—by Chris Rifer
The only measure of quality that matters in soccer is that relative to a team’s opponent on game day. On Saturday, the Portland Timbers were vastly superior to D.C. United, even if that conclusion was less about the Timbers than it is about Ben Olsen’s incoherent side.
Sequestered at the bottom of the table, D.C. came into Saturday’s match with a glimmer of hope coming off a draw against Sporting Kansas City. And it was United that created the first chance serious chance of the game in the 12th minute after a classy run through the middle from Chris Pontius[1] set Carlos Ruiz into all sorts of space on the left side of the box, but the Guatemalan’s backpost curler was no trouble for a well-positioned Donovan Ricketts.
For the next fifteen minutes, however, it was all Portland. In the 17th minute Darlington Nagbe ran into a vacant midfield and unleashed a shot from 30 yards that looked to catch Bill Hamid off his line, but the young goalkeeper leaped to nervously tip over the bar.
Space was once again the name of the game four minutes later, when Frederic Piquionne took a throw toward the center of the field where the D.C. United defense collapsed in on itself. Piquionne found Rodney Wallace all by himself on the left side of the box where Wallace’s feet seemingly had enough time to roshambo for the right to strike the forthcoming shot. As usual, his left came up scissors and sliced the ball into back of the net.
United continued to find itself in positive positions, but over and over again made a laughingstock of their chances. In the 26th minute D.C. moved the ball easily through the Timbers’ defense, but Kyle Porter sent his shot from the left side of the box over the bar.
No Black-and-Red chance went as begging, however, as the one that presented itself in the 42nd minute. After Ruiz again found himself in space on the right side of the box, he rolled a dangerous cross across the face of goal where no Timber could play it for fear of putting it into their net. United’s attackers, however, were nonchalant in pouncing on the loose ball, and the cross that needed only a routine touch to level the score dribbled pathetically away.
The start to the second half brought more of the same. Perhaps attempting to see how far off the gas they could take their foot while retaining control, the Timbers came out flat. But a pair of promisingly positioned headers from Perry Kitchen and Kyle Porter were wasted, cementing the feeling that a D.C. United score was impossible on account of their own foibles.
One guy who had no problem making the most of his chances on Saturday was Darlington Nagbe, who looked like the best player on the field for much of the match. After a more familiar piece of buildup play found Nagbe in space in the midfield, he played back to Ryan Johnson and ran into the box. Johnson, apparently trying to one-up Will Johnson from the week before, popped a pass over the top of the defense into the box, where Nagbe expertly used his body to get on the ball, earn space, and fire between Hamid’s wickets and into the net.
With the result settled and the highlight reel sealed, D.C. United set out to add a couple more bloopers to their weekly film session.
In the 65th minute Kyle Porter sent a dangerous ball across the top of the box that had three Timbers too timid to play it. Pescado played back to Pontius at the corner of the six, but the United captain’s effort sailed absurdly high.
Speaking of absurdly high, Lionard Pajoy joined the party after collecting a beautiful Dwayne Do Rosario long ball forward and stranding Donovan Ricketts off his line, but the Colombian sailed his shot from the top of the box.
Perhaps the most positive sign for the Timbers on Saturday was the ugliness of the win. For one, it was a convincing win on the road when the Timbers weren’t playing anything close to their best soccer. That, by itself, is a significant improvement over the last two years. Additionally, Saturday showed that the Timbers aren’t just a system team. Sure, the system is a big part of Portland success, but they proved they can still score goals and win games when Plan A isn’t available. Well, at least against a vastly inferior opponent.
Notes & Observations
- Give Caleb Porter a healthy share of the credit for Saturday’s win. Many coaches that have installed a system as successful as his will stick to it stubbornly, regardless of the personnel available or the opponent’s strengths. Rather than dogmatically stick to his tactical guns, Porter pragmatically changed the Timbers’ shape and approach to fit the circumstances. Faced with the loss of Diego Valeri, Porter recognized that the quick passing-based offensive system wasn’t going to be as effective. So he set the team up to play much more direct. Rather than replace Valeri with Kalif Alhassan, as he has done in the past to modest success, Porter brought on a second forward in Frederic Piquionne and shifted into a very traditional looking 4-4-2. As a result, D.C. United’s backline couldn’t handle the Timbers’ front four. And that alone was sufficient to carry Portland to an ugly win.
- That said, I’m not sure there’s another team in MLS that Portland beats on the road on Saturday, and probably a good number that they lose to. In that respect, we saw how important Diego Valeri is to this Timbers team. Without him, Portland misses a key attacking component to keep their offense firing on all cylinders. Valeri’s injury doesn’t sound all that serious, but I would be shocked if he played in Wednesday’s U.S. Open Cup match.
Timbers Grades
Donovan Ricketts, 6.5 Another solid game from Ricketts, whose positioning was solid all night. United didn’t test him often, but credit the big keeper for being in the right spots and making finishes difficult for D.C.
Michael Harrington, 5.5 Struggled a little bit in the first half hour, but put in one of his better performances over the last sixty minutes. Even got into the attack on an occasion in which Nagbe and Piquionne set him up beautifully at the top of the box. Never mind that Harrington’s strike was poor.
Pa Modou Kah, 5.5 A decent first outing. Got caught upfield once or twice, but overall his backline improved as the game went along. Very early returns indicate he’s yet another solid signing for Caleb Porter.
Andrew Jean-Baptiste, 4.5 On the whole a decent night for AJB, but he should have been whistled for a penalty as a result of his second half handball. He got away with it on Saturday, but he needs to keep working to eliminate his weekly major mistake.
Jack Jewsbury, 4 A rough game for Jack at right back, as his positioning and one-on-one defending were a little bit looser than usual, especially in the first half.
Rodney Wallace, 6.5 Predictably a little bit quieter in this system, but his opener was very well taken and Rod contributed nicely on the defensive end on numerous occasions.
Will Johnson, 4.5 The central midfield just had a little bit of an off day. Nothing too bad from Will Johnson or Diego Chara, but passes didn’t quite find their marks on many occasions and a few more missed tackles than we’re used to seeing from these guys.
Diego Chara, 4.5 See Will Johnson. This is probably a rating relative to their usual stellar production, though.
Darlington Nagbe, 7.5 An easy man of the match selection for me. Nagbe was good wherever Caleb Porter put him, be it outside on the right wing where he started, or the more central areas he moved into as the match went along.
Frederic Piquionne, 6 A very nice outing for Piquionne, who deserved his assist. Held the ball up nicely on Saturday and distributed well once his colleagues joined in the attack.
Ryan Johnson, 6 Subtle again from Johnson, but a nicely played ball through to Nagbe earned him an assist. Ryan’s movement was malleable on Saturday, as well, bending a very flexible United defense out of shape on multiple occasions.
Ben Zemanski, INC Although he played 17 minutes, D.C. had long since given up when he came on, limiting his opportunity to make his mark.
Jose Valencia, 5.5 You can tell Trencito likes scoring goals, regardless of the situation. He didn’t get one on Saturday, but wasn’t far off.
Kalif Alhassan, INC.
Preseason Prediction: United 2, Timbers 0.
Actual Result: Timbers 2, United 0. Whoops.
Onward, Rose City!
[1] And some cringe-worthy defending from the Timbers.
