—by Chris Rifer

Midweek John Spencer said he would happily take an ugly three points out of the match against Sporting KC. He got his wish.

On Saturday night the Portland Timbers kicked, scratched, and gouged their way to one of the most significant—if ugliest—wins since promotion to MLS a year ago.

The Timbers opened the match with a nice spell of possession in the first few minutes, but ultimately couldn’t make anything noteworthy of it.

Sporting looked to have what Portland lacked in danger in the final third, as in the 9^th minute C.J. Sapong beat Hanyer Mosquera on the byline, and sent a ball to Kai Kamara 10 yards out from the mouth of the goal. Troy Perkins was perfectly positioned, however, to smother Kamara’s shot and end the danger.

From there the chances were scarce, as the side started kicking the ball—and each other—around the midfield. The Wiz managed to put Troy Perkins to work once, as Graham Zusi sent a nicely placed 23^rd minute set piece toward the far upper 90, but Perkins calmly tapped over the bar.

In a tight match like Saturday, though, 90 minutes of labor can be undone by one moment of fleeting concentration. For once, it wasn’t the Timbers learning that lesson.

After Diego Chara found Kris Boyd on a run down the right wing, the Timbers’ talisman sent a ball to the far post to nobody in particular. As the ball floated through the air, the North End could see Chance Myers and Julio Cesar closing down the ball with no Timber within 10 yards. Surely they were just going to let the ball run through. There was no danger. Instead they converged with each other and the ball at the same time, knocking a harmless cross into the back of their own net.

The defense that had been stalwart for 40 minutes, and would be similarly dominant for 49 more, had suddenly made a mess of things in blooper reel fashion.

Coming out of the half, Portland—for the only time on Saturday night—looked poised to make a run at a second goal. After Darlington Nagbe and Diego Chara played a little give and go down the right side, the little Colombian sent an early ball into the box for Perlaza and Boyd. The ball ran by Perlaza, but Boyd got foot to it, only for Jimmy Neilsen to close down the shot and send it out for a corner.

For nearly 45 minutes, that was the end of the serious chances. Roger Espinoza and Kamara had efforts from distance, but neither seriously troubled the Timbers defense.

Then, in stoppage time, as the Army desperately sang the Timbers through the last ten minutes, the Portland defense looked for a split second like it was going to fumble away another result. A routine play was bobbled in the box, the ball bounded perilously toward the near post, but Hanyer Mosquera was there to clear off the line.

That was the moment for Portland to let this one slip away. And for the first time in 2012, the Timbers survived it.

The result—though aesthetically bankrupt—is of the kind that can turn a season around. For the first month of the 2012 campaign, Portland looked talented, but mentally weak. At times the soccer was beautiful stuff, but at the end of the day the Timbers would let the result slip away.

Not on Saturday. Portland ground out three massive points, and will take some desperately needed confidence on the road to Montreal.

Match Observations

• Where has that been? If Portland had shown a tenth of the grit they showed on Saturday in the matches against RSL, Chivas, New England, and Galaxy, Saturday would have been a matchup between two unbeatens.
• The talk before the match was about an XI that seemed to make no sense. Lovel Palmer started in the center of the midfield, Diego Chara and Darlington Nagbe manned the wings, and Eric Alexander and Franck Songo’o held down the bench. What seemed to be the workings of a madman ended up fitting the game perfectly. It was a lineup designed to ugly up the game by getting physical in the midfield and hoping the attacking talent left on the field could find one moment of magic. The strategy was bold, but it worked on Saturday. That said, never, ever do that again, Spenny.
• Take a look at the table today. Portland still sits in last place in the West on seven points, but is only three points out of fifth and four points out of third. The West is, and will stay, a huddled cluster of a conference. Portland’s bad start dug them a hole, but as the table shows, it’s far from insurmountable. Good results the next two weeks and Portland could very easily find itself sitting in playoff position by the first weekend in May. Now look at the East. Gracious.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 7 His defense was great in front of him, but Troy’s leadership and positioning kept things organized and kept SKC from making a serious bid at goal. Great save on Kamara early. The only criticism is that Perkins has had a little case of the dropsies in the early stages this year. Hopefully he gets that straightened out before it costs the Timbers a goal.

Mike Chabala, 8 I’m going to have to dust off the archives to find a gutsier performance from a Timber. His ankle was thoroughly messed up. He gimped his way through his halftime fitness test to the point that I was incredulous he was going back in.[1] Then he was very good defensively in the second half. Was his play itself worth an 8? No, probably not. But as supporters we ask the players to bleed for the shirt, and Chewie put in a historic performance in that regard. You can wear your pink pants to your heart’s content this week, Chewie. You’ve earned it. And would somebody buy this guy an appletini or something?

Eric Brunner, 7 Boy, oh boy this guy is happy to see Hanyer Mosquera back. Brunner—and the entire backline—looked light-years better than they have at any time in the season.

Hanyer Mosquera, 8 Mosco got turned around once in the 9^th minute, and it nearly cost Portland. From there he was flawless, including the match-saving clearance in second half stoppage. Gavin hasn’t hit on every foreign discovery, but this one looks like a home run.

Steve Purdy, 5 Purdy was fine, although not a whole lot more than that. Sometimes looked a little bit lost on defense, but the Timbers weren’t really punished for it. A few more crosses coming in from that right side than I would like to see, but overall a passable performance.

Diego Chara, 6.5 When I saw him lined up on the wing, I about blew a gasket. In his forays out wide this year Diego has looked terribly uncomfortable. He seemed to have it figured a little bit on Saturday, as he was typically nifty defensively and much, much better in the attack on the wing.

Lovel Palmer, 5 Okay, so he was fine. He took some maddening touches, but was properly positioned defensively and never screwed the pooch. If this was a situational placement in the lineup for John Spencer, I’ll go along reluctantly. But I can’t for the life of me figure out what Palmer has done to earn a spot in the XI over Eric Alexander or Franck Songo’o.

Jack Jewsbury, 6 It’s been a rough go for Captain Jack early on this season, but he was useful defensively and in disrupting things in the midfield. He looks a little bit more comfortable playing higher in the thick of things rather than sitting at the back of a diamond waiting for the opposing offense to come to him.

Darlington Nagbe, 6 Nice outing for Darlington. Had some nice moments in the first half combining with Jorge Perlaza that, but for a very good Sporting defense, could have led to some good chances.

Jorge Perlaza, 5 Made several good runs, and did some nice things for the offense, but clearly has no confidence going toward goal right now. He had a few opportunities to pull the trigger, but Jorge simply refused. I still think he’s getting traded.

Kris Boyd, 6.5 Normally if he doesn’t score a goal he’ll get graded down here, as that is virtually his sole purpose on the field. Aside from his cross that Myers and Julio Cesar made a mess of, Boyd had some nice moments winning balls in the midfield and even in defense – namely a huge block of a dangerous Sapong cross in the dying moments of the first half.

Freddie Braun, 5.5 Very interesting introduction at right back when Lovel Palmer was in the game at Braun’s natural central midfield position. Took on a monumental challenge in trying to handle a front line of Teal Bunbury, Kamara, and Sapong. While Freddie couldn’t shut that down—show me a right back in the league that could—he did well to harass Kamara enough to keep him from getting comfortable.

Eric Alexander, 5 Came on in the 84^th minute and didn’t really have much of a chance to make an impact. Shocked not to see him in the starting lineup.

Franck Songo’o, 6 In a very, very brief spell, did nicely to relieve the pressure on the Timbers defense by taking the ball into the attacking third. Didn’t make anything of it, but in second half stoppage, relieving that pressure is vital.

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 1, SKC 0. Perlaza (Songo’o).[2]

Actual Result: Timbers 1, SKC 0. Myers (OG).

Onward, Rose City!