—by Chris Rifer
The wait for the Timbers to find their offensive mojo continues for another week. In a game of two distinct halves, the Timbers sleepwalked out of the gates in the first half to fall behind then rediscovered some of their form in the second to earn a 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire.
The Timbers’ best chance of the first half was also indicative of their biggest problem. In the fourth minute the Timbers broke out and Diego Valeri magnificently fed Darlington Nagbe through on the left side of the box in seemingly promising shooting position. Rather than pull the trigger, however, Nagbe inexplicably fed the ball wide to Diego Chara where the Fire put it behind for a corner.
The Fire showed no such reluctance to go at goal. In the 9th minute, Alex gathered a long goal kick at the top of the box, spun, and fired a volley that looked momentarily destined for the upper corner before Donovan Ricketts palmed it just wide of the post.
Seven minutes later, Quincy Amarikwa took on Norbert Paparatto one-on-one and won, freeing himself on the byline to rip a dangerous cross across the box, but nobody could find the finishing touch.
Paparatto wouldn’t be so lucky in the 19th minute. After Amarikwa out-maneuvered Papa to another long ball, he cut in front of the Argentine and stopped, causing Paparatto to bowl over the much-obliged forward. Jeff Larentowicz stepped to the spot and slotted the ball home in the bottom right corner for the opener.
The concession didn’t immediately wake the Timbers up, however, as they continued to mope through most of the first half. Even in the rare instance an opportunity presented itself, the Timbers were maddeningly reluctant to seize the moment. For the most part, however, Portland was outplayed by a team that, even to the naked eye, was its technical inferior.
As halftime neared, however, the Timbers stared to right the ship. And on the brink of the intermission, they nearly found their equalizer. After Valeri played a Jewsbury throw to Urruti in the box, the young striker’s shot was deflected. Not giving up on the play, Urruti managed to squeeze the rebound through to Will Johnson on the left side of the box, but Sean Johnson kick saved his dangerous low shot.
Out of halftime, the Timbers looked like a different team. In the 56th minute, after being moved to great effect to the right wing, Valeri played a magnificent ball across the box where both Urruti and Gaston Fernandez had a chance to get a finishing touch on it. Neither could get his feet right, however, and the once-dangerous ball skidded sheepishly through the box.
Ten minutes later, after Sean Johnson could only deflect a Valeri shot from the right side, Steve Zakuani gathered looking at an open net beyond the far post, but Lovel Palmer blocked his putback and Will Johnson’s bicycle effort—under a little push from Gonzalo Segares—found nothing but air.
It got worse for Will in the 71st minute, as Chicago did their best to gift the Timbers the equalizer. After Bakary Soumare and Sean Johnson combined to make a mess of what should have been a routine recovery, Will Johnson found the ball at his feet with nothing but net to look at. In a wildly uncharacteristic moment for the unflappable Johnson, he put the easy finish just wide of the post in the sort of moment that seemingly only happens to the snakebitten.
But snakes weren’t the only things biting on Sunday. Turns out there was a cat bearing teeth, too. In a goal reminiscent of his equalizer a week ago, Gaston Fernandez was sitting at the back post in the 79th minute when Sean Johnson spilled a hard Nagbe shot. Though he used his feet this time, just like last week La Gata slotted the sitter into the open net to pull his team level.
Despite further help from a Patrick Nyarko red card, however, the Timbers couldn’t put together a genuine push for an equalizer. Of Portland’s three must-finish chances in the second half, they could only capitalize on one in a backend performance that, but for finishing folly, entitled the Timbers to a win.
Unfortunately, however, that “but for” has been a hulabaloo for the Timbers in the very early going of 2014, resulting in four dropped points at home to start the campaign.
Match Observations
Spring Struggles
While comparisons to 2013 are easy to draw with the sluggish start—and they certainly aren’t without merit—it’s worth noting that the Timbers opening homestand this year was much more favorable than a year ago. Although Philadelphia looks poised to surprise some people this year, the Fire are not of the quality of the 2014 Union or 2013 Impact or Red Bulls. While a pair of draws is far from a disaster and disappointing dropped points are inevitable to some extent, it’s reasonable to think the Timbers left more on the table as a result of their spring struggles this year than in 2013.
Tactical Tweaks
Rarely have we seen Caleb Porter’s tactical moves pay such dividends as they did on Sunday. After a disappointing first half in which the Timbers really struggled to create any genuine chances, Porter’s halftime switch of Valeri to the right and Nagbe in the middle immediate changed the Timbers’ tempo, as putting Nagbe in the middle opened up space for him to drive at the defense rather than move laterally looking for central space.
The shift had an even greater effect when Steve Zakuani came on and moved Gaston Fernandez up top. With a creative engine of Valeri and Nagbe aided by solid overlapping play from Jack Jewsbury, the Timbers dominated the second half and put together their most potent spell of offense of the young season.
Porter spoke postgame about the improved chemistry of the attacking group including Zakuani. “It’s worked better chemistry-wise the last two games, certainly. Whether it will work better chemistry-wise long-term, I think that remains to be seen. But it’s a real positive that when we’ve inserted Zakuani, Gaston has found two goals in that spot. Hopefully Zakuani continues to progress to where he’s able to start.”
Stay tuned.
Set Piece Defending
Caleb Porter’s frustration at having to repeatedly answer questions about set piece defending has been thinly veiled over the past several weeks. After an improved performance in that respect against Philadelphia—with one significant exception—the Timbers were quite good at winning the first ball on Sunday.
And Porter wasn’t about to let the assembled media forget it. “Didn’t give up a set piece today. I know some of you guys call PKs set pieces, but it’s really not. It’s a penalty kick. But we didn’t give up a goal on a corner or a wide free kick, so I feel good about that. I hope you guys do, too. And I know you talk about it all the time when we give up one, but it’d be nice to hear you talk about it when we do well on those. So I’m pleased about that.”
Although an endorsement from this space is certainly little—if, realistically, any—consolation to Porter, the Timbers’ improvement defending set plays since the preseason game against San Jose has been marked. Whereas against San Jose, the Quakes were able to get their head to seemingly every first ball, against both Philadelphia and Chicago the Timbers won the vast majority. There is still some room for further improvement in this respect, but what was once a serious liability looks to be well on the road to mitigation.
Timbers Grades
Donovan Ricketts, 6.5 Although he didn’t get as much love this week as he did last, Ricketts put in an even better performance. Had a couple shots from distance that required some of his usual quality goalkeeping, and his save to deny Soumare in second half stoppage time was textbook.
Michael Harrington, 5 Didn’t have a whole lot to do defensively, as the Fire largely targeted the centerbacks. Also didn’t do a whale of a lot offensively, though he had a couple nice moments when he tucked inside a little bit and played back into the center.
Futty, 6 Solid performance from Futty. The Fire tried to go at him a couple times, but the dean of the Timbers was more than up to the task. His partner on the other hand…
Norberto Paparatto, 3 Had a pretty horrible five-minute spell in the first half in which Amarikwa de-pantsed him twice. While the penalty was largely of Amarikwa’s own creation, Papa is responsible for getting in that spot.
Jack Jewsbury, 6.5 A sneaky candidate for Man of the Match. Could have lent an additional hand or two defensively, but his offensive play in the second half was quietly fantastic. By providing a consistent touchline presence, Jack stretched the Fire defense and opened spaces for Valeri and Nagbe to operate.
Will Johnson, 4 The obvious need not be rehashed. Johnson screwed up. Valeri did it last week. It happens—obviously even to great players. While Johnson had moments in the late-first and second halves where he was able to contribute in the attack, his holding role for much of the first half limited his influence when it could have been handy.
Diego Chara, 7 There was a decent amount of sidling on Sunday, but more important for purposes of his grade were two expert switching balls that set up two great chances—one of which was La Gata’s goal. Sending him instead of Johnson forward in the first half didn’t seem to work, but that’s no massive surprise.
Gaston Fernandez, 6 Quiet until he moved up top, Fernandez looked much more comfortable at the nine. While poaching back stick isn’t fancy, as the last two games have demonstrated, it can be fruitful.
Diego Valeri, 6.5 Absolutely dominated Chicago after his move to the right.
Darlington Nagbe, 5 A tale of two halves for Nagbe. Reverted to some of his old passive ways in the first, as when he picked the ball up on the right side Nagbe frequently took negative or unproductive touches searching for a preferred channel rather than using his ample capabilities to drive at the defense. Found his keys in the center in the second half, however, which put Chicago’s defense on its heels.
Maxi Urruti, 3.5 It’s just not working right now for Maxi. The finishes aren’t there and, more important, the runs aren’t there. This offense relies on excellent and unselfish movement from its striker to open up lanes for the midfielders. That’s not happening.
Steve Zakuani, 5 Zakuani is going to get a lot of credit for the Timbers second half resurgence, but that’s a confusion of correlation and causation. Zakuani was fine, but the Timbers’ improvement was more about his attackmates shifting to positions in which they were more effective.
Frederic Piquionne, 3 Came in to be a target. Frittered his precious minutes on the wing.
Preseason Prediction: Timbers 1, Fire 1. Nagbe, Magee (penalty).
Actual Result: Timbers 1, Fire 1. Fernandez, Larentowicz (penalty).
Onward, Rose City!
