Welcome Back to Your Nightmare

Giovanni Savarese knew it was coming.

He was all smiles this week in training. He knew what the plan was on Tuesday. After two straight weeks away from home, no one in the world was happier to return to Providence Park. 

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The Seattle Sounders have once again invented something new. For the first time in the Cascadia Derby, one team has lost four straight. That unfortunate honor goes to the team that will not stop innovating. Much like the land where they come from, the Seattle Sounders will never be satisfied with what they have. They always have to keep pushing boundaries and doing things no other club has done. And they must be applauded for it. 

Across this 4-game win streak, the Portland Timbers have outscored Seattle 11-2. That is utter domination. It also includes 2 clean sheets at Lumen Field, and both home victories in that stretch came after Seattle scored first. Savarese improves to 9-5-1 against the Sounders, and continues to put Brian Schmetzer’s Judge-Doom lookalike face into a bodybag. Seattle has a tradition of singing “Jingle Bells” when they win away from home, but tonight was actually Portland’s Christmas. And boy, did they need it. 

The first half was the best half the Timbers had played all year. They looked competent in possession, but the final ball was missing. That isn’t an indictment of the players, by the way. Seattle is very well-organized defensively and both teams knew it was going to be a battle. The first half belonged to David Ayala and Claudio Bravo. Ayala was making his first start of the season and was the best teenage midfielder on the pitch tonight. The audacity he had to attempt some of the passes that left his feet is typical of a player who knows he is good. Bravo had Jordan Morris in a locker, which is the type of egg performance Morris normally gives against Portland. That is no disrespect on Bravo, who always found himself in the right places to cut out a pass or make a tackle. Heading into halftime tied was not a disappointment, but a sign of the team finally coming together. 

The second half is what everyone will remember from this match. Seattle showed more will and intensity after the 2nd half whistle was blown, and it finally paid off with a well-placed Raul Ruidiaz finish. Well-worked goal, not too much to complain about. Good teams create and score goals like that. What good teams don’t do is completely lose the initiative. All Dairon Asprilla needed was one chance. He was making his first home appearance of the season, and it was against the team that he has personally destroyed on multiple occasions. And he went full Dairon. A perfectly struck bicycle kick equalized the match at 1-1. After that, Seattle fell apart. Nathan Fogaca came on as a sub and took both Yeimar and Jackson Ragen’s souls on the way to score the go-ahead goal 5 minutes after Dairon’s audacious equalizer hit the back of the net. That must have been tough for Ragen in particular, who ran his mouth with this quote in a pre-game interview: “It is a big game for them, especially this year.” Really wasn’t a big enough game for Ragen to actually defend in. That would also explain how Portland got their third. Stefan Frei completely forgot how to be a professional keeper and let a shot spill directly into the path of Jaroslaw Niezgoda, who opened his 2023 tally with a well-placed finish that put the game away for Portland. But why stop at 3? That’s what Juan Mosquera was thinking while carrying the ball through a bunch of open green space before firing an absolute rocket that nearly took the net off for the fourth. This was just further butchery of an already destroyed fish. But the Timbers fully deserved a win tonight. And they did it in unforgettable fashion. 

Evander was trying. He was so close to getting a goal involvement, but unfortunately his minutes restriction kicked in with the Timbers down 1-0. I do feel bad for him because I can see the hunger to contribute. More time to gel and more time to get fully healthy will be good for him. Do not make tonight about the four goals that came when he was on the bench, because that is first-half erasure. He is still in his adjustment period, and everyone needs to chill out a little bit.

Everyone gets a gold star, with Dairon, Santiago Moreno, Bravo, and Juan Mosquera earning two. All the substitutes get high marks as well, even Larrys Mabiala (he came on as a stoppage time sub but I’m in a very good mood so good job). Cristhian Paredes in particular deserves a special mention. He has made two substitute appearances so far this year and has looked incredibly dangerous in both. Fogaca and Niezgoda both ended their goal droughts, and I want to see more confidence from the both of them. Scoring always provides that boost. Fogaca in particular is a great piece to bring off the bench due to his work rate. It looks like he has found his role in this team. Aljaz Ivacic had another standout performance, while Dario Zuparic continued to be Dario Zuparic. Diego Chara should not have gotten booked today, but he once again received a yellow card. Franck Boli is energetic and keeps finding himself in dangerous places. I’m very happy with what I saw in his first start. I have already talked about Dairon’s Puskas contender, and I would hate to be an opposing fullback marking him. He’s a bully and he’ll outrun you and he’ll score bicycles on your ass. Santiago Moreno was the biggest beneficiary of the sudden turnaround. After a seemingly lackluster first 60 minutes, he notched two assists, including the chipped pass that Dairon bicycled home. His pass to Nathan on the second goal was perfect, and this should be another boost to his confidence. 

Stats-wise, several numbers stand out. The Timbers had 17 shots, and 8 of those were on target. The xG between both teams was almost equal, with the Timbers holding the slight edge 1.38-1.33. This was further illustrated by Stefan Frei’s night to forget in the Seattle net. He had no chance on the Dairon bike, but all three strikes that followed were saveable, with Niezgoda’s goal only occurring because he forgot how to use his hands. Bravo completed 12 passes in the final third, just beating out Ayala and Moreno’s 11. Diego Chara completed 35 of 36 passes, for a pass accuracy number of 97.2 percent. For the first time all season, the midfield looked complete. Ayala was a huge part of that, and he should be partnering Chara for the foreseeable future. Mosquera is such a weapon. He led the team in shots with 4 and put three of them on target. Some may think it’s a bad thing that a right back is leading the team in shots, but it’s just another dimension to this Timbers team. Tactics-wise, the Timbers were hungry to win the ball.

I wasn’t too upset with the refereeing, although many in section 106 (where I witnessed this destruction) were not very happy with Drew Fischer. Only one play is etched in my mind, and it was a sliding challenge by Nouhou in the 77th minute on Mosquera. He clearly did not get ball, but that should’ve been flagged immediately by the linesman and not Fischer. It was incredibly unsafe and should’ve been a yellow AT MINIMUM, but unfortunately it wasn’t even whistled. 

How can you not feel happy tonight? The Sounders showed up in ugly dragon jerseys and proceeded to give up on the fight. Bruce Lee would be incredibly disappointed with the implosion from the boys up north. He would be yelling at Jackson Ragen to make a tackle on Nathan before he could get a shot off. Wearing the jerseys of a fighter and proceeding to lay on your back with your belly facing upward is embarrassing. How can this team say they have the DNA of champions and crumble under any serious adversity? Brian Schmetzer illustrated this beautifully in his post-match press conference: “I told them I don’t feel it’s a rivalry. After the game, some of our staff members, everybody talking, laughing. It’s like another loss. It’s not another loss- it’s against the Timbers. We have to get back to understanding this is a rivalry.” Great job Brian. You are supposed to be the coach of this team and you are a full-blooded Sounder. How can you downplay this fixture over and over again given your own personal investment in the Seattle soccer community even before you were their coach? Stat-padding against weaker teams is very easy when they aren’t at your level, but seriously underestimating your biggest rivals is just horrific team management. 

Giovanni Savarese can continue to be proud of his achievements. His own personal vendetta against the team up north and his passion to stuff them into a bodybag is admirable. And it was his subs that changed the game tonight. Evander, Boli, Ayala, and Paredes were all on minutes restrictions, and he managed it perfectly. Dairon Asprilla was also ready for tonight. “I talked to David Ayala before the game. You wait for the bicycle.”

This could not have come at a better time for Portland. The vibes are immaculate, and they have now climbed the standings into 9th place with 8 points (2-2-4 record). A full bench that can actually contribute is exactly what this team needs, and they have another tough road test next weekend when they visit Cincinnati. Yes, Cincy did get spanked by St. Louis today, but they are still a very good team. Tonight’s win was another launchpad for Portland. This team is about to go on a hotstreak because all the bad vibes from the two months of the 2023 season are pretty much gone. This is what returning to the mean looks like. And a great way to kickstart it is a thrashing of your biggest rivals. Fish fully gutted.

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