No one would ever accuse the Portland Timbers of playing beautiful soccer. They are far too rough around the edges, raw and unpolished for that, and at the risk of committing a sportswriting cliche, it is not inaccurate to say that they are a young team with loads of talent that still lacks finish. That said, when the Timbers are on their game, there are few sides in MLS that can stand with them when it comes to high-speed attacking and energetic play. Nowhere was this more obvious than on Friday evening at Jeld-Wen Field in Portland where the boys turned in a dominant performance against the New England Revolution in a match said to have dire consequences for either team's playoff hopes.
The match started in typical fashion with both sides looking for an early goal, but even within the first few minutes, it was evident that New England was struggling with Portland's speed. Midfielders Kalif Alhassan and Sal Zizzo showed early flashes of brilliance down the sides and in the 9th minute, midfielder Diego Chara got control of a pass from recently-acquired defender, Lovel Palmer. The always energetic Chara snuck it past two defenders in the box and rolled it into the right corner, just past New England goalkeeper Matt Reis's reach, sending the sold out crowd of 20,323 into a frenzied uproar.
The Timbers continued to play well and largely looked the better team, though the Revs were not without an answer and in the 18th minute there were a few tense moments when the always-dangerous (and sometime USMNT player) midfielder Benny Feilhaber took a powerful shot from just wide of the box that only just went over the bar.
However, the Timbers maintained their composure and continued to play at a blistering pace that effectively nuetralized the Revs offense and in the 32nd minute Timbers defender Mike Chabala shot a cross into a crowded six-yard box where forward Kenny Cooper was able to knock it in off of his chest (or knee, depending on who you ask).
The Timbers continued to dominate for the remainder of the half and retired to the locker room to find a very pleased head coach John Spencer who would later say of the half that, “it was some of the best football I've seen, not just by us. It was some of the best football I've seen in Major League Soccer this year.”
The second half began --as the Timbers must have known it would-- with a determined looking New England side turning up the heat in an attempt at muzzling Portland's momentum and confidence. The core of the Revolution offense, Feilhaber and MLS All-Star midfielder Shalrie Joseph, played well and were able to control the match in the early stages of the second half, but the pace began to wear and with Timbers team captain Jack Jewsbury shutting down Joseph at all turns in an MLS All-Star midfielder's duel, it was only a matter of time before the relentless Timbers attack found the net again.
The Timber's third goal came in the 66th minute when Alhassan broke open on a run up the left side and shot a perfect cross to forward Darlington Nagbe (in for Jorge Perlazza who was ill, though still on the bench as a sub) who headed it in from 12 yards out. It was Nagbe's second goal of the season and was further evidence, if any was needed, that the excitement surrounding the young player is not misplaced.
The remainder of the match was largely a continuation of what had gone before, with the Timbers controlling the pitch and remaining stingy on defense. Goalkeeper Troy Perkins put in a solid performance with several excellent saves, notching his third consecutive shut-out, but it is also true that the Timbers backline, recently revitalized by the addition of Palmer and Chabala, made his job easy. To their credit, the Timbers showed no signs of the late-game defensive meltdowns that have marred their record in the past.
Other Notes and Observations:
As noted above, it's pretty hard to talk about the Timber's opening season in MLS without veering dangerously close to the land of badly over-played sportswriting cliches. However, if cliches exist because they are an easy way to describe the commonplace, then the fact that it's so easy to use them when speaking of the Timbers tells us that indeed, they are in a rather commonplace situation. IE; they are a highly talented but still young and relatively inexperienced team that obviously has all of the necessary ingredients to take it to the next level, but that is still struggling with things like consistency and resolve in the face of adversity. In a nutshell, the Timbers are a young side with tons of talent that lacks the sort of team-wide strength of character that comes with competitive maturity. Once they get that aspect down, there are few sides in MLS that have any hope at all of handling the speed and dynamism of their offense. Which is just to say that for Timbers supporters, there is real hope that their team will be a dominant side in MLS.
That said, let's talk about play-off prospects. With this win, the Timbers provisionally move past both DC United and the NY Red Bulls in the chase for the final four play-off slots. They are now officially tied with Houston and while the winners and losers of this weekend's matches will have some bearing on their prospects, it seems increasingly likely that Portland will make it to the play-offs. Adding to this likelihood is the fact that the Timbers' next match is at home against the struggling San Jose Earthquakes while Houston faces an excellent FC Dallas side that they have little prospect of besting. In any event, we will see. As of now, the prognosis for Portland making the play-offs is relatively good. How they will do once there is anyone's guess, but as an expansion side, the play-offs are basically a party that no one expected they'd be able to attend. In that sense, just showing up is a victory in itself.
Personally, I believe that if the Timbers can learn to maintain composure, focus and general strength of character in the face of adversity, given the speed and energy of their offense combined with what looks like an increasingly competent backline, they'll have a real chance at knocking out some of the weaker sides in the play-offs. Again, we will see.
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