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Scuffed

Another missed opportunity.

For the 4th time in a row, the Portland Timbers have lost on the road.

Tonight’s opponents, the Colorado Rapids, entered the game with a 8-3-2 record at home. The Timbers have already beaten the Rapids twice in 2024. Both games were multi-goal beatdowns that showcased Portland’s ruthless efficiency in front of goal. It gives me no pleasure to report the following.

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Within the first minute, Jonathan Rodriguez was sent through on goal via Antony’s through ball into space. The Uruguayan’s golden opportunity was saved by Zack Steffen, but a delayed offside flag was raised. In the 12th minute, a morass of bodies gathered at the top of the box, and the ball leaked through to Jonathan Lewis, whose far post finish opened the scoring for the hosts. Portland equalized 12 minutes later, when Evander’s corner was flicked to the far post by Miguel Araujo to an unmarked David Ayala. Set pieces are the great equalizer, and Ayala’s goal certainly was one. The next big moment came in the 44th minute, when Antony had a 1v1 with Steffen, but the Colorado goalkeeper was able to tap the ball away from the Brazilian’s feet. Antony stayed with it, but his cross to a wide-open Jonathan Rodriguez was blocked by an on-rushing Connor Ronan. 1-1 was a fair score at halftime, but the Timbers were the better team in the opening 45.

The Timbers tried to carry over the momentum from the end of the first half into the second half. Two chances, 15 minutes apart, ended up giving the hosts all the momentum they needed. Both times Antony was in the perfect place to put it in the net, and both times he failed to do so. Colorado began to push forward and press for their second goal. It finally came in the 71st minute, when Djordje Mihailovic’s free kick was delivered to the center of the box and the unmarked head of Rafael Navarro elegantly guided it to the far post. Portland tried to find the equalizer, but it didn’t come. They ran out of gas. A controversial late red card to Darren Yapi in second-half stoppage time is the only other notable moment from the second half. For the first time since September 13th, 2020, the Portland Timbers lost a game in the ninth month of the calendar.

The Mental Block

I have already spoken about the bipolar performances from the Portland Timbers in 2024. However, there are two things from the Home Timbers that do not travel.

Defensive mentality in big moments is the first one. Against Seattle, the Timbers managed every big moment. Including a multitude of corner kicks and free kicks. Tonight, their lack of concentration on free kicks cost them the lead. But, upon further review, the defense largely did their job tonight. An argument could be made that Mihailovic had a perfect delivery for Navarro.

The second thing, and the one that is concerning me the most, is finishing. For the second straight road game, the Timbers failed to score from open play. Like plenty of road games in 2024, they had their chances but couldn’t take them. That is what it takes to win on the road: putting the ball in the net. It is simply too late in the season to look at xG (which the Timbers led 1.87-1.5) and say, “On a different day, they win this game.” They had their chances, failed to take them, and weren’t able to find their way back after going down 2-1. There is a mental block that is preventing this team from winning on the road. When the North End isn’t on hand to “suck the ball into the back of the net” (those are the head coach’s words) they can’t put it in there themselves. Very worrying. Until they can clean up both of these aspects on the road, they won’t be able to win any road games. It’s as simple as that. Because, based on the balance of play, they should have won this game.

This is what the second half looked like on the stat sheet. After earning 4 corner kicks in the first half, the Timbers only had one in the second. They were sloppier on the ball. And, crucially, they missed all three of their “big chances.” That lone shot on target came from Felipe Mora in stoppage time, and it was smothered at point-blank range by Zack Steffen. Outside of that, the Timbers were woeful going forward. It isn’t the first time that they’ve been so feckless in attack away from home. Alarm bells should be ringing in the film room. Do not take away anything from the defense either. That second half was a very good period of play aside from the goal. Despite the Rapids ramping up the pressure, the hosts only registered 0.24 xG from open play. The defense did their job, and still conceded twice. How can that happen?

Player Ratings

Maxime Crepeau: 6

The Timbers did concede multiple goals again, and I can really only lay the blame for the first one at Crepeau’s feet. Still, I think blaming him for it is kind of harsh, and he was very active in his box claiming crosses. 6 seems fair, but it’s a low 6.

Juan Mosquera: 5

Mosquera took a bit of time to get going. The first half hour of his game was characterized by some heavy touches and a delayed response time. It’s kind of hard for me to blame him for Colorado’s first goal because after multiple replays I’m convinced that he was trying to intentionally trap Jonathan Lewis in an offside position. The second goal was definitely his fault. Navarro was his man, and he allowed him to have a free header. On the road, he struggles with his attention to detail and once again it cost the Portland Timbers.

Miguel Araujo: 7.5

This was a huge prove-it game for Araujo after a disastrous outing against St. Louis three weeks ago. The Peruvian looked like he was re-energized after the international break and was easily the best defender wearing a cream-colored jersey tonight. He earned an assist with that glorious flick-on header (the ultimate corner-kick cheat code and ONE THAT THE TIMBERS NEED TO DO MORE OFTEN). Defensively, he kept Navarro relatively in check and offered a physical presence to the backline. However, I am the most impressed with his passing. During this game, the Timbers really only had two methods of attack: force a turnover and quickly counter or let Araujo play a long ball into space for their wingers. He wasn’t afraid to spray long balls into space, and that was a facet of play that the Timbers desperately needed tonight against a Colorado team playing a high press. He wasn’t perfect, by any means, but I thought it was an encouraging outing for him. Shame that the result wasn’t positive as well.

Dario Zuparic: 6

This was probably Zuparic’s worst game of the season, but he wasn’t too bad on the stat sheet. I’m going to focus on the most controversial part of this game: the red card to Darren Yapi. Late in second half stoppage time, Yapi was sent off for an off-ball foul on Zuparic. On film, the young striker reaches out his arm and prods Zuparic in the back. Dario goes down with a slight delay, and no one has clocked that it happened in real time except the referee, who instantly shows the red card. Upon replay, it looks like Zuparic embellished the contact and I expected the card to be overturned. However, the referee sticks with his original ruling of “Violent Conduct” and the decision was upheld. Three weeks ago, Felipe Mora received a controversial red card for Violent Conduct, and I thought that the decision was utter hog s***. There is even less evidence for Yapi’s dismissal. You can’t even make out the severity of the contact that he makes on Zuparic. Maybe it was a punch to his back, but you can’t definitively say that based on the video evidence. It’s just not clear enough. However, referee Filip Dujic is watching the play unfold in real time, and maybe he has a better angle from his point of view. I expect it to be appealed.

Kamal Miller: 6

Early in the game, it was pretty apparent that the Rapids were targeting Miller. However, he held his ground, but didn’t lock down the left side. I thought it was a rather pedestrian outing from him even though he was playing out of position.

David Ayala: 8.5

Another recap, and another paragraph devoted to how much of a joy it is to watch Ayala play. His goal was the first goal he scored in MLS play, and he spoke about how much the confidence his head coach shows in him rubs off on him. “I think he’s the best central midfielder in the Western Conference,” Phil Neville said after the game. Now, there are some fantastic central midfielders in this division, but Ayala can certainly claim that he’s the best young central midfielder in the Western Conference. Every single action he takes is confident. However, one of the main knocks against him has been durability. For the first time this season, he has completed back-to-back full 90s. He’s a special player.

Diego Chara: 7

This wasn’t a dominant performance from the captain, but if there was a play that needed to be made he was there to do it. He did a great job on the ball. His last act before getting substituted out in the 79th minute was getting a yellow card. With two big games coming up this week, a solid 80-minute shift qualifies as a good outing.

Santiago Moreno: 7

On the pitch, Moreno was unlucky to not register a goal involvement. He created 4 chances and was able to spring attacks by winning the ball in his own half. The only crime he committed was not getting more touches, but he can’t really be blamed for that. A 7 seems about right. However, there’s something about him that’s not sitting right with me tonight.

Prior to today’s game, Moreno decided to post a TikTok on his public account. In the video, the Colombian dances around in what looks like the team hotel. The caption, translated to English, reads “When an interest arrives from a team of Brazil, I automatically *emojis meaning shrug and leave.*” Keep in mind, this video was posted on the day of a game where his current team was playing a playoff rival. It’s very hard to look at this video as anything else than the direct message that it is sending: he would like to go play for a team in Brazil. Ordinarily, I wouldn’t pay any kind of attention to a thing like this (it was actually brought to my attention by a fellow subscriber because I don’t even have TikTok downloaded on my phone). But upon seeing it, a sour taste was left in my mouth. Last summer, Moreno requested a trade. He then apologized and changed his representation. In late January, he signed a new contract extension with the club. I’m going to delve further into his situation in a later article, but it’s a very dumb and unprofessional thing to publicly post on the day of a game. I don’t have an issue with the actual video, but the timing is awful. Last season, Dario Zuparic waited until the end of the season to formally request a transfer. Being here for the team right now will only help him in the future. He did show up for the game tonight, and arguably should have been given the ball more. Without the poor timing of this video, I would have been a lot more satisfied with his performance.

Evander: 6.5

Technically, Evander got a secondary assist on Ayala’s goal. I think the Rapids did a good job of limiting his effectiveness. I didn’t think he was at his best tonight, but there was one aspect of his game that really encouraged me: progressive dribbling. Since coming to Portland, Evander has pretty much utilized his excellent dribbling ability in tight spots to create space for himself. Tonight, he actually ran at players and took them on. He looked like a winger at times out on the left or the right. Even on his “off” nights, there’s still something positive to take away.

Antony: 4.5

This is the big one. Most of the time when Antony starts, my thoughts on him are: “He isn’t polished enough in the final third, but I love how much he works defensively.” Maybe I have been too nice to him in the past, but this was a game where he needed to be on top of it around the box. Simply put, he was not. He didn’t complete a single dribble and he took 6 shots. Here’s what those shots looked like.

The Brazilian, by himself, had a total xG of 0.94. None of his 6 shots were on target. He was in position to give the Timbers the lead three times, and couldn’t even hit the goal frame once. I am still a massive fan of his defensive work. But he is a winger, and his job is to create and score goals. He did almost none of that tonight. He could have been the match-winner and the hero, but he wasn’t. When he arrived from Portugal last summer, his finishing was arguably his best trait. The Timbers needed that finishing tonight from a guy who had 4 goals in his first 3 games against Colorado. The script was written for him, and he didn’t play his part.

Jonathan Rodriguez: 6

The player who should have been on the end of those chances was Rodriguez. I have one thing to say about his performances as a lone striker: I see the vision. On the road, the Timbers try to hit teams quickly on the counterattack, and Rodriguez is always looking to get in behind. In the first half, he lacked service. In the second half, he went back to the left wing but didn’t register a single shot in the box. While the vision may say that he can operate as a lone striker, the eye test doesn’t match that assessment. They needed him on the wing and making those dangerous runs to the back post.

The Fallout

“I’m bitterly disappointed,” Phil Neville said after the game. “I thought we had incredible chances to win the game.” His assessment is right. Tactically, the team looked pretty sound and their game-plan should have worked. They failed to execute. At this point in the season, the Timbers have to perform. If they don’t perform, this is the result:

Now Portland is in 8th place after failing to win on the road again. Every other result went against them tonight. Minnesota won, Houston won, Vancouver won, and they are still 7 points out of 4th place. The Sounders host SKC tomorrow, so they will have a game in hand on their biggest rivals. But they could be facing a 4-point gap to 7th place. Their opponents on Wednesday just put on a performance for the ages in a wild 4-2 comeback victory against their biggest rivals. Their opponents on Saturday have been starting to slip up, but have been excellent at home this year. There is a serious likelihood of looking back at this 2-1 loss in Colorado on Decision Day and wondering what would have happened if one of those chances turned into a goal. However, the team doesn’t have time to focus on that. One-third of Gauntlet Week is done, and they have tripped at the first hurdle. Now they have to recover for the second one, which will thankfully be at home. They scuffed their opportunity to make a statement against a team that they put to the sword twice already in 2024. Another six-pointer awaits.