Don't Look At The Scoresheet, Watch The Replay

The Timbers have lost 2-1 in Cincinnati. This loss sees them fall to a 2-2-5 record, still on 8 points. Those are the facts from tonight, but there was so much more.

An end-to-end first half saw Cincinnati take the lead in the 34th minute on a point-blank Sergio Santos header. The ball from Alvaro Barreal was perfectly delivered, but Larrys Mabiala was in a perfect position to get a head on it. It was a horror-show first half from Mabiala, as he just doesn’t have enough pace to play in MLS anymore. It’s been sad to watch his downfall, but that new CB can’t come fast enough. The highlights from this first half are provided from Evander. He played the best half of soccer I have seen from him, combining well with everyone and delivering great balls from set-piece situations. However, the Timbers are heading into the half rueing the missed chances that they had, with two point-blank headers from Evander and David Ayala not even finding the goal frame. 

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The Timbers once again looked a little sleepy at the start of the second half, and Cincy controlled the game until Brandon Vazquez added the Garys’ second off a sloppy bit of play from the Timbers’ backline. Right off the kickoff, Evander played a perfect through ball to an onrushing Santiago Moreno, who fed it back across (with a deflection) to Dairon Asprilla to cut Cincy’s lead back to one. The rest of the second half saw Portland in control, aside from a couple infrequent Cincy counters. However, the equalizer was just out of reach for Portland, and they leave Ohio with a 2-1 loss.

Despite the scoresheet, there are more positives than negatives to take away from today. The biggest positive is Evander, who looked the most comfortable I have seen him in a Timbers uniform. He led all players with 5 chances created. His ball to Moreno set up Portland’s lone goal of the night. Another interesting tidbit is his proclamation that he is still playing through some pain following his hip injury. Despite that pain, he went the full 90 and is really growing into this team. Another positive is David Ayala, who showed that his wonderful Seattle showing was no fluke. The only issue that he is still dealing with is fitness, with acting head coach Carlos Llamosa saying in the post-game press conference that he’s not fully fit for 90 minutes yet. Cristhian Paredes entered the game for him, and had a good shift. Another good shift off the bench came from Eric Miller, who has been a great depth piece on this team so far in 2023. Juan David Mosquera didn’t show up in the stat sheet, but he continued to attack and defend with equal aplomb. Zac McGraw had his hands full with Brandon Vazquez today, and did a great job  marking the USMNT forward. Dairon Asprilla got Portland’s lone goal today, but I was more impressed with his discipline rather than any action he did on the ball tonight. He got an early yellow card, but kept his head and didn’t try anything reckless. That’s what I want from a leader. 

Now, unfortunately, we must address some of the subpar performances from tonight. Fortunately, both players who negatively stood out are not regular starters. It will be very concerning if Larrys Mabiala is still the CB3 on the roster after Monday’s transfer deadline passes. For a player who features in my all-time Timbers XI, it is tragic to see age catch up to him. He just doesn’t have the pace to keep up at the MLS level anymore. Justin Rasmussen is stuck between wide midfielder and left back. He doesn’t defend well enough to play left back, and he doesn’t have enough of a passing range to play as a full-time wide midfielder. I do think he would be better playing farther up the pitch. He does like to get forward and is capable of whipping in a dangerous ball from out wide. Playing in a back four with Mosquera as the other fullback leaves Portland’s backline very exposed. Some more T2 minutes will definitely do him some good. Aljaz Ivacic shouldn’t belong in this category, but the saves he made tonight were saves I would expect him to make. He didn’t have a great command of the backline tonight, often diving late for balls or not getting off his line in critical situations. He’s not at fault for the goal, but I don’t think he was fully on his game tonight.

I think Santiago Moreno is in the middle ground tonight. Coming off a wonderful showing against Seattle, he continued to show improvement in link-up play with Evander and Mosquera. However, he must find his shooting boots soon. He had two clear cut chances in the second half, and both of his shots looked a tad bit flaccid. Last year’s version of Santi would have finished both chances with perfect technique, but that part of his game has been absent in 2023. I do have faith that he will find his goalscoring form soon, but it wasn’t there today. 

Besides Santi’s missed chances, I can take solace that they were at least on target. Evander and David Ayala’s first half chances were far more frustrating, as both of them couldn’t even get their free headers within the frame of the goal. And what’s even more frustrating about it is the competence Portland showed in defending set pieces today. Against a team that is very aerially dominant, they did not concede on a corner today. Their improvement on set-piece defending should be noticed. 

Another positive facet of play I saw from Portland today was an aggressive press. Now, it wasn’t as active as some teams in the league, but their effort to win the ball back after they immediately lost possession was admirable. Franck Boli really stood out in that regard. He did a lot more work off-ball than with the ball today, and you can see that him and Evander are developing some good chemistry. Nathan Fogaca came on for Boli, and continued to provide pressure from up top. 

To some, this match might feel like dropped points. To others, the positives outweigh the negatives and they can feel happy with the performance they saw from their team in a tough environment. I fall in that second group. Yes, I will rue those missed chances, but progress is the most important takeaway from tonight. Now, the Open Cup awaits, followed by a trip to an energetic St. Louis side that is still exceeding expectations in their first year in MLS. There is only one way to go, and it is onward.

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