—by Chris Rifer

The Portland Timbers are showing that they know how to beat good teams in close matches. A week ago they ended Real Salt Lake’s 18-match MLS unbeaten streak with a 1-0 win marked by stifling defense. The schedule didn’t lighten up any, as Philadelphia Union brought their league-best defense into Jeld-Wen Field on Friday. The result was the same.

Portland showed good moxie in defense and patience getting forward as a 72^nd minute Futty header was enough to provide the winning margin. Whereas the Timbers’ previous three wins at Jeld-Wen Field were highlighted by Portland jumping out on top early, it was clear from the outset that the Union were going to be a bit stingy in back.

Despite the fact that Portland had the better of possession in the first half, few chances presented themselves in the run of play. The Timbers’ best opportunities came by way of set pieces, where Portland has appeared to be among the most dangerous in MLS. In the 26^th minute, Futty got a clean nod on a Jack Jewsbury corner but couldn’t turn it enough to keep it from sailing wide of the far post. In the 45^th, Jewsbury sent a beautiful free kick in from 40 yards out, but Eric Brunner’s header sailed tantalizingly over the bar.

Union nearly capitalized on a Timbers defensive mistake, as Portland expatriate Danny Mwanga easily shook Rodney Wallace on the wing and sent a ball in to Sebastien Le Toux’s, whose soft effort was easily corralled by Troy Perkins.

The second half began much like the first, with Portland controlling the run of play but struggling to find much in the way of opportunities as Philadelphia packed in. Portland’s best chances came from distance as both Jewsbury and Sal Zizzo took threatening shots from deep.

In the 72^nd, however, Portland’s set piece magic would return. Jewsbury sent a ball in from near the center circle—a brutal angle from which to take a free kick—and found Futty in the box, who flicked the ball inside the near post.

The final 20 minutes did not lack for action. With Philly down a goal and desperately looking for an equalizer, Diego Chara and Jorge Perlaza made several nice runs on the counterattack to create chances in behind Union’s defense. In the 84^th minute, Jeremy Hall knocked down another Jewsbury corner but Brunner’s stab at an open net went high and wide.

Finally, it was for the defense to finish off the victory. With Union sending everybody forward, Portland struggled to clear a Philadelphia threat. After several shots had been deflected, a final effort on goal was gamely smothered by Perkins to secure three more points.

The Timbers take the momentum they have built at home—this time defeating two of MLS’s most formidable sides—to Seattle for the first installment of the Cascadia Cup in MLS history.

Match Observations

• Forgetting for the moment—and with luck for eternity—about the poor outing against the Quakes, these wins over RSL and Union feel very different than the wins over Chicago and FC Dallas. The first two wins had a distinct jump out early and hang on for dear life feel about them. The wins this week have felt like much more dominant, controlled victories. I think getting these kinds of victories—over good teams where you have to work for 90 minutes—sets Portland up to get results on the road. The chances of blitzing somebody on the road are pretty remote. You really need to show that you can grind out three points. That is exactly what the Timbers have done twice in the course of a week.
• The combination of Jorge Perlaza and Diego Chara really began to shine as things opened up in back over the last 20 minutes. Both of those guys have some serious wheels, and are very good at making runs to collect long balls. They got a little bit cute as they got close to goal, but especially late in the match, both did very well to put themselves in position to score.
• I don’t think there is much debate about this, but Portland is among the elite teams in MLS on set pieces. The Timbers have a very effective combination of big guys who like to operate in the air—Cooper, Futty, and Brunner—and an outstanding set piece server in Jewsbury.
• With 12 points out of the last 15, Portland is tied with Real Salt Lake for the best team in MLS over the course of the last five matches.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 6 Had one bobbled cross, and wasn’t tested that often. When he was made to work, however, he was outstanding. He does a great job of organizing and leading his defense. Jake Gleeson may be the keeper of the future, but I don’t see much question that Troy Perkins is the right choice right now.

Rodney Wallace, 4.5 Rodney didn’t have his best outing. It’s hard to give a negative grade like this when the defense overall had a good performance, but he was exposed a couple times on the outside and gave away a needless corner or two. Also was foolish to unnecessarily pick up his fourth yellow of the season, as that brings him within one of suspension.

Futty, 6 The central defense—really the entire center of the field—was dominated by the Timbers. Futty has done well to settle into his spot and, especially considering the prowess he has shown in the air, puts John Spencer in the unenviable position of picking between him and the also-effective David Horst.

Eric Brunner, 6 Does anybody know if Brunner is a Bruce Springsteen fan? The way this guy plays embodies blue collar Americana. He brings his hard hat and lunch pail to the pitch every day, locks down his backline, and hardly gets noticed.

Jeremy Hall, 6.5 He was awesome on the right side of the defense. Wasn’t terribly active in the attack, but he was stellar in defense. The left side of the Union attack was shut down all night, and the few times they ventured over Jeremy’s way he made them look downright silly.

Kalif Alhassan, 5.5 Kalif was his usual self, but largely because of some really good Union defense, there wasn’t a ton of room for him to make the last pass.

Diego Chara, 6 He and Jewsbury dominated the center of the midfield. Everything that Union could get going had to come up their right wing, largely because Chara was winning everything in the middle. When he gets forward he needs to fancy himself a bit more. Had a few good looks at the net where he chose to lay it off for somebody else. In the spirit of Bill Walton, throw it down, tiny man!

Jack Jewsbury, 6.5 Gets a ton of credit for the Timbers’ prowess in the middle of the pitch, but the thing that makes him remarkable is his quality on set pieces. Repeatedly put balls on a dime Friday, as he has all season long.

Darlington Nagbe, 4 Son, you’re thinking too much. When the ball rotated out to him, it often stopped in its tracks as Darlington tried to break down his man (often men) by himself. I think a big part of it is that he hasn’t quite adjusted to the speed of the MLS game, so it would be foolish to give up on him, but he was brutal at times on Friday.

Kenny Cooper, 5 The Union defense did a great job of keeping Kenny quiet. He was working just as hard as he normally does, but it was clear that he was the focal point of their defensive game plan.

Jorge Perlaza, 5.5 Again showed how dangerous he is in receiving balls over the top and on the counter attack. A similar comment to Chara, though, in that there are times when he needs to be a bit more selfish and take the shot himself.

Sal Zizzo, 6 Had a very effective outing in place of Nagbe. I like the runs that he makes into the interior of the defense, especially with somebody like Jeremy Hall behind him who really likes to overlap.

James Marcelin, 5 Came on as a defensive substitution and did what he does. Solid, but not fantastic. Did his job.

Ryan Pore, INC Actually had a fairly nice three minutes of run, but it was three minutes of run so that’s sort of difficult to gauge.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a U-23 match to attend.

Onward, Rose City!