This Is Just What We Do Now

Goodness me, y’all. I guess this is what the Portland Timbers do now.

I had the privilege of covering this game in person, and folks, I am exhausted. First of all, RSL has the idea that in order to create an atmosphere, music must be pumped in at maximum volume until you can only hear static. So while I spent the majority of the pregame getting my eardrums blown out, I wasn’t prepared for the sudden BOOM of fireworks that awaited player walkouts. Do the people in charge of the matchday experience at RSL actually like their own fans? But those fireworks were just an omen of things to come.

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It only took 10 minutes for the hosts to open the scoring. Anderson Julio’s cross drifted over Claudio Bravo’s head and right onto the foot of Dominik Marczuk, who was able to create space and slot home a goal past Maxime Crepeau. For the remaining 35 minutes plus stoppage, the Timbers proceeded to play one of their worst halves of the season (which is saying a lot). RSL had plenty of chances to add to their lead, and the Timbers’ attack was feckless. The hosts eventually got their second goal after a horrific defensive communication allowed Diego Luna to fire a freebie past Crepeau. Initially, this goal was ruled offside due to interference. Upon review, it was determined that the players were offside, but they were not interfering with the play. Therefore, in the 27th minute, RSL was up 2-0. It could have been 3-0 in the first minute of stoppage time after Julio wanted to replicate his midweek heroics with a long-range chip of Crepeau, but it was correctly ruled offside. Portland went into halftime with 2 shots (none on target) and a gigantic hole to dig themselves out of.

Changes came quickly in the second half. Claudio Bravo was replaced by Eric Miller during halftime, and three more substitutes entered in the 54th minute after RSL opened the half with another barrage of attacks. However, when the Timbers were almost completely dead, they got their lifeline. Evander’s corner kick in the 62nd minute fell to Eric Miller, who somehow got the ball to Antony on the back post. Antony scored his 6th goal of the season (across all competitions) and suddenly the Timbers had life. Big games call for big moments, and big moments come from big players. In the 76th minute, the Timbers were awarded a free kick from the left channel. I’m terrible at eyeballing distances (luckily, as a football fan, those distances are measured for me) but I’m pretty sure that this free kick was at least 25-30 yards out. Didn’t matter. Evander pulled off another moment of magic in a season full of Evander moments of magic and tied the game with another spectacular free kick. Quick note about both of Portland’s goals: they marked the 3rd and 4th consecutive goals that they scored on the road from set pieces. That’s a very interesting fact that I will delve deeper into later. This game was set up for a grandstand finish, and guess what? That’s exactly what happened! New RSL midfielder Diogo Goncalves scored his first goal for the club in the 90th minute after a nifty pass from Chicho Arango found the Portuguese DP in the box with plenty of space and the opportunity to pick his spot. The gut-punch felt inevitable, and I turned to the person next to me (new Stumptown Footy contributor Luukas Ojala) and said, “Well, here comes the undeserved equalizer.” 

Not even two minutes later, with two minutes of stoppage time on the clock, Miguel Araujo played a long ball down the right for Antony. Araujo decided to continue his run and the Brazilian winger found the Peruvian center back on the right wing with a backwards pass. Araujo promptly sent a brilliant cross into the box towards the far post and onto the head of substitute Jonathan Rodriguez, who directed it right past RSL goalkeeper Gavin Beavers and gave the Timbers a suddenly deserved equalizer. The Timbers then engaged in a prompt display of time-wasting until the final whistle finally blew.

The Paradox and Why It’s Stupid

After a similarly thrilling and stressful 4-4 draw against St. Louis back in August, I posed a question to Timbers fans: are you proud of this team for never giving up or are you infuriated with them for digging holes for themselves in the first place? At the time, the latter described my feelings for this team. Having to come back from multiple goals multiple times in their own stadium was incredibly frustrating. It marked the second time this season that they erased a multi-goal deficit at home, and this team should not have to do that in their own building. However, after their latest heroic effort picked up a crucial draw away from home on short rest, my opinion has slightly shifted. I still stand by the fact that these types of games at home are unacceptable. But on the road, it should be praised. Especially after enduring a first half where the holes they dug themselves seemed too monumental to overcome. I witnessed this team’s unbreakable spirit first-hand, and, reader, it’s something special. MLS teams drop points on the road all the time. It’s something that’s almost expected when the average distance for a road game in this league is 3 hours by plane (don’t quote me on that, it’s late and seemed correct; I’m not doing the math right now). But the Portland Timbers made a gigantic statement to their fans today: this is just what we do now.

It is incredibly infuriating to watch this team look horrid during the first halves of games. But their unrelenting spirit will keep delivering them back from the brink of damnation because they refuse to throw in the towel. After several seasons of enduring absolute shellackings away from home in non-competitive games where they were buried within minutes, there is hope when this team gets knocked on the ropes. Hell, I even expected it to happen. All of these resurrections surely aren’t healthy for any human heart, but the Timbers can restore that heart health by pouring their heart into each of them. 

Numbers do not take into account the human spirit. With 6 minutes left in the 3rd quarter of Super Bowl LI, the Atlanta Falcons had a 99.8% chance to win. Of course, those numbers were not aware of the Satanic nature of Tom Brady’s relationship with football, and that 0.2% chance of a Patriots win proved to be all that they needed. Tonight, the Portland Timbers scored 3 goals from a combined xG of 0.5. That’s ludicrous, but xG cannot take into account the wizardry of Evander’s right foot (it does, but not his right foot in particular). Portland did not think they were beaten, so they made it an actuality. Like I said, this is just what they do now. I kept repeating that phrase to multiple RSL reporters who were dumbfounded about what had just occurred in front of their very eyes. They haven’t been following the Timbers all year. They knew that Portland’s defense was weak. But they didn’t know that this team has done this exact thing countless times (it’s 5, if you insist on actually counting) and were utterly shellshocked when the exact same scenario unfolded on their home field. Meanwhile, those who were familiar with this team and their newfound undying commitment simply assumed it would be a formality. This is just who they are now. Multiple goal deficits don’t exist in the world of the Timbers (they have only lost 2 games this year by multiple goals). Let’s dive into why this is such a special phenomenon.

Time to look at goal differential. In 2024, 10 MLS teams have conceded at least 50 goals. Of those teams, only the Colorado Rapids and the Portland Timbers have a positive goal differential. Colorado has lost 10 games, and 5 of them are losses by 2+ goals. The Timbers have also lost 10 games, but have only lost two by multiple goals. Last season’s Timbers lost 6 games by multiple goals, including back-to-back multi-goal losses to close out the season when they were desperately fighting for a playoff spot. The 2024 Timbers are all fight. They may be catastrophic at times in both attack and defense (tonight’s first half) but they’re never out of it. It is truly something to be admired. How about his for a stat: from 2016-2023, the Timbers only earned 8 points in games that they trailed by multiple goals. With tonight’s result, they have already surpassed that total spanning EIGHT SEASONS in 2024 alone. They refuse to quit and these multi-goal deficits energize them. This is just who they are now. 

One quick officiating note, delivered perfectly by Portland Thorns defender Kelli Hubly:

Couldn’t have worded it any better myself. I’ll get into the minutia of referee Tori Penso’s performance during player recaps. 

Player Ratings

Maxime Crepeau: 5.5

RSL missed plenty of chances in the second half, but most of them were off-target. Crepeau was once again hung out to dry by his backline. He was woefully out of position for RSL’s second goal, and it is a step back from an excellent performance last Wednesday against the Galaxy. 

Juan Mosquera: 6

This was a largely anonymous performance from an obviously exhausted Mosquera. He bit too early too often and allowed Diego Luna to have a ton of space on his flank. He wasn’t as sharp in the final third as he usually is, but it was his third game in eight days. He gets a pass for extenuating circumstances.

Kamal Miller: 5

This rating is reflective of his performance, but the same caveats given to Mosquera apply to Miller. Frankly, I’m surprised that Zac McGraw or Finn Surman didn’t start tonight’s game with such a short turnaround. He made a couple bad passes and was utterly exhausted when Diogo Goncalves scored the fake winner. I have a couple of long-term thoughts about him that I’m not going to talk about right now, so keep your eyes out for a future article about the future of Portland’s backline.

Miguel Araujo: 7

The heavy workload on Araujo’s shoulders this week didn’t travel with him to Salt Lake City. He looked more fit than any of the other defenders who started with him on the backline, and even found his second wind to deliver that perfect cross to Jonathan Rodriguez. I also have some overarching thoughts about Araujo, and those will come in a later article. The same criticisms and praises of his defending style were present, but that assist alone warrants a 7.

Claudio Bravo: 3

This could be worse, but he only played one half of soccer. It was obvious upon the opening whistle that he didn’t look fit enough to play, and the Timbers paid the price for it during the first half. A fully fit and healthy Bravo is one of the best left-backs in MLS. However, he looked more gassed than players who had 2 full games under their belt this week entering tonight’s game. 

David Ayala: 7

The fatigue bug also caught up to David Ayala. He did need to start this game, and his eventual exit in the 54th minute came at the right time. However, he completed 30/31 passes including all four of his attempted long balls, completed 3 dribbles, won his only tackle, and racked up 9 other defensive actions. Even a gassed Ayala is the best midfielder on this team. Lordy.

Eryk Williamson: 7.5

In a very polarizing game, the most polarizing player seemed to be Williamson. Huh? Some people thought that Williamson was a liability rather than an asset during that first half. Those people are dead wrong. The American midfielder completed 33/35 passes including all four of his attempted long balls. Williamson is supposed to be the table-setter for the table-setter. In that first half, he was doing a great job of pushing the ball forward until the actual table-setters screwed it up. I thought that he had a good performance in his first game starting alongside Ayala. That could very easily be the double pivot of the future, and I thought his substitution in the 76th minute was a little harsh. RSL attacked Portland’s wings due to Bravo’s and Mosquera’s voyages into the middle third. He’s been a real trooper this season; often having to wait weeks between starts. But the team needed him tonight, and he put in a very good shift. It’s just a shame that the players in front of him were unable to work with what he gave them.

Santiago Moreno: 6

Santiago Moreno likes to do two things: dribble the ball and then lose it in the middle of the pitch. That’s exactly what kept happening in the first half. He’d receive the ball in a pocket of space, immediately get surrounded, and then try to dribble his way out of it. This method failed more often than not. However, he was also on a seriously big workload, and his eventual substitution came at the right time. I’ve seen that type of play too many times from him for me to ignore it at this point. He likes to play centrally but doesn’t have the positional awareness, passing range, decision-making, or ability to get out of tight situations in order to be truly elite at it. In a jam, he could play as a 10, but he’s at his best when he’s beating fullbacks on the wing. Big game coming up for him next weekend.

Evander: 8

The heavy workload caught up to Evander as well, but he was still able to bang in a perfect free kick to tie the game. At this point, one thing is undebatable: he is the most talented player to ever play for the Portland Timbers. He makes defenders look silly by allowing them to close down space and then create his own space by dribbling the ball either around them or through them. However, the most consequential part of today’s game was a yellow card shown to him in the 57th minute for dissent. Incredibly, it was his 8th yellow card of the season, which is the most on the team. Most of these are for dissent and most of the time Evander is justified in his outrage. Tonight’s official was Tori Penso, who had only refereed 5 MLS matches this season prior to this game. Certain referees are sticklers for certain things, and Penso is a stickler for restarts. She rarely allowed a restart to take place immediately, and other referees might have shown her a yellow card for delaying so many restarts! The consequence of Evander’s latest yellow card is a one-match suspension for next week’s game in Vancouver. Ugh.

Meanwhile, Evander scored his free kick and immediately celebrated by holding his fingers to his eyes in a “I see you” gesture. I didn’t notice this in real time because I was too busy losing my mind in the press box (completely justifiable by the way, it’s not every day you see a free kick like that and we have been spoiled by Evander’s precocious ability to fire one past the keeper with a dead ball). Contrary to popular belief, this was not a reference to the Dark Lord Sauron, who famously saw Frodo Baggins when the One Ring coincidentally (purposefully) fell onto the young hobbit’s finger in the Inn of the Prancing Pony. After the game, he claimed that the gesture was aimed at Gavin Beavers, who thought he could guess where Evander’s free kick would go. However, like the Dark Lord Sauron, Evander sees everything. He sees where that ball will go and he has the supernatural ability to put it there. Fortunately, unlike the Dark Lord Sauron, he is not intent on world domination (well, at least right now, but who knows in the future). He appreciates the attention that his heroics have brought to the team, but in his mind the goal remains clear: “I came here for one reason: to get Portland back in the playoffs.” 

Antony: 7.2

The duality of man, in two tweets posted one minute apart.

My prior assessment of Antony is still correct: incredibly gifted physically and technically but still unable to put it all together (at least right now). However, he did score a goal, and his constant drive to just keep running led to Portland’s final equalizer. I love his effort and I’m happy that he got a goal tonight. The 0.2 in his rating is for the two touches he had to keep Araujo’s long ball in and allow the Timbers to equalize. Even after 100 minutes of game time, he was willing to do whatever it takes.

Speaking of Caliskan, I was told by a RSL reporter (Brandt Goble of RSLRandomFanPodcast) that tonight was his best game of the season. I wonder if he was motivated by anything in particular. 

Felipe Mora: 6

Strikers need service, and Mora was unable to get any. Coupled with the bullying he received from both of RSL’s center backs, it was the right move to take him off the pitch in the 54th minute. Combine that with an intense 85-minute outing against the Galaxy, and there’s nothing wrong with him getting a solid 6. He definitely was there tonight, but he can’t do it on his own. 

Eric Miller: 6.5 

Miller’s introduction at halftime stabilized the backline, but he didn’t elevate the play of the players around him. He’s one of the top leaders on this team, and it isn’t a coincidence that he was also a substitute during Portland’s 3-3 comeback draw in Kansas City earlier this year. In Salt Lake, he performed well, but not at an elite level. Still, that’s a successful outing for him. 

Jonathan Rodriguez: 8

Benching Rodriguez was a genius move from Phil Neville. With both teams on short rest, a relatively-fresh Rodriguez could change the game as a substitute. And guess what? He scored the equalizer! He gave Javain Brown fits on the left side. Since joining the Timbers, Rodriguez has only made two substitute appearances. He has three goals in both of those games. He might be the ultimate super-sub, especially during short weeks. Like Evander, he scored his 15th goal of the season tonight. Now the pressure is on his good friend Felipe Mora to catch up.

Cristhian Paredes: 7.5

Let’s talk about another one of Jonathan Rodriguez’s friends! Like Williamson, starts have been few and far between for the Paraguayan midfielder. But Paredes is another ultimate super-sub, and his contributions to tonight’s comeback need to be noticed. He put in some excellent defensive work and kept willing the team forward. His stats don’t jump off the page, but this rating of 8 also takes heart into account. Whenever he enters a game off the bench, he has a positive impact. Another good substitute appearance from last season’s Supporter’s Player of the Year.

Mason Toye: 8

Time to take heart fully into account. Toye was very active prior to the 84th minute, when he was taken down by Brayan Vera. He was slow to get up, and somehow the foul was given to RSL. Personally, I was shocked that this challenge from Vera (someone who has a history of bending the rules) didn’t get any attention from the VAR official. It seemed obvious in real time who the aggressor was and the severity of the contact. It was also obvious how much pain Toye was in. The coaches wanted to sub him off, but he gutted it out for the remaining 16 minutes of game time. By the time the final whistle blew, he could barely walk off the pitch and needed some training staff to help carry him to the locker room. Neville said that Toye was “having trouble walking” after the game and called Penso’s decision “shocking.” No lies told there. 6 for contributions, 10 for heart. I think that averages out to an 8, especially while witnessing his belabored steps while running towards a ball that he knew he wouldn’t reach.

Diego Chara: 6.5

I don’t think that Chara was able to adapt in time to the pace and intensity of the game when he came off the bench in the 76th minute. However, he was able to keep driving the team forward, and it is always a luxury to be able to bring him on as a substitute. He was also on a yellow card warning and didn’t receive one. I’m just mostly upset that Williamson wasn’t given an opportunity to stay on the pitch, and maybe a center back sub would have been more needed at that moment in the game. Nothing against Diego, obviously. 

Phil Neville’s Quote of the Day

The head coach entered his press conference with a smile on his face and promptly sat down to answer some questions. I began by asking him about how he was feeling after such a chaotic game, and after asking me whether I enjoyed it he once again summed up a game with an incredible quote. “I said on the bench at 3-3 that I think this team is gonna kill me. And I think if they do, I think I’m gonna go happy.” Somehow, in two sentences, he tied the existential dread of being a Timbers fan with the undying love the fans have for this team. Of course, it was his choices that led to this result, and he wasted no time in taking accountability for them. “I thought we had a lot of tired players. Maybe we should have rotated a little bit. I probably underestimated the emotional strain of Wednesday night, the emotional output of Wednesday night.” In the second game of his Timbers tenure, Neville took accountability for some poor substitution choices that ended up costing his team a result at home against DC United. This time, the head coach knew exactly what buttons to press when it came to his substitutions. I’ve sporadically talked about his substitution patterns this year, but I think this game proved that it is one of his biggest strengths as a manager. He rarely makes a bad substitution, and he adapted after some poor patterns early in the year to ensure that this team can be competitive for entire games of soccer. This is just what they do now.

Like the head coach, this team nearly did kill me at halftime. They nearly killed me at the final whistle when I agonized whether or not to praise them or criticize them for this game. When Neville asked me if I enjoyed the game, I responded with “I think I did.” Gone are the days of agonizing over a stupid paradox. I understood that this Timbers team is accomplishing something greater than winning soccer games. They’re inspiring faith in the team by instilling a spirit of dedication and endurance that embodies the city that they represent. In 2020, when people all across the country took to the streets to protest racial injustice, the city of Portland saw almost 200 days of consecutive protests. Some prominent right-wing leaders have claimed that the city was “ripped down” and destroyed during that time period. But, in stark contrast to those ridiculous claims, the city is still as vibrant as ever before. The 2024 Portland Timbers may look like they’re destroyed at times, but they will never stop fighting. They represent this city to a degree that we haven’t fully begun to grasp yet. At home, they defend it fiercely, rattling off a 12-game unbeaten streak at Providence Park. On the road, they take their knocks from teams that don’t really understand them. When the final whistle is blown, their opposition is shocked; assuming that the team they ragged on was down for the count. But that’s not what Portland does. They fight back. This is just what we do now. 

Back to talking about actual soccer (ugh, boring) other teams around the West dropped points today. The most notable instance was Vancouver’s 4-1 loss in Carson to a Galaxy team that were obviously motivated by Wednesday night’s defeat. Elsewhere, LAFC lost in Dallas and are now in the middle of a 5-game winless streak. Houston won against Austin thanks to a late Coco Carasquilla winner and are now on a 5-game unbeaten streak. Portland would love to start one of those, but now a humongous clash with the Vancouver Whitecaps awaits them next weekend. A draw can either be points dropped or points earned. Given the short turnaround and another fiery effort against a rival, they definitely earned this one. The climb continues.

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