Heroes and Villains: The Leagues Cup Deluxe Edition

After losses, Giovanni Savarese usually opens his post-match press conferences with, “We played really well, but the result didn’t go our way.” Tonight those words rang true in the most obvious way.

The Timbers started the first half by matching the intensity of Tigres incredibly well. That was the biggest question entering today, and the “cup final” mentality was once again on display. Within the first 10 minutes, it became evident that the referee had already lost the plot. You can never allow dives to go unpunished, and the Timbers often got the butt end of the stick. But I’m going to do a much deeper dive on the refereeing later. After all, the ref did (correctly) award a free kick at the top of the box 22 minutes in. In the 24th minute, Evander did what we’ve all been waiting for. A perfect free kick that Nahuel Guzman had to dig out of his own net gave the Timbers a deserved lead. However, Evander was the victim of a great tackle from Rafael Carioca that led to a quick transition moment for Tigres, which ended with a smooth finish from Andre-Pierre Gignac past Aljaz Ivacic. 2 minutes later, Evander was shown a second yellow after he tried to get around Nicolas Lopez. That left the Timbers down a man heading into halftime.

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The only halftime change for Portland was Jaroslaw Niezgoda entering for Felipe Mora. Tigres took the opportunity to switch to a back three. I will get more into that later. Tigres continued to dominate possession while the Timbers’ depleted attack couldn’t muster any clear chance. It took a corner kick for Tigres to find the winner, as Juan Mosquera lost his marker and Guido Pizarro’s excellent flicked header found Jesus Angulo on the back post. The Timbers tried to get that equalizer, but the match ended with a chorus of boos and the Timbers advancing to the next round of Leagues Cup.

When you decide to referee a game, you can never lose the plot. Tigres will try to outmuscle and out-dive any opponent. This was evident after several dives went unpunished by the referee. Felipe Mora in particular was hounded every time he got the ball. But Evander’s second yellow will be the moment most remembered by everyone who watched this match. From the stands, I could tell that the call was bullshit. However, I did doubt myself. I would have to see the replay. A narrative was forming in my mind: Evander had lost the ball that led to the equalizer, and promptly lost his cool and committed a bad foul out of frustration. But upon watching the replay, I saw incidental contact from Evander who was trying to get into position to win the ball back. Nothing malicious. Of course Nicolas Lopez would go down if he felt contact on his head. But contact to the head isn’t an immediate yellow or red card. Lopez had put himself in a position to block Evander from trying to make a play on the ball. Evander tried to get around a jumping Lopez and tried a swim move and made incidental contact with Lopez’s head. Is his arm in a natural position? He’s not going to let himself get blocked out of the play. He’s going to try and get around his marker. Even if the referee would give the second yellow, odds are VAR would overturn it. But VAR can’t be used unless one of these criteria is met: goal/no goal, penalty/no penalty, direct red card, or mistaken identity. Since this foul had no impact on any goal or potential penalty, that’s two options eliminated. It was clear that this “foul” was on Evander, so there’s no mistaken identity. But since it was a second yellow, and not a straight red, this “foul” couldn’t have been reviewed. It is also worth wondering if the “foul” was even a yellow card in the first place. Yellow cards can be awarded (funny phrasing, like a yellow card could be an award to anyone outside of Diego Chara) for unsporting behavior, consistent infringement of the game’s rules, dissent, or delaying a restart. Simulation (diving) is also worthy of a yellow card if the dive is serious enough (like trying to draw a penalty bad or Lucas Melano bad). I don’t think that Evander’s “foul” falls into any of those categories. Up until that point, Tigres had definitely earned their yellow cards. But Evander wasn’t persistently infringing on the game’s rules; the opponents were. I don’t even think this gets called as a foul if Lopez doesn’t go down and Pizarro isn’t immediately pointing to the referee to give Evander his marching orders. Just awful game management and no legal way for VAR to recommend a review. The perfect storm to give Tigres a massive advantage. Gio summed up all of our thoughts in one quote post-game: “I usually have great respect for referees. However, that call ruined tonight’s match.” The linesmen don’t get away scot-free either. They seemed to be following the same instructions as the center ref, and would often give no-calls or wrong calls for plays that they were right in front of. I know it’s hard to be a ref, but you are still being paid to make the correct calls at a professional level. I do my job every day and face consequences if it isn’t done correctly, and referees should be held to the same standard. Yuck. 

Despite the incompetence of the officials, the Timbers put on an incredible performance. They matched the intensity of the f***ing MEXICAN CHAMPIONS for the entire 90 minutes. Just on effort alone, they deserved a result. But once again, two moments changed the scoreline. The Timbers are very good at keeping their shape out of possession. Zac McGraw and Dario Zuparic are elite at playing hero ball and making up for momentary lapses of concentration out wide. They’re clearance gods. The Timbers’ true weaknesses defensively continue to be in transition and on set pieces. Same old story, and one I don’t have any definite fixes for. I think being down a man contributed to the eventual winner, and Tigres swarmed Evander to force the quick counter that led to the equalizer. Aljaz Ivacic did nothing wrong tonight, and I feel terribly for him. 

Moving on to the attack, it was always going to be a struggle to create a chance with two massive factors working against them: being down a man and being down their best playmaker. This was also compounded by Tigres’ shift to a back three. I called this move “cowardly” earlier, because it was. But it also was the right shift for the “visitors” (technically they were the home team tonight) to make. Three at the back effectively erased any counterattack opportunities for the Timbers. I don’t think Portland did anything wrong after going down a man, so I can’t fault them for trying to find a goal. There is one attack-oriented topic I would like to discuss though.

Jaroslaw Niezgoda gets a ton of stick from the Timbers’ fanbase. We can agree that he hasn’t been the same since his injury, but I’m going to go even further: he’s still a good player but not DP-good. He’s no longer a DP, but he still has a massive salary. I think he doesn’t fit the system the Timbers play. He shows a ton of willingness to link play and try to get the ball in dangerous areas from the center of the attack. This would work a lot better in a 2-striker system rather than as a single center forward. Let’s look at that San Jose game, where he created four chances. He’ll often drift out to the right wing to receive the ball, play a pass, and then try to get into the middle to get on the end of a cross or ground pass to finish. He’s also an accomplished poacher. I still think he can do a good job as a lone center forward, but he needs someone to play off of to truly be a great striker. Subbing him on for Mora was a choice made out of necessity, and he did try hard to get in the right spots. But with three center backs marking him at all times, it was always going to be an uphill battle for him to make an impact tonight. 

There are multiple shouts for Man of the Match tonight, so I’m going to go through all of them. Claudio Bravo had a tough assignment with Luis Quinones, and showed a serious aptitude to keep him away from dangerous positions. Tigres did switch their wingers, and Nicolas Lopez was also a tough assignment, but Bravo played like a warrior. Same with Dario Zuparic and Zac McGraw, who did a great job of winning headers and getting in the correct positions to clear crosses and any danger in their area. In case you needed any more convincing that Zuparic was the best player in the league, he reminded us once again that he still has more MLS goals than Lionel Messi post-game. He also told us about a halftime chat he had with his center back partner: “I said to Zac at halftime ‘This is gonna be a war, but we’re going to die like heroes’ and it was like that. I would like to lose every game like this.” Joining him in battle and also dying a hero was Cristhian Paredes. He was being hacked to bits on the Providence Park turf and delivered another fantastic performance. In a year with so many great performances in the backline, he’s my frontrunner for Supporter’s Player of the Year. There are so many matches in which his absence would’ve cost us dearly. Tonight was one of them, and he gave it his all until the final whistle. 

Juan David Mosquera is still a gem. But this is the 2nd match in the last 5 where he lost his marker on a set piece (NYCFC home). He could’ve been in a better position when Evander turned the ball over to start the Tigres equalizer counter, but he is a big part of the buildup. I’ll chalk that up to a well-timed press from Tigres more than Mosquera’s fault. He still offers a lot in attack and defense, and it does feel really nit-picky to be critical of him following such a good performance from the team. But it is a pattern, and one he can definitely improve. I have faith that he will continue to work on his game as well, but it is worth mentioning.

Miguel Araujo made his Timbers debut in the 85th minute, coming on as a sub. He didn’t really do much, and I’m wondering if he will make any starts in the near future considering the excellent form of Zuparic and McGraw. But he was brought in as depth, and he’s still settling into the team. The system could change for him if Evander misses the Monterrey match, but Gio tends to stick with what has been working until it no longer works. Let’s see how he continues his integration in the next week before the Timbers’ next match. 

It’s rare for me to talk about opposing players in this recap, but I feel like Nahuel Guzman deserves a few words. I have a ton of respect for him. Most keepers who like to shithouse do it in terms of time-wasting. I never saw him time-waste once tonight. When he collected the ball, he distributed it quickly. Plus, he proved immune to the ire that was thrown at him when the teams switched sides in the second half. With the usual chants of “dodgy keeper” (and my own shouts at him to give me his shoes) he turned around faced the crowd that was berating him, culminating in this fantastic photo.

Evander’s free kick was unstoppable, and he played a good game. Truly a worthy opponent.   I cannot say the same about Rafael Carioca, Nicolas Lopez, Gignac, Samir, Francisco Cordova, Diego Lainez, Juan Pablo Vigon, and Fernando Goriarran. They should try out for their respective countries’ Swim and Dive teams. After all, there is a Summer Olympics next year. 

Evander’s dismissal left Giovanni Savarese’s hands tied. Changing a gameplan due to a red card is tough to do on the fly, but I think Gio managed it pretty well. Of course, there are always complaints about his substitutes. I don’t think those are warranted tonight. I asked him in the post-game press conference about his substitutions tonight. He explained that he wanted to keep a few subs in his back pocket in case of injury, and that Mora’s change at halftime was necessary for the same reason. Mora was dealing with an unspecified tightness at halftime, so the change was made then. Santiago Moreno’s entrance into the match came at the 61st minute, and then the last subs came in the 85th. Gio explained this, saying that the team was playing for the draw after the red card (very reasonable) and also being cautious in case an injury would bring them down to 9 men. The Timbers did qualify for the next round based on goal difference, so I can say that the decision was sound in its reasoning. If there was one thing to nitpick (and I will take the opportunity) it was the possibility of a second sub when Moreno entered the pitch at the 61st minute (Blanco would be my choice there). But it’s not a terrible sin, and it didn’t lose us the game. With all the hard (often unpunished) tackles from Tigres players, it is very OK to worry about potential injuries. Dairon Asprilla, Paredes, Mora, and Bravo were getting hounded every time they got on the ball. If the referee is going to do you no favors (and he definitely wasn’t going to) you have to be cautious. 

I did sit in the TA tonight, so I will give a small review of my time there. I didn’t witness anything outrageous from any TA members personally, but I did hear a couple stories (mostly involving some odd behavior but nothing incendiary). There were no Tigres fans that I could see in the North End, but the crowd was rather inattentive and more focused on their phones than the actual game. Since ticket prices skyrocketed over the past few days for tickets, many people had to take the cheapest ticket they could find for tonight, and most of those were in the North End. I think there might have been some incognito Tigres fans, but they weren’t outwardly cheering for their team. The Army was loud at points, but still isn’t reaching the level that they’re capable of. I will note that towards the beginning of the match the chants were being rotated through at a pretty good pace. Nothing seemed to drag on, but towards the end of the match some of them did. Nothing completely sin-worthy, but I think tonight’s TA was more indicative of the occasion than the norm. Only two capos were working tonight, and they were both on the stand at the bottom of 107. Fantastic tifo (as always) as well. I would also like to note that chant sheets were being passed around too. I still think the logical next step is to expand the chant sheets and maybe sometimes let the match breathe to let some organic chants pop up. Still a work in progress, and complacency is still the biggest enemy of the TA. Solid but unspectacular showing tonight. 

Since I was in the TA, I was unaware of the gaslighting done by the Apple TV broadcast team for Evander’s second yellow card. Simply put, be better. I know my respect for Max Bretos and Brian Dunseth can’t get much lower, but they’re literally begging me to never turn the audio on for any match they broadcast. Evander is a violent player? That only makes sense if your definition of violence is watching defenders get nutmegged or a free kick being literally too perfect (seriously, I know Messi is Messi, but pound for pound that’s the best free kick I have seen in this tournament (only Almada’s goal against us is better across this entire season)). If anything Evander gets too frustrated and any frustration he had tonight was justified. Way to completely miss the plot, commentary team. Sigh.

All in all, I could call this one of the best performances I’ve seen this season. I would at least put it on par with the Cincinnati loss, and it was even more impressive playing down a man against the Mexican champions. Especially when the end result is advancement to the next round of Leagues Cup. There are now two questions that need to be answered: who and where will the Timbers play next and what is going to happen to Evander? Let’s start with Evander, because this red card needs to be reviewed by the Disciplinary Committee. I think there’s enough evidence to overturn it after the fact because VAR legally couldn’t look at it in the moment. Especially with their equally nit-picky choice to suspend him for the Colorado match earlier in the season. Everyone will have opinions on it, but according to the rules it was a “football move.” But I’m not on the Disciplinary Committee, and there have already been a high number of red cards in Leagues Cup. Out of all of them, this one was the most egregious. 

As to who our next opponent would be, we don’t control our own destiny anymore. However, there is still a high possibility of getting another home game. We will all have a vested interest in the San Jose-Tigres match next Sunday. If Tigres win or draw, or San Jose wins by four or more, we will get the second seed. That will see us play the winner of the Monterrey/RSL/Seattle group. Monterrey beat RSL 3-0 today, and will top the group with a result against Seattle. If Seattle wins, they would need to win by 4 to top the group. If they win by 3, it would go down to goals scored/conceded. If the result is a 3-0 win by Seattle, it would go to the Fair Play table. RSL is doomed by a 3-0 Seattle win if no other team gets a red card. Seattle only has one yellow card, and Monterrey has two yellow cards. If Seattle wins 3-0 and they get two more yellow cards than Monterrey does, Monterrey will top the group. Really fascinating math I’m doing here, but it’s important. Monterrey winning the group would give the Timbers another home game. The most likely result (despite my tiebreaker research) would be a Monterrey win or draw in Seattle. The Sounders are bad, and Monterrey is good. If Seattle or RSL end up topping the group (unlikely for both) the Timbers would travel for their next Leagues Cup match. But the most likely outcome is another home game for the Timbers, even though Monterrey is very tough competition. 

If San Jose wins by either one or two, the Timbers will finish first in the group. That result would see us face either LA Galaxy or Vancouver. The Whitecaps would finish second if they win or draw and win the penalty shootout. The Galaxy need to win or draw and win the penalty shootout. Either way, the second place finisher will travel to Providence Park. Pretty straightforward. 

The team showed up in another “cup final,” and now are going through to the next round in Leagues Cup. Evander’s status is still a question mark, but this team is still dangerous. With a strong defense and growing competence in the attack, there are still good reasons to believe a deep Leagues Cup run could still be in the cards. Just fantastic work from the boys in green and gold. The locker room is more motivated than ever and they can all be proud of their performance tonight. Zuparic said it best: they died like heroes. 

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