Juan More Time

The world is back to normal. The Portland Timbers have defeated the Seattle Sounders 1-0. By golly, they earned this one.

The Recap

The Timbers created a brilliant chance in the 5th minute, and it ended with Mason Toye getting stuffed at point-blank range by Stefan Frei. However, the play didn’t end there. Toye’s momentum kept his body going forward, and his knee collided with Frei’s head. The keeper got subbed off, and Andrew Thomas came in to replace him. The Sounders created the majority of their chances from corner kicks, and nearly grabbed the lead in the 19th minute when Albert Rusnak’s delivery was redirected to Pedro de la Vega for an easy finish, but the ghost of a Designated Player was offside. For the record, de la Vega has the same amount of handballs as goals this season. He also has more offside goals than goals from open play (2 to 0). What a signing. Jordan Morris, who allegedly scores a lot of goals, sent a free header directly at Maxime Crepeau in the 33rd minute. That was the last big chance of the half, but the Timbers sent a very strong message during the first 45 minutes. They would not be bullied on their home field.

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Whichever team scored the first goal was going to win this game. That team ended up being the Portland Timbers. In the 55th minute, Pedro de la Vega got his pocket picked by Claudio Bravo. A counterattack began. Bravo found Diego Chara, who chipped the ball to Antony, who headed it into Evander’s path. The Brazilian found a streaking Juan Mosquera who only had one goal in mind: score a goal against the team he despises the most. His effort deflected off of a diving Nouhou and dipped up and over the outstretched arm of Thomas. After a quick dance with Santiago Moreno, Mosquera fired up an invisible chainsaw in front of the family stand. Upon further reflection, I believe de la Vega should be credited with an assist here. He needs all the help he can get in the stat-padding category, and he played a vital role in the goal by failing to get past Bravo. Now the goal was clear: protect the lead and try to add another. That’s exactly what the Timbers did, even though a second goal didn’t come. A monumental 1-0 win against the Greatest Team You’ve Ever Seen. 

Effort and Grit

In order for the Timbers to conquer their arch-enemies, they had to control the game with and without the ball. But what they did was even more impressive. They won the midfield battle!

Seattle trotted out a double pivot of Cristian Roldan and Josh Atencio. Their counterparts in beautiful jerseys (not pajamas) exercised their control of the center. David Ayala and Diego Chara were excellent, and forced the Sounders attack from wide areas. This was Plan A. Get the ball out wide to a dribbly winger (Paul Rothrock and, allegedly, de la Vega) to beat a fullback on the dribble and cross the ball into the box. Kamal Miller and Dario Zuparic did an excellent job of dealing with those crosses and giving the Sounders corner kicks. Seattle had 13 corner kicks in this game. They failed to score on all of them. When Plan A wasn’t working, Plan B was in use: long balls over the top to Jordan Morris. Miller and Zuparic neutralized every single one of those long balls. Albert Rusnak was a non-factor in open play. Morris scuffed every chance that came in his hemisphere. That is a testament to a Timbers defense that got stuck in and refused to concede a goal. And when the defenders were unable to deal with anything, Maxime Crepeau rose to the occasion and swallowed up every ball within his reach. This team needed a defensive performance like that. Since their last meeting on May 12, the Sounders scored a goal in every single league game outside of a trip to Salt Lake and an unsurprising beatdown at the hands of LAFC. This Sounders team is very fraudulent. 14 of their 37 goals have come from either the penalty spot or a set piece. The Timbers conceded three goals in those categories last weekend against St. Louis. Tonight, they neutered the Sounders. And, reader, it was glorious.

Getting It Done

Felipe Mora and Jonathan Rodriguez were suspended for this game, and the Timbers needed someone to step up. Mosquera did, and so did all the other attackers. Even though the right back scored the eventual winner, Portland’s attack never looked out of it. Evander still ran the show, and every other attacker did their job. The Timbers didn’t need to embarrass the Sounders tonight; they just needed to win. However, due to their excellent defensive performance, they did embarrass their biggest rivals. They did whatever was necessary to get it done. Late recoveries in the box, good clearances, and timely blocks. Who cares if Mosquera’s goal took a fluky deflection? The Timbers wanted to win this game more than their opponents. So they did.

Officiating

Unlike last week’s mess, I didn’t think that the referees had a bad game. There were a couple of missed bookings though. A high boot from de la Vega in the second minute collided with Bravo’s face and Rusnak led with his elbow when he challenged David Ayala in the 22nd minute. Those fouls should have been penalized, but it’s two incidents in a 90 minute match. I was pretty happy with the way that Lukasz Szpala just let both teams play. It’s a rivalry game, and both teams were going to get chippy. Good work from the officiating crew. 

Player Ratings

Maxime Crepeau: 8.5

Although Crepeau technically only made two saves, he was absolutely fantastic. He claimed the balls he needed to and used his instincts to act as a sweeper when necessary. The Canadian finally got his first MLS clean sheet as a Timber, and he did it in the biggest rivalry in North American soccer. I would also like to shout out James Pantemis, who held up two middle fingers while the Timbers Army chanted “Fuck Seattle.” That, my friends, is cinema.

Juan Mosquera: 8.5

The Colombian scored the only goal of the game, so giving him anything below an 8.5 seems disrespectful. However, it did take him a bit to get acclimated on the defensive side of the ball. “Santi was telling me after the game that I need to treat every game like I’m playing Seattle,” Mosquera said post-game. I understand why this game holds such an important meaning for him. When he was first signed in 2022, his first game in Portland was the 2-1 victory against the Sounders that clinched the Cascadia Cup. In his first game against the Sounders, he thundered home the fourth goal to get Tetris started early. These games are very important to him, and he always shows up during them. 

Dario Zuparic: 9 (MOTM)

It is only fair to give Zuparic a 9 for this game. He was on a yellow card warning and didn’t commit a single foul. The Croatian defended like a warrior and threw his body on the line multiple times to protect the clean sheet. 

Kamal Miller: 8.5

Miller’s defense was worthy of a 9, but there were times when he was a little sloppy in possession. One thing is clear to me after this game: the Timbers have found their first-choice center back pairing. The data backs it up as well.

Claudio Bravo: 8.5

The Timbers’ resident maverick was up to his old tricks. First, he locked down Pedro de la Vega. Quick aside, why did the Sounders pay so much money for de la Vega when they already have Paul Rothrock on the roster? Shouldn’t they have just bought a striker instead??????? Then de la Vega was substituted after being a ghost (also because he keeps getting hurt) and Jordan Morris took his lack of talents to the right wing. Bravo, familiar with Morris’ recognizable one-trick pony, locked down Morris as well. Late in the game, Bravo kept throwing himself at various crosses to give Seattle throw-ins. A clean sheet wouldn’t have been possible without another stellar outing from Bravo.

Diego Chara: 8.5

A vintage game from the captain tonight. My personal Chara highlight was his 90th minute shielding of Morris to ensure the ball got out of bounds for a goalkick. It’s the little things that win you soccer games. 

David Ayala: 9 (MOTM)

No one is more entertaining to watch on the Timbers than David Ayala. Yes, this is the same team that employs Santiago Moreno and Evander. But if you truly love ball, Ayala’s exploits are something to behold. He just refuses to let someone get the better of him. Let’s take his various battles with Pedro de la Vega. These players have a history together due to their various battles in the Argentinean league. Ayala refused to let the ex-Lanus player get the better of him. Speaking of ex-Lanus players, Ayala exited the stadium tonight with Bravo and Diego Valeri. I bet El Rey had plenty to talk to him about after this match.

Santiago Moreno: 7.5

I thought that Moreno would be a key piece of Portland’s attack tonight, and he kinda underwhelmed. But his defensive work was absolutely outstanding. He tracked back and made some key recoveries in his own box and won both of his tackle attempts. However, after his buddy Mosquera scored the only goal, Santi wanted to outshine him. He took two attempts from distance that sailed into the beer garden on the South Deck. I can’t blame him for that. Sometimes you just have to shoot.

Antony: 6

Antony continued to be a workhorse on the defensive side of the ball, but I was pretty disappointed with his attacking contributions. One stat stands out in particular: he completed none of the 5 dribbles he attempted. I see the vision: he has elite speed and a good right foot. He’s so close to putting it all together. 

Evander: 8.5

The new father set a new MLS record tonight: he is the first player to record an assist in 8 straight home MLS matches. If you include Leagues Cup, that streak increases to 10 games. His assist to Mosquera wasn’t spectacular by any means, but it got the job done. That’s a great way to sum up his performance tonight. He doesn’t need to dazzle to be effective. Sometimes just pushing the ball forward is enough.

Mason Toye: 7.5

This was a huge game for Toye, and he stepped up to the plate. No, he didn’t score a goal, but he helped out defensively and proved to be a handful for both of Seattle’s center backs. He had to be subbed off after taking a blow to the head, but it wasn’t a normal collision. After getting his foot in and preventing Jordan Morris from getting a shot off inside the box, Maxime Crepeau gave him a friendly headbutt. In the words of Kamal Miller: “Max is a calming presence. He head-butted Mason today and almost broke his nose.” In the words of Toye, subbed out after his nose started bleeding: “F***ing psycho.” And with the cuckoo hand gesture to boot!

A Cupdate!

*Table is not updated*

Portland’s win now moves them into second place and one point behind the current holders Vancouver. Seattle is two points behind the Timbers and has a goal differential of -1 (Timbers and Vancouver have +1 GDs). Each team has two games left, and the Whitecaps host both of theirs. The Timbers visit Vancouver on September 28th, and they have to win if they want to reclaim the cup this season.

Table Time

I’m going to be perfectly honest: quite a few results didn’t go Portland’s way tonight. There is a 3-way tie between Portland, Houston and Seattle on 40 points. Portland’s goal differential is better, so they enter the international break in 6th. However, for tonight, this table nonsense doesn’t matter in the slightest.

The Portland Timbers did exactly what they needed to do: beat the Seattle Sounders and restore the natural order of the universe. Nothing, and I repeat NOTHING, feels better than beating the Seattle Sounders. They are a franchise on the decline. They built a giant training facility because they are a corporation masquerading as a football club. Even their players jog out to warmups in a corporate fashion. Their fans show up to Providence Park in massive numbers, stink up the place (the “Tacoma Aroma,” per one Providence Park security employee or the “Seattle Stink” according to a different security employee), and go silent for 90 minutes while they watch their beloved team lose another game of soccer. In many ways, it’s exactly like the Lumen Field match experience. They just have an excuse to travel south to a better city and experience it for a couple days before heading back up I-5 (or taking Amtrak Cascades) back to the stinking cesspool that they call home. One thing that has been included in their suitcases is a well-deserved L, handed to them by the one team that they can never truly outdo. Think about it. The Seattle Sounders have conquered MLS, they have conquered the North American continent, and they still can’t beat their biggest brothers located 170 miles to the south. They moved out, found a pretty decent job, and have to return home on Thanksgiving to get relentlessly noogied. More power to them. I guess some people are into that.

Phil Neville was finally able to beat the Seattle Sounders for the first time, and he spent his post-game press conference talking about a wide range of subjects. He touched on the appeal for Felipe Mora’s red card (according to him, neither the team or player have heard anything from the league, not great!) and he spoke about how the team was able to grow into the game tonight. “They looked like boys in the first 15 minutes, but then they became men.” Banger quote per usual from the head coach. But the most striking answer from him was a response to a question about his time in Portland so far. “I feel like I’m having the best time of my life….I love working at this football club. I love the people of this city. They’ve made me and my family feel so welcome.” Neville has had to earn every bit of respect from the fans of this club. However, tonight he kept his goodwill high by doing the bare minimum: beating the Seattle Sounders. The absences of Mora and Rodriguez were difficult to deal with, but the game-plan worked. The Timbers were going to have to win this game with a strong defensive effort and they did. Now another international break begins, and the fans can relax for two weeks with the glow of a victory against Seattle shining down on them. It literally never gets old. It’s the best feeling in the world. Phil, for the next week, please enjoy it. You always remember your first.

Fish gutted. Whale detonated. Pig butchered. The climb continues.

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