A Wild Night at Jeld-Wen: Timbers 3-3 Red Bulls

The Portland Timbers brought their three-game loosing streak to an end Sunday night at Jeld-Wen Field in a dramatic 3-3 draw with the New York Red Bulls. After an explosive second half that saw the Timbers rally from a 1-0 deficit to take the lead, New York forward Dwayne De Rosario scored the equalizer on a penalty kick in stoppage time.

From the Portland perspective, the match started inauspiciously. The Timbers came on looking energetic but sloppy and not especially determined. Head Coach John Spencer said after the game, "I thought the first half started a little bit tentative... we gave them a little bit too much respect." In the event, the Timbers paid for their lack of assertiveness by conceding a fifth minute goal to the Red Bulls on a pass from De Rosario to midfielder Austin Da Luz who easily knocked it in from the penalty spot.

The rest of the first half was largely uneventful with only five shots combined, and though the Red Bulls at times seemed to struggle with Jeld-Wen's often maligned field turf, they maintained their composure and looked every bit the MLS Eastern Conference leaders that they are. This despite the fact that they played without several key players who were away on CONCACAF Gold Cup duty, or, like forward Luke Rodgers, out with injuries. Timbers supporters may have been forgiven for indulging in a bit of pessimism as the half approached, though if members of the Timbers Army were inclined to do so, it was not apparent in the stadium-shaking volume of their chants and cheers.

At the half, Timbers defender David Horst, who injured his hip in a nasty collision with New York goalkeeper Greg Sutton in the 41st minute, was subbed out for Kevin Goldthwaite. Goldthwaite, a former Red Bull, appeared to provide a needed spark, and the explosive and fast-paced Timbers side that took the field in the second half played like an entirely different team.

Timbers team captain Jack Jewsbury inaugurated the madness in the 48th minute with a rocket slotted home inside the left post off of a headed rebound from about fifteen yards out. Less than two minutes later, a patented Jewsbury free kick combined with an Eric Brunner header to set up Goldthwaite, who tapped it in with the inside of his right foot from about six yards out, giving the Timbers the lead and inspiring the crowd to, as Coach Spencer would later say, "take the roof off the stadium."

It was the first time this season that the Timbers have come back to take the lead after trailing and was a welcome respite from their well-established habit of losing whenever they concede early points.

For their part, the Red Bulls fought back gamely but the Timbers continued to look the dominant side and repeatedly beat New York to the ball and down both wings, though at times their passing looked sloppy and seemingly on the edge of control.

Timbers forward Jorge Perlazza once again distinguished himself by repeatedly beating the opposing defenders down the field with his superior speed and relentless pace. As has been the case against many other teams, the Red Bulls defenders grew frustrated in their inability to corral Perlazza and in the 68th minute, as the Colombian beat him into the box once again, New York defender Stephen Keel scored an own goal in a sliding attempt at blocking a short pass intended for Timbers forward Kenny Cooper. Keel played two seasons for the Timbers in their USL incarnation, and the Timbers Army, always keen for such opportunities, rubbed it in by briefly chanting "Stephen Keel is one of us" at the top of their lungs.

However, as dominant as the Timbers looked, the Red Bulls are still one of the best offensive sides in all of MLS and regardless of his theoretical status as an elderly has-been, in forward Thierry Henry, they have one of the world's most accomplished players. In the 73rd minute Henry found the back of the net in a series of hard-to-follow events that touched off a brief melee between the sides. The goal was Henry's eighth of the season and, perhaps tellingly, ties him with Landon Donovan of the L.A. Galaxy for the most in MLS.

The latter part of the second half also saw a collection of yellow cards issued on either side as tensions mounted and tired refs became increasingly irritable. The Timbers continued to press effectively, but their one good shot, knocked home by Cooper in the 81st minute, was called back on grounds that he was offside, which he clearly was.

By the 90th minute, both sides were looking haggard after a long and hard-fought match. When Referee Ricardo Salazar called four plus minutes of stoppage play, every knowledgeable Timbers supporter in the house took a deep breath and buckled down for some very tense minutes, knowing as they must have, that their young expansion team is notorious for breaking down and conceding goals in the final minutes.

In the event, matters developed more confusingly than anyone could have anticipated. In yet another weird turn of MLS officiating, Timbers midfielder Adam Moffat, who'd been subbed in for Jeremy Hall in the 86th minute, received a yellow card for evidently shoving Henry, who in turn, received a red card and was sent off the field, though the two men seemed not to feel any animosity towards one another.

These oddities were immediately followed by De Rosario's successful penalty kick off of an inadvertent Rodney Wallace handball. The upshot was that the Timbers, perhaps in keeping with their status as an expansion side, went away with one point rather than the three that a more mature and well-composed side might have expected.

Other Notes, General Observations and Complaints:

It would be easy to be down on the Timbers for this loss. Here they were up two points and completely dominating the run of play as they entered the latter part of the second half, yet they still managed to concede two goals and snatch a tie out of the proverbial jaws of victory.

I would be deeply disappointed but for a few relevant points that bear mentioning here.

The first is that the New York Red Bulls are no joke. Even without a few of their best players (I'm looking at you, Juan Agudelo and Luke Rodgers, though there are others as well), they are easily one of the top sides in all of MLS. You may say that vying with Philly for the top of the MLS Eastern Conference is hardly grounds for bragging rights, and you'd be largely correct inasmuch as the Eastern Conference is much shallower than the relatively stacked Western Conference, but the fact remains that New York consistently fields what is probably the top one or two offensive sides in the league. Now granted, the Timbers had the advantage of playing at home, but the fact that they were able to so thoroughly dominate the Red Bulls in the second half tells us that when it comes to offense, the Timbers are for real. John Spencer is an aggressive fellow and his brand of soccer, although not loved by all, reflects that aspect of his personality in that the Timbers are primarily an attacking offensive side that favors --perhaps to a fault-- a good offense as being the best defense.

The second point is that for the first time, the Timbers, far from collapsing after conceding an early goal, to the contrary, got their shit together and whupped some serious ass after having played a pretty sorry first half. What that tells us is that they've developed the capacity and depth and strength of character, as a team, to bounce back from adversity. This is important inasmuch as it reflects a kind of development and depth that they haven't shown in the past. As Spencer said at the post-game presser, "from the 46th minute to the 90th minute, we ran them ragged. We outplayed them, we outran them, we were better than them in every department... In the second half I thought we were magnificent. We played the best team in the Eastern Conference off the field."

The third point to make is that the Portland supporters continue to set a new standard for MLS. The Timbers Army really is the biggest and best supporters group in Anglo North America and they really do make a difference and even teams like the New York Red Bulls freely admit that playing at Jeld-Wen is like nothing else in the league. While it would be great if the Timbers turn into a dominant side (and I believe that they will do so within the next season or two), so long as we have the best supporters culture in North America, win lose or draw, we, as Portlanders, win.

Final point: Unless I missed something egregious, Thierry Henry's red card is crap, and I say that as an Irish-American who will always hate the man for the infamous hand-ball he committed while playing for France against Ireland in the 2009 World Cup qualifier.   

Timbers continue to struggle in 2-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City

Changes in the starting 11 and a home-field advantage were not enough to give the Timbers a win against Sporting Kansas City (SKC) on Saturday night at Jeld Wen Field. SKC took home a 2-1 victory with a pair of first half goals that the disorganized-looking Timbers were unable to equalize.

In keeping with a pattern that has become all too familiar to the struggling expansion side, Portland gave up two early goals in rapid succession, and though midfielder Darlington Nagbe scored a spectacular goal at the close of the first half, in spite of competent play, the Boys in Green did not find the net again.

The Timbers started the first half looking energetic and determined, but they lacked control and organization and often seemed to pass spastically and almost at random. For their part, a newly revitalized and streaking SKC showed good discipline, composure and midfield competence and in the 15th minute, the always dangerous striker C.J. Sapong, on an assist from midfielder Omar Bravo, got out ahead of the Portland backline and slotted home a crisp shot that evidently caught Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins completely by surprise.

For a few minutes immediately following the goal it was possible to believe that the Timbers would shrug it off, regain their own composure, and soldier on, but then, four minutes later, they again deteriorated into confusion as SKC defender Aurelien Collin scored with a header knocked in off of good service into a largely undefended box from Matt Besler.

In the following minutes the Timbers, a shell-shocked-looking bunch, began to regroup, and in the latter part of the first half, to their credit, they were able to apply real pressure. In the 45th minute their efforts came to fruition as the talented but still young and inexperienced midfielder Darlington Nagbe shot a precision ball into the upper left corner of the net from just outside the top of the box. The goal, a sure candidate for the AT&T MLS Goal of the Week, changed the momentum of play as the match went into the second half.

"We dug ourselves a deep hole," said Timbers Head Coach John Spencer. "We're on the ropes and we've got to get up andget ourselves back on track."

In the second half, the Timbers played a more convincing game, often beating SKC to the ball and creating many potential opportunities. However, while Portland's play was good enough to stymie SKC's offense, their own offense was dodgy at best, full of holes, often completely random and seemingly without any real direction aside from the solid midfield, anchored by the active and always dangerous presence of former SKC midfielder Jack Jewsbury.

In the end, the Timbers could not find the back of the net and a competent and confident SKC took home the three points.

OTHER NOTES AND OBSERVATIONS:

The first thing to say about Saturday's match is that the Timbers, in contrast to their recent performance against FC Dallas, did not completely fall apart after conceding their traditional early goals. To the contrary, they actually got it together and in the 45th minute, on the strength of a bit of Darlington Nagbe brilliance, pulled off a semi-respectable showing against a recently resurgent side that is good enough to pose a real threat to any team in the league.

Was it a good idea to replace Hall and Cooper in the starting 11? I don't know. If moving those guys out of their starting positions turns out to be effective in terms of motivating their play, then yes, it was a good call. If not, then what's the point? I guess we won't really know until next week.

That said, as much as I like Eddie Johnson, the fact is that he was virtually nonexistent as a factor in tonight's match. When Kenny Cooper came on in his place in the 67th minute, you all-of-a-sudden saw an SKC backline struggling with Cooper's size (if you run into him or get hit by him, you're basically flattened) and Perlazza's speed, which of course, is what Timbers management originally had in mind when it paired the two strikers. For my money, as frustrating as Kenny Cooper can be, he ought to stay put as one of the starting 11. Jorge and Kenny are a very dangerous combination.

As for Jeremy Hall Vs. Steve Purdy, I have no opinion. What I know is that Hall has yet to deliver. Since such is the case, I do feel that Purdy deserves a shot.

Darlington Nagbe's goal was one of the sweetest I have ever seen. It was his first in MLS, but leaving that aside, it was quite simply a thing of beauty that will probably be shown to soccer audiences worldwide. As Timbers Head Coach John Spencer said, "I think we've [MLS] been fortunate in the last month to see probably three of the best goals in world soccer: Hassli's against Seattle, Zusi's against Dallas, and now, that one tonight."

C.J. Sapong is a baddass.

John Spencer still believes in Portland and Jeld-Wen Field and the Timbers Army: "The great thing about playing here is that the fans never have an off-night. The Timbers Army is well-experienced, they've cheered a lot of games... This is the lion's den, this is a cauldron. It's a fantastic place to play... It makes you grow up very quick, or it makes you hide..."

Final point: I think the Timbers are on the verge of turning the corner on their downhill slide. They still play like they are badly confused, but there's also another sense of guys getting it together and figuring out how to work as a team rather than as a bunch of disparate people who are trying to score goals. One way or another, I believe that the Portland Timbers will shortly tear up all of MLS. If it takes a year, so be it. You will know us when we call.  

Timbers continue Downward spiral in 3-2 loss to SoundersFC

The Seattle Sounders beat the Portland Timbers Sunday afternoon at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, 3-2, and before saying anything else about the match, let's get a few clichés out of the way.

We'll start with the most obvious; that a young Portland Timbers side managed to "snatch defeat from the jaws of victory," in part through an over-enthusiastic defense that drew a red card and penalty kick in the 83rd minute. Said penalty kick went home, taking with it any ideas the Timbers may have had with regard to beating their more polished rivals to the north.

Next, we'll want to talk about how a young and desperate Timbers side managed to dominate most of the play, while still making a few critical mistakes that the always-opportunistic and obviously much more experienced Sounders were more than happy to capitalize on.

Finally, we'll want to do away with the tired old trope about how the Timbers, an expansion side, are still going through growing pains. While it's true that they are still struggling to find themselves as a team, it is also true that said disorganization, understandable though it may be, is ultimately a reflection on their competence.

The dirty truth of the matter, sans spin, is that the Timbers came out and played an excellent game and dominated most of the run of play, but in the end were eventually beaten by a technically superior side that, in it's ability to capitalize on every Timbers error, showed why it is third in the Western Conference and a real threat to any side in MLS.

The match began with a spirited and determined Timbers side pushing hard down the sides in true John Spencer form. Notably, accomplished foward Kenny Cooper did not start. The promising yet unproven Kalif Alhassan took his place and in conjunction with the always dangerous Jorge Perlazza, they were able to put real pressure on Seattle's goalkeepeer, Casey Keller.

In the event, Keller was more than equal to the threat and the Sounders responded aggressively, ostensibly in a bid to take the early point against the Timbers who are known to collapse when giving up early goals.

To their credit, the Timbers did not collapse, did not concede an early goal, and to the contrary, continued to push the pace against a Sounders side that was noticeably outrun in terms of speed, but that continued use smart positioning.

Matters came to a head in the first minute of stoppage time after the half when, amidst a scramble in the Sounders' box, Seattle defender Jeff Parke botched a pass to Keller for an own goal.

The Timbers came out strong in the second half and showed no sign of their well-known lack of confidence. To the contrary, they continued to play an aggressive style down the sides that seemingly had the Sounders on their back foot.

Upward bound Sounders forward Freddy Montero was having none of it, however, and nine minutes into the half he curled a free kick past Troy Perkins for the equalizer.

Basically, it was hardcore game-time from then on out, and in the 69th minute Portland forward Jorge Perlazza upped the ante with a ferocious turn of speed that found him on the business end of Seattle's backline. He knocked it in on a beautiful deflected cross that flew well past Keller and into the net.

The Sounders squad has been in a few fights, however, and did not lose its composure despite the roaring and hostile crowd, and in the 74th minute Montero beat Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins on a well-played pass from midfielder Mauro Rosales.

With both sides tiring as the hard-fought match entered the final minutes of play, it looked as though the two teams might end their second meeting in yet another tie, provided of course that The Timbers did not suffer another late-game meltdown. The meltdown occurred in the 81st minute when Portland defender Eric Brunner earned a red-card for a reckless tackle against midfielder Osvaldo Alonso. Alonso Easily shot it past Perkins to give the Sounders the win. As to whether or not the red-card was warranted, Timbers head coach John Spencer said after the match, "I think it was 100 percent the correct call, penalty kick and a red-card. I don't think there's any question of that."

Other notes and comments:

It may not even be worth repeating, but I'll say it anyways; the Timbers need to figure out how to shore up their defense. As coach John Spencer said, "I think it proved today that if you can't defend, you're not going to win games. I think offensively we did enough, but defensively if we keep leaking goals, we're not going to win games."

On a more positive note, the day did bring some good news for Timbers supporters as MLS announced that midfielder and team captain Jack Jewsbury has been selected to the 2011 AT&T MLS All-Star First XI. Jewsbury was one of the top vote-getters at midfield. It is his first MLS All-Star selection. He currently leads the Timbers in scoring with four goals and six assists.

Timbers End Slump With 1-0 Win Over Fire

I want to jump up and down and shout and holler that "the goddamned Portland Timbers are back!" after their 1-0 road victory over the Chicago Fire at Toyota Park in Bridgeview Illinois Saturday night, but were I to do so, I'd certainly be guilty of several levels of hyperbole, gross over-enthusiasm and in general, losing my head in the euphoria of a win that, while potentially of huge importance to a demoralized but talented expansion side, comes, after all, against one of MLS's bottom-of-the-bag teams. And I say that while apologizing for the long sentence, if nothing else.

The Chicago Fire, an otherwise accomplished club that holds numerous titles, is struggling badly this year and to be perfectly and painfully honest, it showed tonight as they were taken down at home by the Timbers, an expansion side that is also fighting for relevance.

And of course, that's why the match mattered to both sides, if not to the rest of the league.

In the case of the Timbers, a side that had yet to log a win on the road and that has recently been in a seven-game tailspin, an away loss to the Fire, a team they'd already beaten at home, would have been yet another reaffirmation of their essential inability to find themselves as a team, despite abundant individual talent.

In the case of the Fire, the match was a matter of salvaging a season that, in generous terms, looks like a "rebuilder." The Timbers, as a struggling expansion side have recently looked --along with the hapless Vancouver Whitecaps-- like the whipping boys of the Western Conference. The Fire had to be thinking to themselves that if they couldn't beat these clowns, they might as well write themselves and the rest of the season off as a loss.

The two sides approached the match with seemingly complimentary handicaps; the Timbers with a demonstrably competent if often unpolished offense, together with a sieve-like defense that's been prone to collapse like a damsel-in-distress at the least sign of pressure, and the Fire with a solid defense and no real notion of offense whatsoever.

Given the above, the match started predictably enough with the Timbers controlling most of the movement but finding themselves unable to penetrate the deep Fire defense for any real chances on goal. Notably, coach John Spencer revamped his starting eleven for the second time in as many games, adding an additional midfielder in James Marcelín, while saving accomplished striker and former USMNT player Kenny Cooper for the second half.

The Timbers midfield generally did exactly what it was supposed to do and in the 24th minute, forward Jorge Perlazza got ahead on a pass from fellow countryman and long-time friend Diego Chará at the top of the box where he was subsequently taken out in a hard tackle by Chicago defender Gonzalo Segares.

Said tackle earned a penalty kick that was taken and sent home by the always dangerous MLS All Star Jack Jewsbury. Captain Jack shot it hard to Chicago goalkeeper Sean Johnson's right, and although Johnson guessed its direction correctly, he was not fast enough to save the point.

Chicago nearly equalized in the 44th minute on a corner kick that defender Cory Gibbs headed just off the far right post, but it went wide and was knocked clear.

The second half of the match was more notable for what did not happen, despite the fact that defender Yamith Cuesta earned two yellow cards and an ejection in the 63rd minute.

With Chicago playing a man down and with the Timbers already ahead, one might be forgiven for imagining that an inspired Timbers side would have found a way to get it into the back of the net for a bit of certainty, but they did not. To their credit, the Fire played a game that, had they found it in the first half, may have won them the match inasmuch as they were able to threaten on several occasions despite the missing man. Midfielder Marco Pappa, an always dangerous proposition, for example, had several good runs on goal.

For his part, Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins earned his pay with three excellent saves, and although it is far too soon to say that that the Timbers backline has finally gotten its shit together, in this instance they played competently, if not well, despite the absence of Eric Brunner.

Bottom line, Timbers 1:0 Fire.

Other notes and comments:

Chicago sucks ass. Sorry to say it, but it's true. That said, as happy as I am to see the Timbers break their losing streak and earn their first road win, let's not get carried away. Damned near any team in the league can beat the current Chicago Fire. That the Timbers won is nice, but it doesn't really prove anything about what they're capable of.

On the whole thing of having five midfielders and one forward in Perlazza as opposed to two in Kenny Cooper and Jorge, despite myself, I find that I am for it because it seems to be working. Not only that, in a way, it makes perfect sense: here you're John Spencer and you've got a roster that's loaded with excellent mids. What the hell? You might as well use them, get control of the midfield, have good service into the box for your lone striker, and at the same time shore up your limp backline.

Finally, although it doesn't really need saying, if anyone was wondering how or why Jack Jewsbury ended up on the MLS ALL STAR team, tonight was yet one more example of how good he really is. That is all.