Hungry For More

*Cover photo credit to Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers.*

Tonight, the Portland Timbers (2-4-3, 10 points) put in their best performance of the season. They didn’t get all three points, but there is a lot to like about a 2-2 draw at the home of the defending MLS Cup champion Columbus Crew (3-5-1, 14 points). 

Today was a lesson in control for the Timbers. They knew that they weren’t going to have the ball for a lot of this game, but it didn’t take them long to open the scoring. 10 minutes in, Eryk Williamson sprung a counter-attack with Santiago Moreno that ended with a perfect slip pass for Felipe Mora to roll into the back of the net for his 4th goal in his 4th consecutive game. The first half ended 1-0 after Columbus kept trying to find the equalizer, but ultimately failing.

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I would grade the Timbers’ first half as an excellent performance. Given this team’s habit of alternating between good and bad halves, I was a little anxious for what would come in the second half. Six minutes into the second half (51 minutes of normal time) Diego Rossi exploited some open space in the box and found Cucho Hernandez who scored a routine finish past James Pantemis to tie the game. Now the heat was really on Portland to retake the lead. And they did that six minutes later. In the 57th minute, Jonathan Rodriguez received a pass on the left wing. An overlapping run from Claudio Bravo opened up space for Evander, who took out two Columbus defenders with the resulting dummy. Mora picked up the loose ball, passed it to Evander, and Evander found Moreno to slot it home for a 2-1 lead and an excellent team goal. Now the Timbers had to protect their second lead of the game. Columbus kept doing Columbus things, and their equalizer came from an unexpected source: center back Steven Moreira. He unleashed a thunderbolt from distance that no keeper could save to tie the game in the 74th minute. The Crew kept pushing for the winner, and almost found it after a dubious foul call from Ted Unkel awarded the hosts a free-kick right outside the box. Hernandez’s effort hit the near post and rolled wide to the far post and the final whistle blew on another entertaining Timbers draw.

When a referee is bad, he’s bad for both teams. I thought that Ted Unkel had a good handle on the ticky-tack foul calls that a lot of PROReferees shockingly struggle with. But each team has one big decision to be mad about. Columbus had a penalty shout in the 55th minute after Diego Chara and Cucho Hernandez got tangled up in the box. That call could have gone either way depending on what the call on the field was. Unkel said no penalty, and there wasn’t enough evidence to overturn it. If he had called it a penalty, I don’t think that could have been overturned either. Phil Neville had some harsh words about the late whistle that almost gifted Columbus a win. The play started with a challenge on Darlington Nagbe from Dairon Asprilla, and Nagbe went down. At least 10 seconds after Nagbe went to ground, the whistle blew. Initially, I thought it was due to a head injury. But Unkel awarded a free kick to the hosts instead. It’s definitely a dodgy decision and one that would be a lot more scrutinized if Cucho’s free kick found the back of the net. But the soccer gods knew what to do, and the free kick rolled agonizingly in front of the line before the final whistle blew. 

Both Phil Neville and Diego Chara described this game as a “tactical battle.” So what can we learn from it? Let’s start with the defense. Despite conceding twice, this was Portland’s best defensive performance of the season so far. Before then, the two contenders were the DC game (prior to the subs) and the 1-0 loss in Houston. The Timbers only had one serious mistake on the first goal, so I’ll break it down to get the bad stuff out of the way first. 

This is simply a missed assignment. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s a “far post" mistake committed by Evander. Diego Rossi is rushing to occupy the sudden gulf of space in the Timbers’ box. Once he receives this pass, the outcome is inevitable.

The most important player on the field is wide open. Good teams punish these mistakes, and that’s exactly what Columbus did. Another thing to go over during film study this week.

There is nothing that the Timbers could have done better to prevent this Moreira rocket. Period.

The tactical gameplan called for the Timbers to force Columbus out wide. They largely succeeded at this. Portland got outshot 24-7, but Columbus only managed 1.31 xG. 

That’s a lot of low-quality chances from very dangerous positions. The Timbers forced Columbus to cross the ball in from wide areas quite often. Their best chance was Cucho’s goal early in the second half. Despite the barrage from the hosts, the Timbers stood their ground.

The attack was tasked with turning Columbus turnovers into quick, direct attacks. Once again, the Timbers succeeded. The first goal was a quick, direct counter where the Timbers’ talented attackers could get involved on the front foot. Same with the second goal. 

I can’t really get mad at this shot chart. Once again the Timbers finished their best chances. Evander had a chance in the 85th minute after Dairon Asprilla singlehandedly carried the ball through the entire Crew defense to set up the Brazilian inside the box. He fired a low shot that was saved by Patrick Schulte. This was always going to be a game where the Timbers weren’t going to see a lot of the ball, but they continued to be clinical when they needed to. I have no worries about this team’s attack right now. They just need to work on generating more volume. Volume wasn’t in the game plan today, but they still got the job done in the scoring column.

Time to hand out some gold stars, and I’m going to start with today’s Man of the Match. Felipe Mora has picked up right where he left off in 2023. On August 26, 2023 he made his first start since returning from knee surgery. Since that day he has played in 15 matches and tallied 10 goals and 1 assist. Tonight he became the first Timber to score in 4 consecutive matches since Brian Fernandez did it in 2019. Only him and Jonathan Rodriguez make dangerous off-ball runs into the box, and every creative player on the team knows that they can count on Pipe to be exactly where they need him to be. On the second goal, Mora’s hold up play allowed Evander to arrive late in the box and find Moreno. He’s the most in-form striker in the league barring Chicho Arango. Phil Neville couldn’t stop gushing about his star striker in the post-game press conference. “He was brilliant today. The way he takes his goals, the way he brings people into shape…we’re really pleased with Felipe Mora….he’s a starter. His performance and his attitude will keep him in the team.” Another great game for the Chilean. Maybe a call-up to the national team for Copa America is on the cards for him in 2024. Despite my selfish instinct to want to keep him here, he’s definitely earned it.

Santiago Moreno was dropped from the starting lineup last weekend, and entered after the Timbers were down to 10 men. He made his 8th start of the season tonight and scored his second goal of the season to boot. Despite some lingering questions about his decision-making, he put in the offensive and defensive work required tonight. Antony missed tonight’s game with a knee injury, and there is still serious competition at the right wing spot. Both players have a serious claim to it. Competition brings out the best in most players, and Moreno had a return to form tonight. And he got to celebrate his birthday with a goal!

Juan Mosquera is back in the gold star category after another excellent defensive showing. He didn’t get the chance to show off a lot of attacking chops, but he was instrumental in keeping the left side of Columbus’ attack contained. Yaw Yeboah is a very dangerous attacker, and Mosquera had him in his back pocket. Two quality defensive showings in a row against tough opposition for a player that is routinely picked on by Timbers fans for poor defending. By the middle of May there might be some apology forms circulating. 

Some people were confused why I predicted a Eryk Williamson start for this game. Now that the game is over, do you see where I was coming from? Besides getting an assist on the first goal, Williamson put in some solid defensive work. 2 recoveries, 2 ground duels won, and 1 successful aerial duel is a pretty good showing. That’s just the counting stats, however, and Williamson did some excellent work positionally as well. With all 4 midfielders in contention for starting roles, Williamson did a great job when he was called upon. 

Evander didn’t really get involved offensively in the first half, but put in a very good defensive shift. He got his goal involvement in the second half, and is now in some pretty legendary company. With his 8 goal involvement in his first 7 games this season, he has tied Diego Valeri’s record from 2017. If you don’t remember, Valeri won MVP that year. Even when he’s quiet he still finds a way to make noise. 

The Miguel Araujo-Kamal Miller center back pairing was pushed to their limit yet again, and had another solid game. Both of them are very aggressive and very good on the ball. No reason to break up this pairing as of right now. Today’s Miguel Araujo SuperBall (trademark pending) was a long pass in the 85th minute intended for Felipe Mora that tilted the field and eventually led to the late Evander shot that Schulte saved. They will continue to get better the more minutes they play together.

Jonathan Rodriguez is still finding his feet in Portland, but he put in another solid shift tonight. He’ll be back on the scoresheet soon enough. I do like his tendency to stay wide in buildup and drift inside the closer he gets to the box. According to Ross Smith on the broadcast, he said that he prefers to play out wide rather than through the middle. Ned Grabavoy and Neville brought him in to play as a striker, but it looks like there won’t be a repeat of the Brian Fernandez situation on the pitch. The Timbers will not force another winger to play striker. Portland still needs another striker behind Felipe Mora, but those concerns can probably be addressed in the summer transfer window.

Dairon Asprilla still hasn’t signed a new contract, so allow me to spread some much-needed Dairon propaganda. Since Rodriguez’s arrival, our resident demigod has been limited to brief cameos and a couple of lengthy substitute appearances. So far in 2024, Asprilla has played as a striker, a winger, and a right back. In every one of those appearances he has put in maximum effort. He helped protect the draw against LAFC last weekend. Tonight, he almost gave the Timbers a winner. In the 85th minute, he had a job to do. Dairon Asprilla decided to take on almost the entire Columbus Crew defense to find the go-ahead goal. After shaking off challenge after challenge, he found Evander in the box. Evander’s shot didn’t go in the back of the net, but Dairon did his job. Every time he comes on the pitch he does his job. He needs a new contract. Get it done.

Claudio Bravo continues to be aggressive in the challenge and overcommit quite often. But you have to live with that if you want all the good things that he brings. Let’s take a look at the Timbers’ second goal for a quick moment. 

The eventual goalscorer is at the top of the screen. But he’s not important right now. Mo Farsi is tracking Bravo’s run. Evander is aware of Mora’s presence behind him and the acres of space he will soon find himself in. But in order for Rodriguez to get this pass off, Bravo has to provide an overlapping threat. Farsi has to pay attention to Bravo because Rodriguez has a very high probability of playing a pass in behind for the overlapping fullback. But Steven Moreira is already tracking that space. Both of Columbus’ right-sided defenders are focused on covering the same space. So when Rodriguez’s pass goes to Evander, both Moreira and Farsi are caught out. Farsi can’t challenge Rodriguez because of Bravo’s presence, but Moreira is in a position to make a play on the ball heading towards Evander.

Bravo has already stopped his run, but the damage is done and he doesn’t need to continue forward. Both Moreira and Rudy Camacho are converging on Evander while Mora is looking at green grass. We all know what happened next, but this quality chance wouldn’t have come without Bravo’s intelligent run. Bravo also put in another great defensive shift, including a chested goal-line clearance on an Aidan Morris shot from outside the box. The Timbers are a much better team when Bravo is on the field, and today just adds to that evidence pile. 

James Pantemis had another excellent game in net. Yes, he shipped two goals, but he saved several more. He’s still the backup, but he’s such a good option to have behind Maxime Crepeau. He needs to work on his distribution but I was very satisfied with his shot-stopping today. His best save came off an attempted Olimpico in the first half, and he was not afraid to come off his line to punch away wayward crosses. Good shift from the backup.

There’s only one player that I have legitimate criticism for, and it’s Cristhian Paredes. None of this will come as a surprise to him, but it does need to be said. The Timbers’ ability to effectively counterattack was severely damaged when Paredes entered for Eryk Williamson. Paredes’ main strengths are his late-arriving runs and his defensive solidity. David Ayala should’ve entered instead of Paredes at that juncture. The more I think about it, the more I believe that the main error resides with the head coach. Paredes needs to get better at receiving the ball under pressure and that’s where the Timbers’ counters were stalling. He does have a purpose in this team, but I think he was hung out to dry a little tonight.

Diego Chara has tied an illustrious record. He now is tied for the most MLS regular season appearances of all time with Chris Wondolowski. He will likely break the record next week. He’s proud of the accomplishment, but he remains focused on the team. That’s my captain. It’s always so entertaining watching him face off with Darlington Nagbe, and Diego got the better of his old teammate today. In Chara and Evander, the Timbers have two leaders who let their play on the field do the talking. And today, the Timbers’ play did a lot of talking itself.

Phil Neville was incensed about the late free-kick call in the postgame press conference, but he also took the time to praise his players for another strong performance. Given the recent run of games, the head coach has every right to be mad at the refereeing decisions that have gone against the team. It’s been pretty interesting to see his progression from week to week. After the Vancouver game where the most egregious officiating error took place (the no-call on an obvious penalty against Jonathan Rodriguez) Neville mentioned the missed call but was rather calm about it. He kept the same calm tone when talking about the red card issued to Maxime Crepeau last week against LAFC, even though he was visibly frustrated with it. Tonight, he was furious. Although he wasn’t yelling, the anger in his voice resonated with every Timbers fan who has heard the clip. I only have one thing to say: welcome to Portland, Phil. If that free kick was just a couple of inches to the left, all of the hard work put in by the Timbers would have resulted in zero points. The head coach described the post-game mood in the locker room as “disappointed.” “They are disappointed that they didn’t win. They are disappointed because they wanted to attack more. And that’s a brilliant sign.” 

Next weekend is Round 2 of a grudge match against LAFC. Both teams felt robbed by their meeting last week, and both of them recorded 2-2 draws against quality opposition tonight. The Timbers lost 3 straight games, then they drew 3 straight games. 3 very winnable games are up next, even though two are on the road. I think that tonight’s result can officially put the road demons of the past couple seasons to bed. At points in 2024, the Timbers have had horrific stretches away from home, but they never surrender. They believe that they can win games of soccer, and they’ve won twice in 2024 already. As the team gets healthier and more cohesive, more wins will come. If you look only at the results, they are struggling to begin 2024 in typical Timbers fashion. But on the field, they are hungrier than ever. This team is putting in performances that should result in three points, and I have no doubts that they have the ability to win. The only thing that they need to do is actually win a game. The winless streak is now at 6 games, but all signs are pointing to it ending in the coming weeks. Get ready for the ascent.

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