There Is No Need To Be Upset (Yes, There Is)

The Timbers have drawn 2-2 with Austin FC at Providence Park, and this one does leave a sour taste in fans’ mouths. I am here to tell you that this is not the same old Timbers dropping points late in a game, even though that’s exactly what they did.

This game was always going to be about the Timbers imposing their will on Austin. So far, they haven’t fully done that, but they have been threatening. Dario Zuparic gave Portland the early lead with a well-placed header off of a beautiful second ball from Evander. Stats-wise, the first half was pretty even, but Austin was unable to do anything noteworthy in possession. 

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The Timbers ended up losing the lead twice in the second half. First Jon Gallagher (Austin’s top scorer) headed home an equalizer in the 59th minute. Claudio Bravo took it upon himself to give Portland the lead in the 70th minute with one of his famous long shots finally finding the back of the net. However, Will Bruin (ugh) nodded home the second equalizer in second half stoppage time. 

Now, there’s only one way to really look at this: Dropped points at home. No matter how entertaining the Timbers were in their attack (and they were, I will expand more on that later) their solid defense couldn’t defend two quick counters. And that’s where they failed. Do not let the result ruin what was a wonderful showing from the Timbers, however. 

This is a draw that feels like a loss. This is in many ways a huge step forward as well. Evander once again stood out tonight. For anyone who says he doesn’t run, or looks lazy, please notice his ability to create from deep. He made several fantastic long switches, and his ball to Dario Zuparic for the first goal was sublime. He also had the assist on Claudio Bravo’s rocket as well. And, incredibly, he will only get better. After every game he has improved, and the trajectory he is on is Best XI. Santiago Moreno is becoming a second half player. I will mention that he did look a lot more dangerous when Yimmi Chara entered the pitch, and his agility to get out of tight spaces is incredible. Zuparic also played incredibly well. Not only did he score the first goal, which he hated, but he also got stomped on by an Austin player, which he loved. With Zac McGraw out, he took the mantle as the heart of the backline. 

Now onto the players who were in the middle. The first is Claudio Bravo, who finally got his goal that he has been craving for two years. But his goal is evened out by his marking (lack of it) on Austin’s first goal. He wasn’t solid defensively, even though his attacking contributions were pretty good. Juan Mosquera didn’t stand out in any way. He is Portland’s second best player behind Evander, and his loose pass led to Austin’s first goal. I am willing to give a 20 year old right back a pass, however. Larrys Mabiala is the most controversial inclusion in this section. He did a great job marking Gyasi Zardes in the opening part of this game. In a game where crosses were the primary threat, he was winning aerial duel after aerial duel. However, everyone will remember his mistimed jump. It’s OK. Zac McGraw will be back against Vancouver. Cristhian Paredes didn’t stand out to me either, but he did have a beautiful ball to set up Franck Boli in the 16th minute. He is also still on a minutes restriction. Diego Chara continues to do Diego Chara things. He got away with a rough foul that should’ve been a yellow card, but he also didn’t close down Owen Wolff and allowed the equalizing assist to leave Wolff’s foot. 

No one was outright bad tonight, but there is a conversation to be had about the striker position. Franck Boli hasn’t played a full 90 since October 2nd. He is still working off the rust, especially with his finishing. However, I loved his energy. Remember Kevin Cabral. Remember Denis Bouanga. If players find themselves in dangerous positions, they will eventually start scoring goals. It’s the same for Boli. He was substituted for Jaroslaw Niezgoda tonight, who continues to look like a different player since his goal against Seattle. He’s running hard. He’s been great in combo play, notching 0.43 expected assists. HE WON TWO AERIAL DUELS TONIGHT! This isn’t a problem by any means. Rather, it allows us to have different dimensions in strikers off the bench. Boli is running hard and getting into dangerous positions, Niezgoda is linking well with everyone on the pitch, and Nathan Fogaca runs circles around everyone on the field. 

David Ayala’s absence stood out tonight. No other midfielder on the roster has his passing range, and Diego Chara being the link between the backline and the midfield isn’t a great fit against teams that will press more. Austin started off giving Portland a lot of space in the back, and that allowed us to properly play out from the back. It isn’t an immediate concern, but it is something noteworthy. Something more concerning is the miniscule amount of healthy central midfielders that are on the roster. Caliskan didn’t get his chance tonight, and Santiago Moreno was pushed back into the 8 role once Paredes exited the pitch. Santi as an 8 might work given the surplus of wingers that are now available, and it does allow Evander to play his natural position more. It’s still not Santi’s best position, and not every team will be as easy to play through as Austin was tonight. Creativity will be needed to figure out the middle of the park, especially with so many matches to come in May.

One interesting stat from tonight regards goals. Since the beginning of 2022, Portland and Austin have played 3 times. In those 3 games, the Timbers have scored 5 goals. All 5 of those goals were scored by defenders. This isn’t a mind-blowing stat by any means, but it definitely falls in the category of “wow, that’s kind of interesting.” It does speak to Austin’s solidity in the back. This is also Austin’s first ever result at Providence Park. They were also without their catalyst, Sebastian Driussi, so this will definitely feel like a victory for the visitors. 

Since this is being published on Sunday, it is worth taking a look at the league table so far in 2023. 

Normally I don’t look at the table until around this time of the season because there’s a larger sample size to draw conclusions from. Since MLS insists on using the W-L-D format, I will use that just for this article to make it easier for y’all. Through 11 games, Portland is 3-5-3. Only five other Western Conference teams have played 11 matches. Portland is averaging a smidge over one point per game. Given the attrition from injuries so far, and very little squad depth, that number makes sense. Those wins came against Kansas City, Seattle, and St. Louis. Kansas City has been bad, but they did get a quality win in Seattle today. Both Seattle and St. Louis occupy the top 2 spots in the table. Of course, it’s not about how you start, but how you finish. With new signings still to come and the team beginning to click, May should be a springboard up the table. Their toughest opponent in May is Vancouver, which will be played at Providence Park. The road trips are manageable, with a visit to Salt Lake on May 17 and a trip to Kansas City on May 28th. I’m going to set a target for the amount of points the Timbers should earn this month in league play. I could include the Open Cup, but those are just must-win games regardless. In those 4 games, the Timbers should get at least 8 points. That’s 2 wins and 2 draws. If they can accomplish that in May, their playoff seeding should be a lot more manageable. 

There is one game that tonight reminded me of. On June 18, 2022, the Timbers drew with the LA Galaxy in Carson. We allowed a late equalizer due to a lack of defensive substitutions. Same thing tonight. There are a few more excuses for tonight, given that there are two more matches in the upcoming week. This one is chalked up to missed chances. However, the chances were there. That’s what’s important. More chances will come, and more goals will come too. Yes, it feels really shitty right now. But with a team that continues to get better and better, the good times will be back sooner than you think.

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