Another Year, Another Open Cup Exit

Portland’s 2023 US Open Cup voyage is over. After a wild and wacky game, their quest for this particular trophy is at a familiar early end. 

The match started off with a quick Portland lead, as Noel Caliskan pressed heavily on a short goal kick and the ball fell to Sebastian Blanco, who scored his first goal of 2023. However, the Timbers ended up doing the same favor to RSL in the 30th minute. Andres Gomez then fired a shot (cross?) across the face of the net and over David Bingham to give RSL the lead in the 41st.

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During the second half, the defense disappeared and the vibes took over. An onslaught of goals from the 49th to the 59th minute left RSL protecting a 4-3 lead for the final half hour. And although the substitutions from Giovanni Savarese were clearly intended to further the Timbers’ Cup pursuits, they fell short of the Round of 16. 

That is a short and terse synopsis of what was ultimately a very eventful soccer game. Now it is time to dig into the nitty gritty of what went wrong tonight. Once again, I will start off with the positives. Tonight’s biggest hero was Noel Caliskan. Giovanni Savarese said in postgame that he put in a “mature performance.” For a club that tries to get the most out of their draft picks, that is very good news for the rookie. It also showed through his 2 assists. Most notably, he completed 36/39 passes at a team-leading 92.3% rate. In the final third, those numbers were 11/12 for 91.7%. It looks like the Timbers have another gem on their hands from the SuperDraft. I would also like to shout out Marvin Loria. He led the team with 5 chances created and was still running his ass off at the final whistle. It was also great to see Sebastian Blanco back on the scoresheet. In his one half of play, he was the link between the backline and the midfield, and the midfield and the front line. Caliskan said in his postgame press conference that he wanted to play with MLS legends such as Blanco and Diego Chara. You can imagine how great it felt that his first assist was to a player who he idolized. 

Most of the flak will be given to the backline, and there are two schools of thought regarding that. The first is the Timbers didn’t prioritize this game enough and didn’t try to put out a competitive team. The second is they were looking ahead to Saturday’s Cascadia clash with an in-form Vancouver side and saw that as a more important match. I am subscribing to school number two. Yes, I want to win every game the Timbers play in. I am also disappointed with the seeming lack of respect given to the Open Cup. But I’m going to defend Gio in that, because he does respect this competition. The blame for tonight’s XI lies fully at the front office’s feet. There is just not enough investment in our academy, and that is a feeling that fans have been sharing for a long time. The absence of Eric Miller was massive tonight. This was a game that he would have been starting, but unfortunately he’s dealing with COVID. There are more important things in his life right now, like his newborn daughter, and being separated from her and his wife right now has got to be very painful. Since Miller was absent, Justin Rasmussen and Pablo Bonilla were tonight’s starting fullbacks. I have been saying for a long time that Rasmussen isn’t a fullback, and he is much better suited to playing as a wide midfielder. His positioning and tackling is not good, period. Convert him back to his natural position, because the left back experiment has failed. If you want more evidence, look at his goal tonight. It was a quality finish and he is also a solid crosser. Pablo Bonilla is a USL-level right back. Because of this, our greatest drop-off between starter and backup is at right back. There’s just something off with his technique and sometimes it looks like he’s never kicked a ball before. I realize this is all very harsh, but there should be steps taken so these players are actually playing at their level. Tyler Clegg had a solid game. Yes, he was at fault for the first RSL goal after losing track of the ball in the box, but his pass to Nathan set up Niezgoda’s strike. He’s still at T2 level, but there is potential. Larrys Mabiala was a victim of circumstance. He’s not first choice by any means, and his appearance tonight speaks more to the club’s lack of replacement for Bill Tuiloma. That replacement would be starting tonight, but he’s not here, and that’s the front office’s fault for not getting that replacement ready. David Bingham is a backup. I don’t need to say much else, even though he was hung out to dry by his backline. 

In terms of other players tonight, Jaroslaw Niezgoda was the standout sub in my mind. He’s really come alive since his goal against Seattle, and continues to impress me with his improved work rate. His goal tonight was very deserved, and it brings me delight to see him getting his form back. I believe that Franck Boli’s arrival is a big part in that return to form. Niezgoda has always performed best when he has competition for his role, and it is no coincidence that his effort has improved since the Ivorian joined the team. I also believe part of his resurgence comes from more recovery from his previous injury, as his movement was a big part of his slump in the past year. Now with his movement back, he is a huge piece to bring off the bench and work combos with the other attackers. He is now an official supersub.

Nathan Fogaca also falls into the supersub category, as his work rate is his biggest asset. Special mention to his assist, as he chested the ball perfectly into Niezgoda’s path. I am a Nathan believer, and he will continue to collect more souls while he’s in a Timbers uniform. Right now, I have that count at: the entire SKC backline, Jackson Ragen, and whichever LAFC defender that was the victim of his bicycle assist earlier this year. There’s just something about him where he creates these unreal moments, where the Brazilian flag just shines on him and he turns into Thanos. Yes, he’s inconsistent. But there is still a role for him in this team. 

I’m not quite sure what Diego Gutierrez’s role is yet. I still think he would be best served playing through the middle. I like his dribbling, but in order to play out wide pace is a need. A lot of long balls were played his way tonight, and he just wasn’t quick enough to catch up to them. In a team that relies on that pace on the flank, I think he is being miscast at this moment in time. Give him all the T2 minutes that he can get, and we can reevaluate him in the offseason. 

The starting-quality players who entered the match tonight are worth a mention. Dairon Asprilla was playing in the striker’s role, and his physicality is well suited to playing there. Santiago Moreno is still a quality player, and he made 2 tackles in his limited time on the field. Even though Victor Griffith isn’t a starter, I will still put him here. I thought he played well, but he is still a T2 player. Of course, he sent two decent chances into the North End. But whatever. Tonight is not a reflection on his abilities. 

I have already said tonight’s squad is a reflection of the front office, and I think it’s so important to reiterate that point. One player who started tonight for RSL is Delentz Pierre. He came through their academy, and featured at the University of Portland. He was also the victim of a Dairon Asprilla bicycle attempt and got kicked fully in the face. MLS roster rules make it so hard to have quality depth pieces, so academy players making it to the first team are crucial to long-term team success. Smart transfer business is definitely part of it, but you can only neglect the academy so much. Tournaments like the Open Cup are a perfect place to get first team experience for academy players. Savarese agrees with this assessment saying this in the postgame press conference: “I think a club needs to be a complete club. We need to develop players from the academy.” Yes, some first team players should be played in Open Cup matches. You can definitely make the argument that Savarese was conservative with his team selection tonight. But if you take Europe as an example, particularly the League or FA Cup in England, teams tend to rely on their depth until they make it to later stages in the tournament. The Timbers are still an injured team, and even with those players healthy their depth would still be tested in this tournament. Especially at the places where most of the issues were tonight. Giving teams more flexibility to build a complete roster that can still be competitive with injured players is the next step for MLS. Unfortunately, under the current rules, the Timbers’ US Open Cup hopes rely with their youth. Maybe next year will be different, but in 2023, the Timbers’ run has ended. 

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