  • Ivacic has barely played for the Timbers. He conceded 12 goals in four starts this season and is clearly the third-best Portland ‘keeper when healthy. The Timbers also have both Hunter Sulte and Jeff Attinella still under contract. I’d say Ivacic re-signing is unlikely.

What should the priorities be?

Priority #1 for Gavin Wilkinson has to be to re-sign Sebastián Blanco. This should be obvious. Getting him on a non-Designated Player deal (like Valeri signed a few years ago) would be ideal, but might not be feasible. Either way, keep him in the club.

Diego Valeri’s future might not affect the team on the field much, but it’s crucial for fan buy-in (which has obviously been waning lately).

Beyond that, decisions on Van Rankin and Clark will be most important. If those two are gone, that’s two starting spots to fill. I doubt Charlotte takes anyone from Portland tomorrow.

Portland are not one of the top-five spenders in MLS, but they are consistently near the top. The front office has showed its willingness to spend in the right places and take full advantage of MLS’ wonky roster rules (using the U-22 initiative to sign Moreno, for example).

We’ll see how they approach a pivotal offseason.

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Portland Timbers

Timbers Roster Check: January 2020

by Kevin Nesgoda
written by Kevin Nesgoda
rostercheck-scaled.jpg

A new year is here, and as the Trail Blazers flirt with their worst season since 2012-13, many Portland sports fans can’t wait for the start of Timbers season on March 1st. While the Timbers are still without a new Designated Player striker, they have made a few interesting roster moves.

Here’s a quick rundown on what roster moves have transpired since the season’s end back on October 19th, 2019:

  • Defender Dario Zuparic was signed using Targeted Allocation Money (TAM).
  • Jorge Moreira‘s loan from River Plate was extended by six months.
  • The Timbers expressed interest in extending Cristhian Paredes‘ loan, and it appears they have, with announcements like this coming after the loan’s expiration date on the new year.
    • Sidenote on Paredes: there is another Cristhian Paredes playing in a club in Paraguay, leading some sources to falsely say our Paredes had been transferred there. The more you know.
  • Claude Dielna, Kendall McIntosh, Modou Jadama, and Foster Langsdorf were all let go.
  • Steve Clark was re-signed to a new contract.
  • Diego Valeri was re-signed using TAM.
  • Yimmi Chará (Diego’s brother) was signed as a Designated Player from Colombian side Atlético Mineiro.
  • Zarek Valentin was selected by Nashville SC in the Expansion Draft.
  • Portland drafted Aaron Molloy, Zac McGraw, and Joergen Oland out of the SuperDraft. These guys aren’t expected to see first team minutes, though.
  • Brian Fernández was signed by Colon de Santa Fe on a free transfer. The Timbers already terminated his contract last calendar year.
  • Midfielder Blake Bodily was signed as a Home Grown Player from the University of Washington.

Of course, you may have heard that the Timbers are probably going to sign Polish striker Jaroslaw Niezgoda from Legia Warsaw. Reports indicate that he was in Portland and getting a physical while the Timbers finalize things.

Finally, it looks like Portland might not be done quite yet during the transfer window:

https://twitter.com/williamconwell/status/1220092485298352128?s=20

This leaves the current roster as follows:

Assuming Niezgoda is added, there’s a pretty solid picture of how the Timbers will line up for the season opener on March 1st.

Note: I used #9 for Niezgoda because Polo already has Jaroslaw’s usual #11.

It’ll be interesting to see who wins out the starting spots on the back line. Hopefully having a new defender around will push Cascante, Mabiala, and Tuiloma to their best.

Ebobisse as a backup left winger or center forward sounds about his speed. Knowing our injury history and the rigors of MLS, I’m sure he’ll get plenty of reps as the season wears on.

All things considered, this looks like a great starting XI, but it’s not as good as it could be. I guess what I’m saying is, it’s a very Portland Timbers XI in that there’s not a ton of big names (outside the Diegos, to an extent) like you might see elsewhere in MLS, but plenty of potential for the new guys to become big names.

At the end of the day, it’s all about how this unit can work together to get consistent results—something we never really saw from the Timbers in 2019. I think one big lesson we can take from last year is that early-season games still very much matter, so it’d be nice to have a thorough season from start to finish.

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