They Forgot to Pack the Fight

Another year, another loss in Minnesota. In a place where the Timbers have never seen success, this is the worst result yet. 

Despite the Loons receiving 4 yellow cards in the first half, the Timbers trailed 2-0 at halftime. They were caught in transition in the 44th minute, and the resulting cross deflected off Diego Chara for a 1-0 lead to the hosts. In stoppage time, Emanuel Reynoso was able to beat Aljaz Ivacic for a near post olimpico. There was nothing pretty about the first 45.

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During the first 15 minutes of the second half, Minnesota kept the pressure on to try and get their third goal. With his first touch off the bench, Nathan Fogaca played in Franck Boli and the Timbers grabbed one back. The Timbers then kept the pressure on to try and tie it. Unfortunately, their backline was torn apart on consecutive counterattacks and the home side celebrated a 4-1 win.

There are so many ways I could start this. I could say that this is Portland’s 3rd loss on the road of 3+ goals this year. I could say that we have more road losses of 3+ goals than road wins this year. I could say that there were no DPs in our squad today. But I think Giovanni Savarese’s assessment is more fitting. “We cannot allows guys like (Diego) Chara to run for everybody every single game.” 

This match looked awfully familiar to Timbers fans. The defense got torn apart in transition 3 separate times. As for who to blame, there isn’t a singular answer. The easy target is Larrys Mabiala, but he was subbed off at halftime and was only on the pitch for one of the transition concessions. Eric Miller had a solid first half at right back, and a lot of people were raising the question of whether or not he could play center back. It’s not his fault he’s out of position, but I can confidently say that he shouldn’t play there. Dario Zuparic had a good game tonight, and I’m not going to put any of the defensive failures on him. He showed up. He threw his body at any shots, made a few hard challenges, and kept the shape of the backline when he could. Claudio Bravo had a great first half and kept Bongi Hlongwane in check. For Minnesota’s first goal, the ball came in from his side. But it was a failure of the central defense (Mabiala) to not be in the right position. Juan Mosquera did an OK job on the right, but Minnesota was mainly targeting Portland’s left. So can anyone truly be blamed?

In my mind, there is a culprit. Despite his 7 saves, I think Aljaz Ivacic had a performance to forget. The own goal (Minnesota’s first) got by him and it was blockable. The olimpico that Reynoso scored before halftime never should’ve reached the goal frame. Minnesota’s third (Hlongwane’s free run and finish) went right underneath him. Even though he made some brilliant saves, those 3 goals should never end up in his net. The last thing I want to do is create a keeper controversy, but it’s hard not to look at David Bingham’s record as a starter this year. Bingham is 3-1-3 as a starter in league play, while Ivacic is 3-5-6. All three of the Timbers’ 3+ goal road losses have come with Ivacic in net. I’m not saying that it has a correlation, because out of Bingham’s seven starts he’s had 3 at home. But tonight was a bad night for Ivacic, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see some questions about the keeper position. 

The attack had a miniscule chance of succeeding tonight. The struggle to score was already known, and the Timbers managed 3 shots on target. Similar story to the home fixture against the Loons, except there were fewer total shots. Franck Boli found the net again, and he is a legitimate striker. Please stop saying that we don’t have one. Our main problem, once again, is out wide. Moreno was probably on a minutes restriction due to the quick turnaround, and tried to find some spaces. None of his ideas were executed properly, so the attack struggled. I thought Marvin Loria put in another Marvin Loria shift. Nothing too surprising from him. I really thought that Nathan Fogaca would get the start tonight, and his assist within seconds of entering the match filled me with a sense of self-assuredness. The Niezgoda situation is a massive headache. As a player, he should be nowhere near this team. As a person, he just had a baby and a transfer away would only complicate his life as a new dad. I think he gets moved in the offseason, but it’s gonna be hard to find any suitors with his lack of goals. Striker is ironically one of the deepest positions on the team, so there would be no pressure to find an immediate replacement. Especially with the way Boli has been playing.

Evander was missed tonight, but at least he’ll be fully rested for Tuesday’s match in Colorado. 

Noel Caliskan made his first league start, and kept the energy up for all 90 minutes he played. He plays with a fearlessness similar to David Ayala. In the postgame press conference, he was asked how he felt about making his first start. “Would’ve been better if we got a win.”

The main culprit for tonight’s result is something Dario Zuparic is very familiar with. Actually, he’s familiar with both reasons, because they go hand-in-hand. Aggression and lack of depth doomed Portland tonight. Giovanni Savarese has made it known that in case of injury, the players further down the pecking order must step up. I saw some players stepping up today, but this team constantly curls into a ball when they concede. This is not the first time this season that they have conceded right after allowing a goal. The mentality continues to be weak. Some players were constantly fighting to score and others became passengers. Savarese praised Chara, Zuparic, Miller, Caliskan, and Bravo as players who never gave up the fight. But, like Savarese said in the post-game press conference, everyone needs to be at that level. There’s a feeling while watching this team go down a goal that they won’t get the game back to even. And the stats back that up. Across all 21 MLS matches in 2023, the Timbers have only scored 3 total equalizers. Their first was Boli’s debut banger in Dallas, the second Dairon’s iconic bicycle kick against Seattle, and the third was Boli’s neat finish against Chicago. This team doesn’t rescue points from losing positions. They collapse more. Tonight they did show some fight to try and get the equalizer, but Minnesota just turned it into a counterattack and a 2 goal lead. This team needs to score first in order to have a chance at a result, and they don’t always do that.

Savarese is in a bit of a pickle when it comes to team selection. When the obvious starters can’t play, there isn’t a ton of quality depth behind them. Some players can definitely step in and do a job, but others actively hurt the team when they’re on the field. I don’t think that’s entirely Savarese’s fault. He can only play with the cards that he’s dealt. Miguel Araujo is the first signing of the summer window, but there are problem areas all over the pitch. Underperformance is also a factor, but if a player is underperforming there should be options behind him. I can’t label that as a Ned Grabavoy failure just yet, but he has a lot of work to do before the transfer window closes.

Results like this cannot happen if this team wants to make the playoffs. Luckily, their next opponent is the current frontrunner for the Wooden Spoon: the Colorado Rapids. But of course, it won’t be easy. The short turnaround compounded with a game at altitude is far from a gimme. This next match will be the true test of the team’s mentality. In terms of the rest of the season, the July 15 match against Columbus is the biggest match of the season. If the Timbers can’t find a win before Leagues Cup, their MLS campaign might already be over before August.

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