Timbers Beat Themselves 3-2 in LA

The Portland Timbers have lost 3-2 in Los Angeles. It wasn’t so much a tale of two halves, or even a close game for that matter. It was a first half to forget for Portland. After losing the initiative early, LAFC capitalized on an early goal from Giorgio Chiellini following messy corner kick defending (and an uncalled foul on Justin Rasmussen). The hosts also had a goal called back for a phantom foul on Jesus Murillo a few minutes later. Santi Moreno conceded a penalty which was quickly dispatched by Carlos Vela in the 31st minute. Some weaker attacks from Portland followed, but every time LAFC had the ball in Portland’s half the anxiety began to rise. The second half started off the same way. A bad giveaway from Diego Chara led to a Mahala Opoku goal gave the hosts a 3-0 lead in the 52nd minute. Three substitutions followed for Portland, but they were all defensive (Paredes, Bravo, Mabiala). That didn’t stop a well worked counter (their first of the game) end up in the back of the net, as Evander scored his first Timbers goal with a wonderful finish.  Nathan Fogaca didn’t enter the game until the 70th minute, replacing Jaroslaw Niezgoda. The Timbers kept the pressure on, eventually scoring their second off of a loose ball in the box following a corner with an emphatic point blank finish from Cristhian Paredes. The match ended soon after that.  Five yellow cards were given out, with Zac McGraw, Ilie Sanchez, Ryan Hollingshead, Juan Mosquera, and Fogaca all entering referee Joe Dickerson’s book. 

This was a match of 60 and 30 minutes. The first sixty showed us a listless Timbers team, trying to make their match plan work when the team was facing a large deficit. The substitutions helped change that dynamic, as the Timbers looked much more dangerous in the latter thirty of the match. Claudio Bravo in particular had a huge impact off the bench. Cristhian Paredes not only scored the second goal, but had several good attacking runs. Fogaca did everything Niezgoda did not do, which was run. Mabiala was serviceable, and Diego Gutierrez didn’t do much but he was only on the field for the last bit of game time. 

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The most pressing need following this match is an intense drilling period on set piece defending. The first goal for the home side was scored because of a serious lack of a quality clearance. McGraw is the only real aerial threat in the backline, and he can only do so much. The Timbers cleared the first ball, but they couldn’t properly clear the second ball. Good teams do not concede on sloppy mistakes. The Timbers almost allowed a second goal on a set piece, but it was ruled out following a foul(?) on Murillo. Looking closer at it, there was no foul, but there was a shout for an offensive foul on LAFC’s first goal, so I imagine it was a make-up call for that (just get the first call right, I am begging you PROReferees). 

The other tactic the Timbers are trying that is just not working is playing out from the back. Through two games, we have been unable to properly progress the ball through the midfield. Two quality pressing teams are tough to play in the opening two weeks of the season, but the midfield has quality. Diego Chara did not have a good game today. It might be time to think about resting him in some games so his legs can be saved. Paredes can definitely do a job in that midfield, and looked like a much better ball progressor than Chara did today. 

It is time to bench Jaroslaw Niezgoda. He does not do enough off the ball and there isn’t enough quality in this team right now to justify having a pure finisher in the XI. Fogaca offers so much more and he should start until Franck Boli is fully match-ready. It might also be time to shift Mosquera out to the wing until Yimmi Chara returns. Marvin Loria had another typical Marvin outing, which this week was characterized by more poor decision-making in the final third. Allowing Mosquera and Moreno to play farther up the pitch makes us way more dangerous in the attack. Mosquera has been our best player through two games, and his positioning farther up the pitch can help us press more effectively. Eric Miller can play right back, and Dario Zuparic looked better in his limited time pushed out to the right than he did in the center today. There are options besides Pablo Bonilla, who is officially a “what does he even do” player. Dave Bingham has certainly started his last game as a Timber for a while, as the third goal from LAFC was saveable in my opinion. He also doesn’t have the same command of the backline that Aljaz Ivacic does.

Evander scored his first goal in Green and Gold (or rose, if you decide to nit-pick). All he needs is more time to get familiar with his teammates, and more will come. He is still the most talented player on the team and the chemistry is still being built. Evander, as evidenced by his postgame quote, agrees with my assessment: “I’m slowly getting there, getting the connections with the players and with the team.” Not concerned about him in the slightest. 

Giovanni Savarese, in particular, has a lot to answer for. In the postgame press conference he noted, “With a few more minutes, I think we tie this game.” Gio, you could try subbing on players before the 60th minute. I was shocked, but not surprised, when the same XI came back onto the field for the second half. There must be more urgency in substitutions. Don’t tell me you only need a few more minutes to get a result when those minutes were already there and you had no urgency to make substitutions. I am OK with today’s starting XI, but good managers realize when they need to take the initiative to change things up. Today’s changes happened too late. 

It wasn’t a game I expected the Timbers to win, but LAFC did not look their best today. Points were certainly on the table, but the Timbers lacked the killer instinct in the attack until the game was pretty much out of reach. Now the focus shifts to an expansion team with an impressive win under their belt and all the momentum heading into a home opener tonight. The result of the latter game remains to be seen, but they already have an identity. The Timbers, through two games, have not found their identity with their new star yet. It is too early to fully press the panic button, but after two games of getting outplayed, my fingers are creeping ever closer to it. 

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