Sounders Drop Points at Home to the Timbers, Again

I swear, every time there is a Cascadia Derby, it is an absolutely beautiful day for some football. The Sounders go into this Derby match in desperate need of three points against the Portland Timbers. This is the third and final time these two teams will meet this season. The last two matches resulted in a 1-4 loss in Portland and a 0-0 draw in Seattle.

The Sounders are out for revenge for the beat-down earlier in the season. On top of that, they had the chance to jump the Timbers in the Cascadia Cup race. Here are the standings going into the match:

1. Vancouver Whitecaps – 9 points
2. Portland Timbers – 7 points
3. Seattle Sounders – 4 points

Despite being dreadful against nearly everyone else, the Timbers have had our number for years, thanks to Gio Saverese. However, with Gio and his right-hand man out, Sounders fans had high hopes for the match.

Those hopes died in the 70th minute…

Image credit to Rio Giancarlo/SPU and Cascadia FC

From the start, both teams came out flying, but for once, the Sounders were hungry and wanted it so much more. The passing was crisp, the runs were perfect, and I was impressed with how we built from the back. It was one of the best halves of football I’ve seen from the Sounders in a long ass time.

Then, in the ninth minute, for the first time since Aug. 27, 2017, the Sounders opened the scoring at home against Portland when Raúl headed home an Albert Rusnák corner that Ragen flicked on at the near post. Bingham, the backup quality starter, was left flat-footed and didn’t even bother trying to save it.

At the 30-minute mark, Léo Chú doubled Seattle's lead, forcing a turnover and sprinting down the field after Ruidíaz chested the ball down to him, then riding a couple of challenges before slotting the ball past Bingham and into the back of the net. Chú nearly got himself a brace four minutes later, cutting in from the left side to take a dangerous shot that was saved and then picking up his own rebound, but the ensuing shot soared over the goal.

The first half could have been put away SO MANY TIMES, but the moment got the best of the players as we went into the half 2-0 up, at home, against the Timbers. It's not something you get to hear every day. However, those hopes were ripped away soon after kickoff.

Image credit to Rio Giancarlo/SPU and Cascadia FC

Things took a turn for the worse in the 53rd minute. Chú had been given a final warning during the first half before receiving a yellow card for celebrating his goal by taking off his shirt, so when he crashed into McGraw when challenging for a ball and was shown a yellow card, the team was forced to play a man down. 

Then, 15 seconds, 15 fucking seconds after subbing into the game, Asprilla got Portland in the game with an open-headed goal in the 68th minute after a throw-in. I want to start a petition and never let Nouhou defend anyone taller than him cause it’s almost always going to result in a header goal.

Not even three minutes later, Evander leveled the score in the 70th after a 25-yard curler after not a single Sounders player closed him down. That was a beautiful fucking goal, and no one in the league would save that.

The Sounders created a couple of chances in the final 20 minutes of the match, but nothing to write home about. The game was mostly dead after Evander's goal, but the Sounders held on for a 2-2 loss at home. Once again, the Sounders embarrassingly go yet another season without a win at home against the Timbers.

And despite being so bad and their season being over, the Timbers fans drove three hours home celebrating like they won the MLS is Back Cup again. So claps for them, I guess.

Post Match Thoughts

Lack of Composure

The Sounders were playing SO well until the first Timbers goal from Asprilla. They kept the ball in tight spaces, the passing was excellent most of the game, and the defense stayed strong. However, all it took was 15 seconds for that to be thrown out the window. From then on, the Sounders were playing with their backs against the wall, and thanks to a banger from Evander not even three minutes later, the game was level at 2-2.

Don’t get me wrong, the Sounders were able to hold the Timbers to those two goals, but the Rags kicked it into high gear and took control of the game (it almost reminds me of the reverse fixture in Portland). The Sounders are lucky the Timbers are not actually good enough to finish their chances.

Some people blame Leo Chu’sChu'scard or the referee for whatever reason, but it was all on the players. The passing was off; it was all long balls to Morris, Nouhou bombing up and not tracking back, etc. There are so many other reasons, but the main thing is the indisputable fact that the Sounders lost their composure after the Asprilla goal.

Raul finally gets his goal.

The big positive coming out of last night was Raul finally getting on the score sheet! He was in a massive rut with a nine-game goal drought. His previous goals came from Charlotte in June and the dreaded 1-4 loss in Portland in April. He found himself in the perfect spot after Ragen flicked it back for the Peruvian to head home as Bingham stood in disbelief.

This goal will be massive for Raul going forward. He usually needs one to get cooking, and hopefully, he can get on the score sheet more times than not this season. He is also credited for the assist on Leo Chu’sChu's and was MOTM on the night.

The curious case of Leo Chu

Despite getting a red card thanks to over-celebrating and taking off his shirt after scoring and an absurdly soft second yellow, Leo Chu was fantastic tonight. He was making Mosquera look like a USL player on that left-hand side and given all the space in the world to cook. His goal was thanks to some fantastic defending, which he had been working on all season, and a smooth, composed finish to cap it off. He had been a little chippy throughout the half, so he was given a final warning before getting his first yellow.

Then came the 53rd minute. After getting fouled TWICE leading up to it, his momentum carried him forward right into McGraw and knocked the wind out of the big man. But the ref clearly thought that was enough to warrant a second yellow and sent off the young Brazilian. It was an incredibly soft yellow, as you can see after watching the replay, that he was pushed in the back by Mosquera, and you can see him trying to move his body to avoid the collision in the last second. That is NEVER a yellow in any other league in the world. I’m nI'mgoing to blame the ref because Leo was chippy all match, but that is such a shit call.

The Sounders have two weeks off to prepare for their next match against Dallas. While the rest of the league plays catch up, the Sounders will have plenty of time to sort out everything they need for the season's final stretch. However, if the three weeks after the Leagues Cup is anything to go by, we’re in for a rough six games.