Completing Passes is Hard Sometimes

I feel bad for any Colorado fan who returned to the stadium tonight. Even both managers agreed this was a waste of time. 

The Timbers and Rapids did play a first half of soccer, and nothing notable happened. Colorado had a foul called on a corner kick and they had a penalty shout late in the half. Portland had one serious attack but Nathan Fogaca’s shot from a tight angle was saved. 

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The second half was both a brand new game and a continuation of the same one. Both teams were absolutely wasteful but the Timbers at least seemed to be on the front foot. Franck Boli had two good chances but couldn’t find a finish. In a seemingly open game, no one could find a good shot on target. The points are shared in Colorado.

In a vacuum, this result looks terrible. In the bigger picture, this result looks terrible. On the field, this result looks terrible. There really is no sugarcoating what just played out on the field. The only silver lining is that it isn’t the end of the world, but boy is it close.

Let’s begin with the passing. Diego Chara continued to be the best passer in the side. He was the only player with a pass completion percentage above 80% in the final third. The long balls couldn’t find anyone, the crosses rarely did, and as a result shots were hard to come by. This is even more evident when you look at the counterattacks.

Giovanni Savarese pointed out 5 moments in the post-game press conference that should’ve resulted in a quality shot. All 5 happened tonight and not in the first half. Boli had his two chances, Dairon Asprilla had one, Paredes had one, and Claudio Bravo had one. The Asprilla chance was the worst one in my opinion. It was a 3-on-2 breakaway with Blanco to his left and Boli running through the middle. He had the window to squeeze a pass into Boli who was in a dangerous area. However, his pass went wide to Blanco, whose cross was collected by William Yarbrough. I don’t understand the thought behind manufacturing crosses into an aerially dominant backline. I also don’t know what can be done to fix it besides intense counterattacking drills. Savarese also pointed out a common theme throughout 2023 Timbers counters. It’s not just that they lose possession before a key pass is applied. Those turnovers lead right into quick transitions for opposing teams. A Timbers counter is more likely to turn into a chance for the opponents than it is to result in even a shot on target. All of the good decision-making we have seen from this team in the past has gone out the window in the worst possible way. These counters often look to play the ball out wide to set up a cross. I’m so confused by that. That’s just an extra pass to get the ball in the middle when there is often a dangerous run in the middle happening before the extra pass is even played. It’s not like the wide player has a better angle. It doesn’t provide any extra motivation for the defender to close down the wide player. When the defense does close down, those extra seconds often allow extra defenders to get in the box to defend the cross. The counters are broken. If the wrong pass isn’t being played, the player leading the counter is also very likely to carry the ball too long before losing possession before even attempting the pass. This isn’t just specific to tonight, so any excuse about the absence of key players is going out the window. They still do this even with their best XI on the field. The main difference in between the best XI and any other XI is Evander’s ability to create in possession. Without Evander, this team can’t create in possession and they still can’t counterattack. A solution to this issue can’t come fast enough or the goals will continue to come at a premium.

One solace the Timbers can take from this experience is another clean sheet. This isn’t really due to a great cohesive defensive performance, but some outstanding work from individuals. Claudio Bravo and Dario Zuparic immediately come to mind in that regard, as well as Diego Chara. Eric Miller is not a center back, and struggled over both halves. He was very exposed on counters and often needed Chara to cover for him when he was out of position. Very confused why Tyler Clegg never saw the field. He would’ve been an asset in the air and plays center back regularly. This isn’t meant as a slight to Eric Miller at all, rather just a little bit of confusion with Gio. But another clean sheet is still impressive, I guess. 

This was a must-win game, and now the Timbers have dropped more points. There’s no use in looking at the standings anymore. If this team doesn’t win games, there’s no hope at the playoffs. It’s not too out-of-pocket to say that our entire season is riding on Saturday’s match in Columbus. Diego Valeri’s deserved entry into the club’s Ring of Honor is a moment that this club cannot possibly mess up. According to Savarese, all of the injured players minus David Ayala and Eryk Williamson will be available for this match. With Leagues Cup only 2 matches away, this team needs any bit of momentum it can get. I’m not in the “fire Gio” camp at all yet. But this team needs a serious tactical adjustment and Columbus is the perfect guinea pig to try it against. Running out the same 4-2-3-1 and failing to create quality chances is getting tiresome. Yes, the team played a 4-3-3 in both halves against Colorado, but at least it was something a little bit different. A tactical change could revitalize the locker room as well. Winning cures all ills, and the Timbers are not likely to return to winning ways with performances like tonight’s migraine-causing affair.

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