Fortune Favors The Boli

New seasons mean new heroes. And new players are capable of providing magical moments. Franck Boli has arrived to score goals. He was only on the pitch for seven minutes and rescued a point for us in Dallas. 

Debuts for new players are very special. It offers them a grand stage to provide a first impression. My mind immediately harkens back to a former green-and-gold number 7, who only took 12 minutes to open his Portland Timbers account. His goal also tied a 1-1 game in Texas. We all know who he is. And we all know what heroics he provided using the momentum of that debut goal. It is entirely far too early to think Franck Boli will have the same level of instant-impact. But, we can definitely hope. And if the momentum of yesterday carries over, we have validation to stay excited. 

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Draws are a very funny part of soccer. Winning always feels good, and losing always feels bad. But draws can feel like wins too. Especially for a team that hasn’t won since February. The post-game press conference was more evidence of that, as you could hear a loud, happy locker room behind coach Giovanni Savarese. With a very tough April ahead, that is a welcome sight (or sound). It seems crazy to think about, but nearly 20% of the season has already passed. Getting these kinds of results push teams into the playoffs.

Getting results in Texas is hard. However, the Timbers are unbeaten in their last three trips. Major credit goes to Savarese. Today’s team looked disciplined and solid. The gameplan was obviously to defend and counter at key moments, and the first half was a good reflection of that. The best chance from that half came from a wonderfully played Nathan Fogaca through ball to Juan Mosquera, who squared it to Santiago Moreno but his shot was blocked. This team was fully ready for the match, but another unfortunate bit of set-piece defending (second ball, to be specific) allowed the hosts to take the lead in the 74th minute. However, the Timbers didn’t roll over. Boli entered in the 86th minute and his first Timbers shot ended up in the back of the net. It was the cleanest goal of the season, echoing Moreno’s late equalizer in Columbus last year. Soon afterwards, the final whistle blew on a stunned crowd in Frisco. 

This match is loaded with positives. There are a couple players with Man of the Match shouts. I am going to start with Aljaz Ivacic, who was outstanding. It looked like he had picked up where he had left off at the end of last season. He is the player most responsible for ensuring a result today. Zac McGraw continues to be a Best-XI quality CB. He did most of his damage with his massive frame, throwing his body at any cross or shot that came his way. Juan David Mosquera is an absolutely crucial piece of this team right now. Savarese knew exactly what he was doing playing Mosquera as a true winger. His defensive contributions were great as well. Diego Chara continues to be Diego Chara. Claudio Bravo had his best outing of the season, attacking well and defending with aplomb. In my opinion, Santiago Moreno looked incredibly comfortable today. He’s not a ten, and he will look a lot better when he is free to work on the wing, but in terms of his touch and off-ball runs you can tell he is getting sharper and sharper with each game. I would also like to shout-out Eric Miller, who made his first Timbers start today. He was asked to be on the right side of a back three, and I think that is his best position in Portland. I expect him to be Portland’s third CB and backup RB until a new CB arrives. Lots of good takeaways from this one. 

Now, we move on to the “they are who we thought they were” section. Jaroslaw Niezgoda was running today, and that was kind of all he did. Dario Zuparic had another Dario Zuparic game. Larrys Mabiala came on in the 86th, and looked slow. Nathan Fogaca is someone who is currently not at MLS level. The most impressive moment from him was a perfectly weighted through ball to Mosquera to set up Moreno’s chance. But he looked out of gas during a breakaway opportunity early in the second half.  His best fit within this team is 15-20 minutes off the bench to run at opposing CBs. However, given the sudden 4-deep at the striker position, he should return to T2 soon. Same with Diego Gutierrez. I love his hustle and his effort, but he is still going to need a lot of minutes to get to MLS level. It looks like he is still learning how to be a winger under Savarese. A key role in T2 will also help him. To round out this section on the positive side, Eryk Williamson was the main creative force in the side again. Between his fantastic set-piece delivery and his continual pushing of the ball into the attack, he continues to distinguish himself as a player of high quality. 16 of his 32 passes went into the final third, although only half of them were completed. Whenever Evander returns, Williamson will probably be forced deeper into the midfield, allowing him to be the main ball progressor in the pivot. It will add another layer to the Timbers’ attack. 

Set-piece defending once again proved to be a problem, with Dallas’ lone strike coming off a second ball. More work is definitely needed on that front. I don’t understand the consistent problems with set pieces, especially off of a great showing against LA last week. Just work on quality clearances and organization, as Ivacic had a busy night tonight. I also hope the morale boost from yesterday’s result can spark a late-2021-style lockdown on set pieces. There’s really not much else to say, I’m just tired of set-pieces continuing to be such a problem. 

Tonight’s two debutants combined for the equalizer. Dairon Asprilla was available for only 30 minutes, but played a wonderful ball to Boli that he slotted home. His minutes will only increase as he gets more and more fit. Boli is not injured, but was only cleared for 10-15 minutes. I would not be surprised if his minutes increase dramatically for next week’s match in Vancouver. There will be a healthy number of fans begging for him to start. I would imagine the same for Asprilla as well, but he is in a different boat with his injury rehab. 

One other aspect of what made the Timbers so effective in the first half was a great press. It wasn’t incredibly active, but they were doing a wonderful job of limiting open passing windows. That forced Dallas to play hopeful long balls that ended up getting recycled through the Timbers’ backline. Six players were committed to that press, with Eryk Williamson coming up to occupy space from the midfield. I think the natural next step for this team is becoming more active in those areas to counteract their difficulty in playing through the midfield. That will be easier to do when the injured players are back to match fitness. But the groundwork is already there. Forcing quick turnovers plays well into this team’s quick counterattacking roots. We will have to wait for it to be implemented to full effect, but it is something to keep an eye on. 

The Timbers will travel to Vancouver next Saturday, which is their first Cascadia Cup match of the season. It is also presenting itself as an excellent opportunity to steal three points on the road. Vancouver has a CONCACAF Champions League match in the middle of this week, against a tough LAFC team that looks to be gunning for that specific trophy. The Timbers seem revitalized mentally. I saw no signs of the team that got countered to death in Atlanta. Goals still are hard to come by. More recovery time for injured players will certainly help this. Boli’s early return is also very encouraging, and he could end up defining this season. It’s onto Vancouver. 

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