A Moral Victory?

By the time tonight’s game kicked off, the field was simmering due to the heat. In all likelihood, this was the final “hot” game that the Portland Timbers will play in 2026. Therefore, it was incredibly apt that the high temperatures coincided with the hottest team in MLS’ annual visit. Although the Timbers did not end St. Louis’ 13-game unbeaten streak, they managed to secure a good point at home with a 2-2 draw.

Recap

It only took 35 seconds for St. Louis to take the lead.

Here’s a forewarning: I’m going to try and stick to the positives in this recap. After all, this was a positive result, so this recap should reflect that. HOWEVER, it’s time for a tangent before I can break down this opening goal.

TANGENT: A Loss For Words

I really have no idea what the root cause of this problem is.

You have seen this chart before. I have shown you this graphic already. Sure, there’s now more games to glean data from, but it hasn’t changed. The Portland Timbers cannot start games on the front foot. It’s nearly impossible for them to do so.

Tonight’s game was Portland’s 27th in all competitions this season. It was the 12th game in which they conceded THE FIRST GOAL within 20 minutes of the opening kickoff. That trend isn’t unique to the former head coach, or the interim, and especially not the new head coach. It is something that the players ultimately need to shoulder. 

I want to break down this stat even further. Let’s look at the first 15 minutes of the first half across all Timbers games in 2026. Oddly enough, the prevailing historical trend suggests that Portland’s problems at the beginning of the second half are far more troublesome than their start-of-game woes. Don’t worry, we’ll get to that too. This game is pretty good for confirming or discarding narratives. 

This season began with a giveaway leading to a goal. Columbus’ Wessam Abou Ali pounced on a Kristoffer Velde backpass to give the Crew the lead in the 6th minute. It’s no surprise that this theme has held strong throughout the remaining 26 games. As of today, Portland’s first 20-minute goal differential is -4 (11f, 15a). That might not seem so bad, until you observe that the Timbers have conceded 15 goals within 20 minutes of the opening whistle over 27 games. Although some of these matches features multiple concessions within 20 minutes (looking at you, San Jose home and Chicago away) these numbers make it statistically more likely for the Timbers to begin any random game and concede before the 20 minute mark. It’s bewildering.

Recap, Continued

Goal number 15 in the previous dataset is born from a poor giveaway in Portland’s half. To be more specific, it’s Kamal Miller’s giveaway. But I’m more intrigued by how the ball gets to Miller than the giveaway itself.

This is where Jimer Fory takes his first touch after receiving an excellent cross-field switch from Vincent Janssen. It’s a very positive start for Portland, as Janssen’s pass has given Portland a chance to go direct and attack the area with more open space on the field.

Fory’s next move is to pass directly to Velde’s feet. This is how this sequence is designed. Velde is supposed to receive the ball and draw the attention of Tomas Totland, who is already marking him. The space behind Totland will open up, and Velde can immediately play the ball through to Fory, who will be making an overlapping run. This is pretty elementary stuff.

This is where the promising direct sequence gets neutered. Velde takes a touch that does create space for himself against Totland, but now he’s entered Sang-Bin Jeong’s zone of influence. The Korean forward can step up and provide even more pressure on Velde. Not great!

In a way, Velde walks himself into trouble here. This screencap comes from his third touch, which illustrates that Velde has moved slightly backwards towards his own goal. It isn’t the end of the world though. Plays like this happen all the time, and loose touches can kill potentially promising attacks. Now being pressured by two piss-colored Raviolis, the Norwegian winger finds a safe option in a teammate: Kamal Miller.

Sang-Bin continues his pressuring run. Miller decides that the sequence isn’t dead and tries to find Fory on the wing after Velde was unable to do so. The Canadian defender hits this pass first-time. There are three errors that Miller makes here. First of all, this pass is not hit very strongly. It’s also going to be hit on the ground, rather than in the air. And the final error is how telegraphed it is. St. Louis players will know where this ball is going. 

Like Totland, for example. All he has to do is shift to the right to intercept this pass. Drake “The Toddler” Maye made his return to the gridiron tonight, and tossed 3 inexplicable interceptions in the 4th quarter of tonight’s Super Bowl rematch between the New England Patriots and the Seattle Seahawks. Miller’s pass isn’t the piping-hot deluxe clam chowder in a bread bowl that Maye served up to Seattle CB Josh Jobe to clinch the game, but it’s still a bad turnover in a terrible part of the field to give the ball away in.

Fory is caught up field, so Totland has acres of space to run into. A 4v4 is developing in Portland’s box. The two back post defenders, Finn Surman and Eric Miller, are responsible for tracking the two runners who have occupied dangerous positions in the penalty area.

Totland’s cross is deflected by Kamal Miller, and it’s out of reach for the first pair: Sang-Bin and Surman. Rafael Navarro, making his first start as a Ravioli after a league-record cashfer from Colorado, has gotten goalside on Eric Miller. But the veteran right back can still challenge for the ball from this disadvantageous position.

It is difficult to see, but there are three players fighting for this ball. James Pantemis correctly goes down to the ground to try and block off the most dangerous angle of the goal. However, that would assume that Navarro’s dominant foot would make contact with the ball. It doesn’t. His planted left leg is the body part that Navarro uses. The ball goes the opposite way of Pantemis’ dive, and bounces calmly into the net. An ugly concession, and it occurs THIRTY-FIVE SECONDS INTO THE START OF THIS GAME.

In case this start wasn’t bad enough, the Timbers were about to remind everyone that it could get worse. In the 11th minute, St. Louis toyed with Portland’s press. They moved the ball forwards, and then backward, trying to unlock the perfect entry ball. That entry ball was found when Alexandru Matan slipped free of his marker and found himself in acres of space in the middle of the field. Dante Polvara played an easy ground pass to him, and the Romanian forward turned in those acres of space to play a quick through ball to Sang-Bin. The Korean forward occupied the channel between Kamal Miller and Fory; a spot that plenty of opposing teams have exploited throughout the course of this season. A good first touch continued Sang-Bin’s momentum, and Pantemis came off his line to close the angle as the St. Louis forward entered the box. Sang-Bin fired a ferocious shot, but Pantemis was able to make an excellent reflexive save from a few yards away. The rebound fell to Navarro, who couldn’t make clean contact and sent a bouncing shot towards Pantemis’ left. Kamal Miller had dropped to the goal-line, and blocked Navarro’s effort. But Totland had arrived on the scene to scoop up the second ball. However, his attempt went blazing over the bar.

Pantemis, in what’s becoming a time-honored tradition, saved the Timbers’ skin again. A 2-0 deficit would’ve been nearly impossible to overcome. However, more disaster struck in the 13th minute. David Da Costa was drilled in the head by a clearance, and was substituted off four minutes later after remaining on the ground for a significant period of time. This was a concussion sub, so each team would get an extra substitution.

So the Timbers were now down 1-0, still struggling to find a foothold, and their most press-resistant player was getting assessed for a concussion. Diego Chara entered the game for Da Costa, which pushed Joao Ortiz up a line. This substitution gave the Timbers more control, and suddenly a foothold was established. In the 25th minute, Navarro seized an Ariel Lassiter backpass but Surman was on hand to break up the play. Chara recovered the loose ball, found Cole Bassett in the left channel, and suddenly the Timbers were on the attack. He laid it off to Velde, who cut inside and sent a shot wide of the right post. It took a deflection, so the Timbers were awarded a corner kick. Lassiter’s delivery was met by the two hands of Roman Burki. Chara collected the rebound, Ortiz and Lassiter exchanged a pass on the right side of the box, and the Costa Rican winger sent another dangerous ball into the penalty area. It found the free head of Vincent Janssen. The hat-trick hero put a challenging header on frame, but Burki parried it. Bassett got to the rebound and tried to cut it back, but Burki was on hand again to block the cross. The offside flag went up. But that sequence was encouraging, and it gave the Timbers the momentum necessary to find an equalizer.

Their chance came in the 32nd minute. Bassett was taken down by Dante Polvara, which earned the St. Louis center back a yellow card and a free kick from the left channel. Velde and Lassiter stood over it, but when the whistle blew it was Velde who began the run-up. The Norwegian winger put the ball over the wall and bulged the back of the net at the near post. Burki immediately ran out of the goal with the ball in hand as he made a beeline for referee Fotis Bazakos. Why would Burki do this?

He was mad that Kamal Miller wasn’t a yard away from the wall. Yeah, this is technically a rule breach. But it didn’t impact the play. Bazakos wasn’t having any of it, and the game was tied 1-1. There was no way that this game would remain 1-1. So the Timbers started searching for the next goal. Lassiter drove forward in the 39th minute, but his cross flew over the box. Velde was on the other side to recover. After holding the ball long enough to draw Chris Durkin over, he calmly slid the ball to Bassett. The American midfielder sent a shot over the bar, hitting a spectator in the face. Oddly enough, it would be the second time tonight that Bassett hit a spectator in the face with a shot. The other occurrence happened during warm-ups, and the unfortunate victim was a child. Bassett went into the stands and gifted the kid a shirt.

In the second minute of first-half stoppage time, Chara intercepted a Totland pass directly in the center of the pitch after a long spell of St. Louis possession. After the Timbers settled, Fory was chopped down by Totland, which prompted a yellow card from Bazakos. Portland took the restart quickly, and Lassiter found Bassett at the top of the box about 25 yards from goal. His shot was easily collected by Burki. It was the only shot from target that the Timbers had from open play all game.

When the halftime whistle blew, the Timbers had rebounded from their early concession. However, I’ll cede the floor to Marti Cifuentes for a brief moment. “It was a clear message in the second half that we had to stay connected to the game in the small details, the small situations, because I was sure with the quality that we got and the belief in how strong we could be at home, that we could have situations to win the game. And then we concede a goal that was exactly the opposite of what we were asking.”

SECOND TANGENT: Still At A Loss For Words

With all the airtime I’ve spent this year talking about the Timbers’ struggles with the first 20 minutes of games, you’d think that it was the hardest period of time for Portland to properly defend. This is partially correct, because the start of the second half also exists!

This is the same graphic from earlier. The biggest differentials are from 0-15’ and 45-60’. That’s not very good, is it? I think this phenomenon can be explained with a simple picture.

Do not lie. This has happened to you before. While the little cloud guy (I forgot his name and I’m not Googling it) counts down the seconds until the start of the race, you press the accelerator to try and get a speed boost from the start. Time it correctly, and you’re rewarded with fire coming out of your engine and a big jump on your fellow racers. However, if your execution is off by the slightest fraction of a second, a brief engine explosion occurs and you get left in the dust.

The Portland Timbers jam on that accelerator like no one’s business. However, MarioKart isn’t soccer. A perfect start involves gaining control. When these engine blowouts occur, it represents a loss of control. The Timbers have such a hard time with cold starts. They have to grow into the game. But they have no Bullet Bills and mushrooms to grab on the racetrack.

This trend, particularly at the start of the second half, has been going on for years. The data I found only stretches back to 2023. But the difference is striking.

The most dangerous time for the Portland Timbers over the past four seasons is the 15 minutes directly after halftime. Yeah, yeah, game state and other factors are not present on this graph. But it’s too hard to ignore, especially when it keeps happening game after game after game regardless of game state. 

Halftime whistles can sometimes come as a blessing. Maybe they do for the Timbers, who also historically struggle with the final 15 minutes before halftime. But once they get back onto the field, another cold start awaits them. Portland’s struggles at the beginning of games are the same struggles that they have during the start of the second half. The intensity has to be there from each of these important whistles. And it rarely is. It’s the biggest problem that Cifuentes has to solve.

Recap, Continued (Again)

How did the Timbers concede a goal that was “the exact opposite” of what the halftime talk was about? Let’s break it down.

We’re going to start here. Velde played an excellent through ball to Fory, but Totland has gotten goalside and ballside of the Colombian fullback. Bazakos is going to blow his whistle after Totland goes down, angering the crowd. I want to put it on the record that this is the correct call. Fory extends his arm directly into Totland’s back. It’s a very easy foul to call, although the outrage from Timbers fans is understandable given that they can’t see the actual push.

The broadcast doesn’t show how the ball gets here. But Matan is on the ball and carrying forward with Santos on the left as an interchange option.

Santos plays a return pass to Matan, who is suddenly isolated on the left with Surman. You’d expect Surman to win this battle 9/10 times.

Instead, Matan has a full head of steam and glides by the World Cup goalscorer with a nutmeg. Not only is Surman effortlessly beaten, but he’s made to look like a traffic cone. This never happens. Now Kamal Miller has to range over to challenge the ball-carrier. Chara is going to arrive as an extra body to try and shield Matan from getting the ball into the danger area. There isn’t much else that Miller can do here. But by leaving his marker, Navarro is now goal-side of Fory.

The rest of this play is unlucky as well as opportunistic. The “unlucky” part occurs when Miller is able to get a foot on Matan’s cross, but the deflection puts the ball level with Navarro’s head. He’s already goal-side of Fory, and Pantemis came off his line to try and parry the cross. The goalkeeper wasn’t planning for this deflection. Fory was expecting Miller, Pantemis, or Surman to deal with this threat. Navarro gets a tap-in header, inadvertently delivered directly to his head. The real problems occur in the absent seconds of footage from Fory's foul to Matan getting the ball at 50:05. St. Louis leads 2-1 after 6 minutes of second-half play.

And, in typical Timbers fashion, they grew into the half. St. Louis was more threatening in the immediate aftermath of the go-ahead goal, taking three shots in the next three minutes. However, they suddenly sank into a 41-minute period where the Timbers outshot them 7-0. The fifth of these shots was Portland’s second equalizer.

Substitute Lukas MacNaughton fouled Velde in the 87th minute at the top of the box about 18.5 yards from goal inside the “D.” Although the ball was closer to goal than the last free kick within shooting range, this spot presented a tougher challenge. Getting enough loft on the ball to clear the wall would be harder, and the straight-away angle prevented a delivery rather than a shot. The Timbers would have to shoot this ball. Velde, Janssen, and Bassett stood over the dead ball and conversed. Velde described this conversation in the post-game presser. Janssen offered a left-footed option as a disguise to keep Burki on his toes. Then Bassett piped up and said, “We need to move the wall.” There was no question who was going to take this shot. Now Bassett and Velde were discussing how they would change the angle. Finally, Bassett took charge at the last second. “I will just flick it behind me and you will shoot.”

The whistle blew. Bassett approached the ball from the right side. He touched the ball with the studs of his boot and moved it backwards into Velde’s run-up. Once the ball was touched by Bassett, Daniel Edelman quickly moved up to close the space between Velde and the goal. Burki was positioned towards the near post. Edelman’s sliding challenge was covering the same space. So Velde drove the ball directly down the middle, wrong-footing Burki and nearly taking the net off. 2-2, 89th minute. Limbs appeared in the North End. Velde turned back to pump up the crowd as he joined his teammates in their rush back to the center circle for the incoming kickoff.

Three minutes later, the Timbers had their chance to win it. Debutant Ronald Hernandez sent a cross into the box. Gage Guerra flicked it to Bassett, but the former Rapid put his header wide of the far post. Unfortunate.

However, the Timbers would have to nullify one St. Louis chance before the final whistle blew. In the 4th minute of stoppage time, Simon Becher won a header on a goalkick and flicked the ball onward for Damion Downs. Pantemis came off his line, Ian Smith was pushed to the ground by the burly American striker, and the on-loan Southampton player took a swing at the ball with his right boot. Pantemis stuck out a glove to prevent certain humiliation. Fortunate.

The final whistle blew on a hard-fought 2-2 draw. St. Louis’ unbeaten run increased to 14 games. The Timbers got a home point against a difficult opponent after going down twice. Those facts make this game pretty difficult to properly analyze. But you know me. Let’s take a look at the overarching positive.

Some Improvements!

The only times where the Timbers seemed outmatched tonight was when they gifted opportunities to the Raviolis. I came away from this game impressed, especially with the way that the Timbers stood their ground on their home turf.

When MLS put a team in St. Louis, I was initially encouraged. That city definitely deserved a MLS team. And then that team started playing, and I hated them immediately. In 3 out of their 4 years of existence, they have ranked in the top 4 in fouls per game. The Raviolis are supposed to be toasted, but they’re awfully dirty instead. So no matter who the head coach is, be it an interim or a permanent, you’re going to get roughed up by the Raviolis.

That made it all the more impressive to see the Timbers match and exceed St. Louis’ aggression. They did not shy away from tackles, and they held their ground extremely well. I asked Cifuentes about this after the game, and his response was illuminating. “The way I like to play requires a certain level of rhythm, if you want. More than physicality, because at the end physicality is a bit of an abstract concept. I think you need to sustain a high rhythm out of possession, and then in possession you need those moments where you need to be more calm.”

Upon my review of this game, I understand what Cifuentes is talking about. When the Timbers were at their best tonight, they were matching St. Louis’ rhythm. Both Cifuentes and Velde would say after the game that they thought that the Timbers should have won. I think the quality of their performance was worthy of a win. But the ball doesn’t always bounce like that.

Box Tilt/Duels

It’s a tie on the scoresheet, and a tie on the statsheet. This definitely matches the eye test.

Meanwhile, it’s another box tilt victory for the Portland Timbers by a score of 20-14! However, I do think the game state played a factor here. St. Louis dropped deeper into a low block to protect their one-goal lead, which invited more Portland pressure. But I think one other thing is important when the box tilt is brought up.

That’s a total of 8 shots taken by the Timbers in St. Louis’ box. None of them found the target. 3 were blocked, and the other 5 were misses. Definitely something to improve. 

Player Ratings

James Pantemis: 7.5

Part of the intrigue that comes with a midseason head coaching hire is the small tweaks from game to game. Some of them are opponent specific, while others appear to be legitimate principles of play.

James Pantemis didn’t have to do a lot with his feet yesterday. It felt like his teammates only passed him the ball when it was the only other option. After a couple weeks of distribution mistakes, it appears that Cifuentes has adapted to the limitations of his starting goalkeeper. That’s great news, because the other aspects of his play shine brighter. He single-handedly kept the Timbers in this game with the 11th-minute 1v1 nullification of Sang-Bin’s shot. That represented 1 of the 2 saves he made tonight. He didn’t have to do much, but Pantemis delivered when the moment called for it.

Eric Miller: 6

Aside from picking up a deserved yellow card in the 58th minute, Mr. Reliable remained pretty anonymous. However, it was his responsibility to get between Navarro and the ball on St. Louis’ opening goal. After the game, Cifuentes revealed that he subbed Miller off due to the yellow card. He’s been pretty solid in the last few games. But tonight was a bit of a step back.

Finn Surman: 7.3

One of Surman’s primary strengths as a player is his ability to get his feet right. You’ve all seen it time and time again against top attackers like Denis Bouanga. That made Matan’s vanquishing of the Kiwi defender all the more shocking. He doesn’t get beat like that, like ever.

But while that play definitely stands out from tonight’s game, his 25th minute tackle on Navarro certainly saved a goal. Surman filled up the statsheet again: 2 tackles, 1 block, 9 clearances, 2 interceptions, and 6 ball recoveries. In addition, his foul differential was 0. He committed his 9th foul of the season tonight, an astronomically low number for a defender who is called into action as often as he is. I do worry about fatigue catching up to him, but he’s one of the first names on the teamsheet for a reason.

Kamal Miller: 5.5

The Canadian center back completed 37/39 passes tonight. Unfortunately, one of those incompletions directly led to St. Louis’ opening goal.

Miller has played a negative part in each of the last 6 goals the Timbers have conceded across their last two games. This downturn in form is pretty shocking, especially after such a strong start to the Clausura. In other news, he was able to finish his 6th consecutive game without a booking after he got subbed off in the 80th minute. I don’t think he’ll be starting in Dallas on Saturday.

Jimer Fory: 7.9

He’s so fun to watch. Take this moment for example.

As he starts to play in a more progressive role, I’m interested to see how he balances the need to get forward with his primary objective of defending. St. Louis isn’t the only entity in the middle of a 14-game MLS streak. Tonight marked Fory’s 14th consecutive MLS game without a yellow card. I don’t need to do any research to know that it’s his longest caution-less streak since joining the Timbers. After Kamal Miller was subbed out, Fory shifted over to center back alongside Surman. To be perfectly honest, I’d rather see Bonetig or Waterman there instead of the Colombian. But he did pretty well in a pinch.

Joao Ortiz: 6.8

After spending a total of 18 minutes as the single pivot, Ortiz moved to the 8 role once Chara subbed on. I think the 8 is more natural for him, especially if he’s asked to play as a connector. I wasn’t too impressed with his defensive work either. Counting stats aren’t everything, but I’d expect a little more than 1 tackle and 2 ball recoveries in 80 minutes of play. However, his performance against Minnesota definitely warranted a start tonight. 

Cole Bassett: Cole-arizing

Did you enjoy Bassett’s performance tonight? Were you impressed with his ability to cover ground from box to box? Do you, like Velde, give him 75% of the credit for the 89th-minute equalizer? Did the 4 ball recoveries combined with 3 drawn fouls encourage you that he’s growing into Cifuentes’ system?

I would’ve completely understood if Bassett was subbed off around the hour mark. He kept turning the ball over and the execution on his shots left a lot to be desired. The best open-play chance of the game (for the Timbers) fell to him in the 39th minute, and he blasted it way over the bar. That shot has to be on frame, at minimum. Is Bassett consistently inconsistent, or inconsistently consistent?

I am encouraged by the fact that he got better as the game progressed. It’s his second back-to-back full 90 after going 5 games with an early substitution. Portland’s midfield depth, in theory, makes those substitutions warranted. But if Bassett is going to keep being a late-game menace, you have to leave him on for the full 90 if he’s up for it. It certainly paid off tonight. His quick thinking definitely got the Timbers that equalizer, even if Velde did the hard work by slamming the shot past Burki. I think it sums him up as a player: excellent soccer brain, smart decisions, but sometimes let down by the execution. 

David Da Costa: Oh No

Getting hit in the face with anything sucks. Even a pillow fight can take a turn for the worse when a cushion smacks you at rapid speed. In the 13th minute, a clearance from Jaziel Orozco nailed Portuguese Dave straight in the cranium. He immediately crumpled to the ground and looked dazed when teammates came to check on him. The independent head injury expert said that he couldn’t continue, and he looked mad when he left the pitch four minutes later.

I just hope he’s going to be OK. Head injuries are very serious, and that blow, although unintentional, was very worrying. An update on his status will come on Friday.

Ariel Lassiter: 7.8

I want to highlight Lassiter’s defense. Sure, he was an asset in possession, but he was excellent off the ball. He drew 4 fouls, made 1 interception, and tallied 3 ball recoveries. In addition, he won 5/6 of his ground duels. A substitution in the 65th minute seemed like the right move after a good shift.

Kristoffer Velde: 9/9

Kristoffer Velde was born September 9th, 1999 in Haugesund, Norway. As he told reporters after his post-game presser ended, he was not the only Kristoffer Velde born in Haugesund, Norway on September 9th, 1999. I wonder what the other Kristoffer Velde is up to. Does he follow the exploits of his namesake? If so, he probably saw what his tocayo (today’s Spanish word of the day) accomplished in Portland tonight.

It’s becoming clearer and clearer that the Austin performance was a complete departure from Velde’s norm. He was nearly unplayable tonight. The gravity he carries with him on the ball is substantial enough to create space for his teammates. Since Cifuentes took over in early August, Velde has 4g/2a in 7 matches. Both of tonight’s strikes illustrated the two different qualities that make him a top player. The technique on his first free kick to put the ball over the wall was outstanding. In fact, it reminded me of a former Timber who scored a free kick past Burki back in 2024. However, the second strike was all power. Velde is the best ball-striker on the team, and his attempts on goal can be nightmares for opposing goalkeepers to deal with.

Now let’s dive into his presser. Cifuentes spent a portion of his presser talking about Velde, saying “It’s not a secret that I loved Kris since my time in Norway, and I was always interested in him because I think he’s a fantastic player.” Velde added some more context: “I knew he had been interested in me in the past and I heard a lot of great things about him as a coach from the time back in Norway, and played against him a few times and always scored against him.”

He had to put that last barb in there. Hilarious. When attention was brought to the “Tranquilo” tattoo on his arm, Velde quickly blurted “I should remove it.” Maybe it doesn’t suit him that much. “I feel like I need to be on the edge to play good.” That edge extends to his interactions with opposition players. He might not have known Lukas MacNaughton’s name, but he didn’t shy away from telling him “you should’ve been red carded” directly to the St. Louis defender’s face. “I haven’t gotten a defender a red card this season, which is crazy to me. So I think they [the referees] should protect me more.”

He celebrated his birthday with a brace, but he left the field with a scowl because he wanted a win too. Congratulations to the birthday boy, scorer of Brace Number 69 on his 27th birthday. Velde did mention that he was playing through some residual pain in his “groin or adductor.” Whatever allows him to keep that edge, I guess. 

Vincent Janssen: The Workhorse

Just watch this. Please. 

He was running on fumes by the time he was subbed off in the 90th minute. After all, Cifuentes can’t take the hat-trick scorer off the pitch in a game where the Timbers are trailing. And goodness me, did Vinny put in a shift. 4/4 successful dribbles, including a run where Edelman tried to drag the Dutch striker down by the neck. 5/5 accurate long balls, including the dime I clipped above. The veteran savvy to know where his teammates are at all times and the technical skill to get them the ball in dangerous places. Would Kevin Kelsy have maintained a foothold on the starting striker job if he wasn’t sold to Rangers?

Maybe I’m getting out over my skis a bit with that last one, but the point stands. Janssen is the definition of a complete forward; a striker who can impact the game in every phase of play. The only concern remains fitness, and I hope he’s able to go at least an hour in Dallas on Saturday. It’s a very quick turnaround. But the Timbers will keep scoring a lot of goals with Vinny leading the line.

Diego Chara: ∞

Is your phone ringing? Well, you’d better pick it up. Your doctor is on the line. And they have a prescription for you. Three Diego Chara clips to cure whatever ails you.

HE’S 40 YEARS OLD! A LOT OF DEFENSIVE MIDFIELDERS SMACK DAB IN THEIR PRIME CAN’T DO THIS! AND HE’S DOING IT AFTER COMING OFF THE BENCH IN AN EMERGENCY SITUATION! HE IS NOT REAL!

Once the club captain entered the game, the Timbers managed to gain control. Cifuentes’ single pivot might be the most important position on the team, and Chara’s otherworldly agelessness allows him to turn back the clock to the early 2010s. One statue, please.

Ronald Hernandez: 7.3

The Venezuelan fullback made his Timbers debut tonight, and had a really encouraging outing. He offers more in the final third than Eric Miller, and provided some solid defending to boot. Considering the quality of the opponent, those contributions really stood out. I think he’s in line to start in Dallas. 

Antony: 6.7

The electricity of his last two outings wasn’t there, but the effort was. I liked that he took a shot from outside the box with his left foot, even though it got blocked. However, he didn’t contribute a lot in the attacking third against a low block. He still needs a lot of space for him to reach maximum effectiveness. 

Ian Smith: Pants Stayed On

I completely missed one of the funnier moments from the Minnesota game. In the 85th minute, Smudge got pantsed while fighting for a ball with a Minnesota defender. Go find it if your heart desires. 

While that rating is definitely a little unserious, Smith’s 15-minute cameo was anything but. According to the stat sheet, he didn’t lose a single action. 12/12 passing, 1 tackle, 1 foul drawn, 2/2 ground duels won with 16 touches of the ball. His chemistry with Velde is very apparent every time they’re on the pitch together. Maybe the “power of friendship” triangle is Velde-Bassett-Smith on the left side. 

Omir Fernandez: A Shift

Fernandez entered with Smith in the 80th minute. He picked up some good spots, but very little came of it. The most notable action in my notes is him winning the ball back after turning it over in the 5th minute of stoppage time. Depending on the severity of Da Costa’s head injury, he might be in line for some more minutes. I hope he gets them

Gage Guerra: Rolling the Dice

Da Costa’s injury necessitated a concussion sub, so Cifuentes was able to bring Guerra on in the 90th minute as a dice roll. And it nearly paid off with Guerra’s flick header to Bassett in the 2nd minute of stoppage time. If Janssen is the thunder, Guerra is the lightning. Except for the scientific fact that lightning precedes thunder. I’ll allow the laws of nature to be disobeyed if it means that Guerra can enter the game and provide a chaos component. 

Coach Rating: 8

Bit by bit, Cifuentes’ principles continue to soak into the team. In addition, I really enjoy his post-game pressers. It feels like I’m always learning something. St. Louis was able to get some more control at the end of the first half due to a tactical shift that I didn’t notice. But Cifuentes did, and he corrected it at the earliest possible opportunity. “They created a diamond that created some doubts with our press, then we finished the last 7 minutes of the half with a little bit of doubt because of the diamond instead of the usual box that they have.”

This is probably not the best example that I could find, but it certainly is an example. Durkin dropped, Edelman pushed up with Sang-Bin on an equal line, and Matan formed the head. It was an astute adjustment by Damet, and Cifuentes recognized it immediately. That’s really cool, y’all. The Raviolis were still able to rotate effectively in this structure too. They’re a very well-coached team! Sooner or later, the Timbers will be too.

Table Time

No major movement in the table tonight, as the Timbers end the midweek exactly where they started it: in 8th place. Colorado didn’t extend their advantage due to a draw in Austin, while San Jose provided some breathing room with San Diego after beating Los Plasticos 3-2 on the road. Dallas won their second consecutive game due to a late Santiago Moreno winner. However, Osaze Urhoghide picked up a yellow card, and he will miss Saturday’s match with an accumulation suspension. Being in 8th place certainly isn’t comfortable though.

Final Whistle

Which is why the mood at the final whistle didn’t seem to be especially joyous.

Yeah, the Portland Timbers dropped points at home, even if they were playing against a better team that brought a boatload of momentum to Providence Park. But Cifuentes chose to take the positives from this result, just like he did on Saturday against Minnesota. “I really want to emphasize that the team kept believing. These guys have the strength mentally, mentality, call it how you want, but this resilience that allows us to keep competing despite things not going our way.”

The phrase “moral victory” often gets tossed around for games exactly like this one. Fighting back twice against a superior opponent and getting a very important point are things to be proud of. However, it’s still hard to not be upset about the circumstances that led to the necessity of those equalizers. I don’t know how big of a story this match will play in the larger script of the season yet.

That’s why this era has been so fascinating. The miniscule improvements have been seen, but the larger issues cannot be solved within a normal week of training. Gradual fixes will take time. But the early returns are promising. Most importantly, there is a strong sense of buy-in within the squad. Although it seems difficult now, practice is all that’s really needed for these concepts to stick and become effective.

Now the Timbers turn their attention towards Dallas, the house of horrors (except on Halloween, ironically). Their last 2-2 draw before tonight occurred against Los Toreros, and that game also featured a late equalizer in front of the North End on a Wednesday. More bricks were laid in Portland’s new foundation tonight. The building process might be slow, but the journey remains just as compelling. The climb continues.