Here They Come, Right On Schedule

Something changes in the air when the calendar turns to September. Children return to school. Two full days of football fill our weekends. The leaves begin to change. Grocery stores begin to put up Christmas decorations way too early. And, most importantly, the Portland Timbers begin their late season run. It’s a tradition so ingrained in this team’s culture that you can literally set your watches to it. All around Portland, alarms are buzzing. It’s time.

Tonight, the Portland Timbers put together one of their best performances of the season. It resulted in a 2-0 win over the defending champions.

Cascadia FC's Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

The most important thing Portland had to do in the first half was not concede. They didn’t. Despite a makeshift backline due to some absent starters, they held their positioning perfectly and nullified any serious LAFC threat. Taking a 1-0 lead into halftime was terrific, and Larrys Mabiala was responsible for heading in a free bouncing ball in the box to give the Timbers that advantage.

The momentum stayed in Portland’s favor at the beginning of the second half. Mabiala almost got his second but just missed a beautiful set piece delivery from Evander in the 49th minute. However, in the 53rd minute, the Timbers turned on the style. First, Claudio Bravo won the ball back in LAFC’s half. He passed it forward to Evander, who calmly rolled it into the path of Yimmi Chara. Yimmi was blocked off from the ball, but that didn’t stop an onrushing Santiago Moreno who backheeled it perfectly into Bravo’s path. Bravo had a free run and an easy finish past John McCarthy to double the Timbers’ lead. Protecting a 2-0 lead is one of the hardest things in soccer. And the Timbers killed off the game brilliantly. 

Before I get into the player analysis, I’m going to take some time to praise the officiating crew. It’s rare that any group of PROReferees put on a performance that can be praised to the fullest extent, but that’s exactly what the crew led by Drew Fischer did tonight. I can’t remember a single call they messed up, and the closest one I can think of was a judgment call on a Kellyn Acosta foul that was definitely a yellow at minimum. Fischer called the right advantages, and had a great handle on a physical matchup between two teams that don’t like each other. My only wish is for all PROReferee teams to learn from this game and teach it in their reffing school (if that exists). That’s a perfect lesson in how to call a soccer game.

Now we get to the fun stuff! Tonight’s performance starts with the backline, more specifically tonight’s Man of the Match. Claudio Bravo had his work cut out for him tonight. Although Carlos Vela is having a down year by his standards, he’s still dangerous. Tonight, Vela created three chances, and had two off target shots. He lost possession three times. Even before Bravo scored the goal that iced the game, he was already the front-runner for MOTM. 3 tackles, 3 interceptions, 1 dribble, 1 foul, and 1 perfect shot on target. There are games where he just goes supernova. Tonight, he did it again. He put Vela in his locker for the full game. Masterful stuff from a fantastic left back.

Larrys Mabiala needed a day in the sun. He admitted in the post-game press conference that it’s been a very tough season for him, but he didn’t want to take away from the positivity of the massive result he played a huge part in. Miles Joseph described him as a player who is “first on the training pitch and the last one off it.” He was also described as always being prepared to step in whenever the team needs him. Tonight, the team needed him. And boy, did he show up. Besides getting the first goal, he was everywhere he needed to be on the pitch. He deserves a place in the MLS-era Timbers XI, and tonight he turned back the clock to deliver a vintage Mabiala performance. Couldn’t be happier for him.

Zac McGraw is the best young center back this team has ever had. The longer you play, the more experience you have, and the more you grow. It’s perfectly common for center backs to reach their peak around age 30. Zac McGraw is 26 years old and is one of the best center backs in MLS. Let’s talk about his incredible effort to stop counters. Not only is he charging back at full speed, he has impeccable timing on his tackles. He plays with the experience of a center back in his prime. A gem of a player.

Eric Miller was back at his natural position tonight, and provided the solidity needed to anchor the backline. You could debate Mosquera vs. Miller all night long, but they each have their own strengths. Tonight, Miller was needed, and he stepped up to the plate. Heck of a signing from Ned Grabavoy. 

Tonight, Evander played a 10 million dollar game without registering a goal contribution. Now, you might be asking how a player bought with the intention of fixing the attack could have such a game. I’ll answer: by being a threat whenever he got on the ball. His style must be incredibly demoralizing to any opponent. He’ll dribble past you with the energy of a man who is sleepwalking and make you look like a complete fool. His set piece delivery is always exactly where it needs to be. He’s someone who you have to constantly keep tabs on because if he gets the ball and you’re not ready you will be punished. That’s just on the ball. Tonight, he was strong in the tackle and energetic in the press. The Portland Timbers have never had a player of his caliber on the roster before. He can truly roam around and find the game while making hard runs to close down ball carriers. He got the goal he was so desperately craving last weekend at Lumen, and carried the same energy into this week’s match. He’s beginning to find his groove and the rest of the league should be scared shitless when this whole team clicks around him. 

Heaping praise on Diego Chara is too easy at this point. He was wherever the team needed him to be. I am going to take an odd route and offer a bit of constructive feedback to the Timbers’ iron man. There was one moment around the 19th minute where the Timbers were failing to find a way into LAFC’s box. Diego had space at the top and didn’t choose to take the shot. Now, I am not Diego Chara, and he probably thought he didn’t have a shot there. But I would like him to shoot more if he thinks he has the chance. Shots are good and unless he’s passing up an easy opportunity to create a chance I would love to see him try his luck from long range. Per usual, he was brilliant otherwise. 

Cristhian Paredes is still having a hard time adjusting to the 4-3-3. He’s not polished enough on the ball to be a true 8, but I still love his energy. Not an exceptional game from him tonight but I’d still say he was solid. Just gotta keep working on the training ground. 

Yimmi Chara had a bounce-back performance following a miserable outing in Seattle last weekend. While he didn’t show up on the stat sheet, his hustle and work ethic was crucial on the left side. He had a tough draw with fouling machine Sergi Palencia on his flank, but he performed well enough for my liking. More solid than spectacular, but he did his job.

Santiago Moreno might be the biggest beneficiary from Gio’s sacking. The fire has been missing from him this year, and it was his extra gear to get to the loose ball that set up Bravo’s goal. If he keeps playing like this, he could be the club’s Young DP. I’m being serious. That’s the raise he is looking for, and he’s got the rest of the season to prove his worth to the people signing his checks. He’s happy and playing his best soccer of the season right now. 

Felipe Mora had another tough matchup but did a good job holding up play. I’ve spoken at length about how happy I am to see him fully healthy and back on the pitch. On the other side of the coin, Franck Boli needs a goal desperately. A terrific McCarthy save denied him tonight, and he stayed flat on his back looking at the sky following such a good piece of goalkeeping that kept him off the scoresheet. Every time he steps on the pitch he’s constantly chasing his next goal. I am constantly rooting for him to score that goal. He puts in so much effort and as of late it isn’t being rewarded on the stat sheet. He will get it eventually, I hope.

Dairon Asprilla is made for this part of the season. He shifts into whatever the Timbers need him to be. In 2021, it was a key goal threat from the wing. In 2022, he became a striker. Last week in Seattle, he became a supersub. Tonight, he did a brilliant job of killing the game off. He helped the Timbers win throw-in after throw-in and provided the physicality needed to bully a demoralized LAFC team. Outstanding work, Dairon. Sebastian Blanco kept the LAFC defense honest in regards to the counterattack. Like Asprilla, he did his job perfectly. Antony was brought on late as the team switched to a 4-2-3-1. He had a nice tackle and that was about it. I would like to see him earn more minutes next week in Austin. 

David Bingham had another solid game in the Portland net. I thought he did well with his distribution even if he wasn’t challenged by a ton of shots tonight. I don’t have an issue with him starting over Aljaz Ivacic and I’m a little perplexed by the fans who do. I know we all love Jazzy, but Bingham is comfortable playing with this team right now. Ivacic did sign an extension prior to the start of 2023, and he’ll get an opportunity to earn his job back with a new coaching staff. 

While I did list every player who took the pitch tonight, the victory wouldn’t have been possible without all of them. This was a true team win and it was due to some excellent coaching. I had the opportunity to observe a full training session on Tuesday where the team did some tactical preparation for tonight’s match. I saw Marvin Loria take up the Carlos Vela role so the Timbers could work on stopping him. Claudio Bravo shone in those drills, and he took that effort in training and put on a clinic during tonight’s game. It feels like this coaching staff is putting in the maximum effort to turn this group of players into the best team they can be. One hallmark of Gio’s press conferences was vagueness about the team’s tactical setup. Since Miles Joseph took over, he’s been incredibly transparent about the changes he is making to the tactical setup. He’s not openly giving away any gameplans but he is providing valuable insight into what he wants the team to be working on. Let’s use today as an example. With a 2-0 lead, some coaches might become more conservative and focus purely on protecting what they already have. Joseph and his staff didn’t see it that way. They saw blood in the water and an opportunity to keep pushing the DEFENDING CHAMPS deeper into a hole. He also spoke about the second goal the team scored tonight. Joseph explained how the team watched some film at halftime and drew up a plan to attack a weakness that the opponent was showing. That film session resulted in the second goal. Gio’s motivational tactics are still incredible, but this team is so much more dangerous tactically. I’ve heard the “Cup Final” quotes several times from senior members of the squad since Gio’s dismissal. That fills me with so much joy. With those veterans helping the squad’s mentality and the coaching staff helping them become sharper on the pitch, this team is incredibly dangerous.

Joseph has been great, but Liam Ridgewell has been instrumental. During that training session I was previously talking about, it was Ridgy who was holding the clipboard and yelling constantly. With a makeshift backline, this team kept a clean sheet against the reigning champions. I know LAFC have struggled as of late, but that’s still a massive accomplishment. Both Larrys Mabiala and Zac McGraw shared some interesting sentiments about their coach. I’m going to use Mabiala’s quote because it was very illuminating: “Liam’s all over everything and doesn’t let anything slide, and that’s good because I feel like especially for the last two seasons we’ve been letting a lot of small things slide that have cost us so many points. And Ridgy’s here and not letting anything slide and I like it.” You could come to any conclusion you want with that point, but I’m using it to show how Ridgewell is truly pushing this defense to be the best version of themselves. McGraw’s example came from set pieces. He explained how Ridgy was unhappy with the team conceding goals on set pieces and shared that the team spent a considerable amount of time only working on defending set pieces this week. Mabiala said Joseph was more “calm and observing” while Ridgewell is definitely more demonstrative. I think the Timbers have a great interim coach and interim assistant coach who are fully committed to getting the best out of these players. Now that there are four games of the Joseph tenure to draw data from, some patterns are beginning to emerge. 

In those 4 games, the Timbers are 2-1-1. Their goal differential is +2. In all four of the games, the Timbers have scored two goals in each of them. No penalties either. The most interesting pattern pertains to the second goal in each of the four games. Each of those goals was special in a certain way, but the one commonality is the teamwork involved to create them. You could argue about Evander’s strike at Lumen last week, but it doesn’t happen if the ball doesn’t get backheeled to Juan Mosquera by Dairon and he passes it perfectly to the Timbers’ best player. Against Vancouver, the second was created by a Moreno through ball to Blanco whose centering pass was finished perfectly by Evander. Against RSL, Bravo started the move by passing to Evander. Evander then played the ball forward to an overlapping Bravo, who then delivered a perfect switching ball to Moreno. All Moreno had to do was settle it and square it to a late-arriving Mora who roofed it. Excellent. Tonight, the Timbers outdid both of those masterpieces. I already recapped it in this article, and it was a thing of beauty. This team is playing with a swagger and confidence that would be unimaginable prior to this stage of the season. Everything is beginning to click, and this team continues to improve game-by-game. I feel confident in saying that there are no more doubts about this team’s consistency. Sure, they might come up on the losing end of games. But you don’t put together stretches like this with consistent improvement and forget how to do it by the next weekend. Fascinating stuff from the Miles Joseph Timbers so far. 

The Timbers are now on a 3-game unbeaten run. Not only is it great for confidence, but it’s also setting up a grandstand finish to the regular season.

*I’m not including the Colorado Rapids because they are 10 points behind the Galaxy and are pretty much dead.*

LOOK AT HOW BAD THIS CONFERENCE IS! As of right now, the Timbers are one point behind the playoff line. Both teams within immediate striking distance (Austin and Dallas) each have games in hand, but does their recent form inspire confidence? The Timbers now have six games remaining in the regular season. 3 at home (San Jose, Colorado, Houston on Decision Day) and 3 away (Austin, LA Galaxy, Montreal). This season is not dead by any means. Rather, it’s playing perfectly into the normal Timbers script. It is a tried and true tradition for the Portland Timbers to round into form right as the season is nearing its close. With a schedule that consists of 3 teams that are currently below the red line in the West, one team above the line that they’ve already beaten at Providence Park this season, one tough Montreal team, and a good team that has to come here on the final day of the season when they might have already locked up a good playoff spot, who says that the Timbers can’t sneak their way into the playoffs while playing the best soccer they have all year? There is a ton of moving and shaking that will occur in this putrid conference over the final month and a half of the season. And these tricky Timbers could find themselves back in the playoffs when the final whistle blows on October 21st. That would be a huge accomplishment for this squad, and there’s every reason for them to believe that this scenario is entirely possible. A win like tonight’s could really cement that in their heads.

Next Sunday, the Timbers take a trip to Austin to face another struggling team in the Western Conference. This is a huge test for a team that is looking to conquer two mountains. The first is the second road win of the season. The second is their first consecutive wins of the season. The road form is still a problem, and nothing can be taken for granted. But at this very moment, the Timbers just dominated the defending champs. With that win tonight, the Timbers are now an even 5-5-5 against Will Ferrell’s passion project. This is a true on-field rivalry for the Timbers now. These teams always play close and entertaining games against each other (I am willfully forgetting the events of June 1st, 2019 except for a wonderful Brian Fernandez bicycle kick). Zac McGraw opened his press conference tonight by saying the following: “Both teams were missing players, so no one can use that as an excuse.” Despite the Timbers’ starting backline putting fear into the hearts of some fans, they delivered. Now the team must continue to deliver until that final whistle sounds on October 21st.

Cascadia FC's Substack is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.