—by Chris Rifer

Four days ago, the Timbers sat with one point, tied for the bottom spot in the Western Conference. Today, Portland is in fourth place with seven points, looking down the table at the Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps. It’s been a nice week of work for the boys.

If you missed the match on Thursday, the Timbers provided an encore performance Sunday afternoon, perhaps with a sprinkle more late drama. The run of play was split relatively evenly between FC Dallas and Portland in the first half, but the Timbers looked more dangerous around the area and capitalized on their chances.

In the 13^th minute, Kalif Alhassan dropped a ball to Jack Jewbury at the top of the box. Jewsbury’s shot hit the near post, deflected off FC Dallas keeper Kevin Hartman’s back, and into the back of the net. Once again, the Timbers had an early lead.

In the 35^th minute, Portland took control as Jewsbury sent a corner kick in front of the mouth of the goal to Kenny Cooper, who nodded it into the side netting for his first tally at Jeld-Wen Field, giving the Timbers a 2-0 lead at the break.

Coming out of intermission, the Timbers quickly asserted themselves when Jorge Perlaza redirected a cross from Steve Purdy into goal only to have the score nullified by an offside call. Sound familiar? It wouldn’t take too long for Portland to net the magical third, however, as Alhassan sliced his way through a gaggle of striped shirts in the 55^th minute and found Rodney Wallace for his second goal in as many games.

Kalif looked to make it four in the 61^st minute, but his strong shot from just outside the area was parried by a beautiful diving save from Hartman.

What would a Timbers home match be without a little bit of late drama? In the 83^rd minute, David Ferriera sprinted past Futty Danso, and slotted a ball past a surprised Jake Gleeson. What was just a minor party foul became a serious issue just three minutes later as Brek Shea caught Gleeson in between and chipped the ball into the net.

Aided by an athletic Gleeson save, Portland’s defense withstood FC Dallas’ desperate attempt to find an equalizer and captured their sixth point in four days.

Match Observations

• Seriously, who in their right mind would suggest that Kalif Alhassan should lose his starting spot? Oh right, I would. Three days ago. This is awkward.
• The Timbers attack looks fantastic right now. Between Perlaza, Cooper, Alhassan, and the outside backs doing a great job of getting forward, the Timbers have deserved their seven goals in the last two matches. This is forcing teams to be more conservative than they would like to be, providing an added layer of protection to Portland’s backline. A number of times when Dallas would look to get forward they would look up and see nothing but green shirts to extinguish any attack.
• Portland’s problems appear to be arising when they stop looking to be aggressive in getting forward. Futty, although a fan favorite, has been a bit up and down at the center back spot, which looks more and more like it is David Horst’s spot to return to. If I was Gavin, and had money to make one more major signing, this is where I would look.
• We also shouldn’t overlook the fact that tired legs could have played a big part in the late game mistakes. The Timbers were playing their second game in four days, and in the waning minutes there was much, much more space than there had been throughout. The two goals were on plays where a Timber defender was beat in a footrace. So, to a certain extent you have to think the boys just ran out of gas a little bit.

Timbers Grades

Jake Gleeson, 5 Had 82 minutes of easy, routine soccer, but probably should have done better on both goals. On the first he got caught going the wrong way in a little bit of a misread. On the second he got caught in between, allowing Shea to chip him. That said, probably preserved the three points with his stoppage time save off the bar.

Steve Purdy, 5.5 Had his fingerprints all over the second concession, but otherwise was as usual reliable in defense. Unlucky not to be awarded with the assist on Perlaza’s nullified goal.

Eric Brunner, 6 I continue to be impressed. He is exactly the kind of reliable center back that a team needs. If the Timbers can continue to score goals, he is probably good enough to lock down the backline well enough to produce results.

Futty, 4.5 This hurts because I love the guy, but was by far the Timbers most blood pressure raising player of the match. Made a couple nice plays to get himself out of trouble, but was far and away the most vulnerable point of the defense.

Rodney Wallace, 6 Another nice game from Wallace. Not quite the match he had on Thursday, but still tallied a goal— although Kalif did most of the heavy lifting—and looked for the most part reliable in defense. Does have a knack for yielding needless corners, though, as he did in second half stoppage time.

Jeremy Hall, 5.5 Wasn’t as effective getting forward, but won a number of balls in the midfield and did well to start a few attacking sequences. Right now, with Nagbe still working his way in, Hall’s reliability in defense is a bonus. It’s no coincidence that in the last two matches the defense has looked leakier after he has left the pitch.

Jack Jewsbury, 6.5 Dear Sporting KC, Thank you. This guy is awesome. Wins balls in the midfield, distributes well to start the attack, and is absolutely deadly on set pieces.

James Marcelin, 5 Had his best moments when he was in defense. Otherwise was pretty quiet in the attack.

Kalif Alhassan, 8 By far the best man on the pitch. That’s saying something considering David Ferriera is the reigning MLS MVP and FC Dallas was in the MLS Cup Final last year.

Kenny Cooper, 6 Again was disruptive up front, and showed his prowess in the air. Had a couple moments where he could have pulled the trigger and failed to do so, but on the whole had a good outing.

Jorge Perlaza, 5.5 A bit unlucky not to get a goal. Had the one called back for offside which looked to be a close, but probably correct call. Had a few other chances that went by the wayside, but has to feel good about finding a rhythm.

Darlington Nagbe, 5.5 Showed his pace on a couple runs, but still doesn’t quite have the feel necessary to make that last pass. It may take him a little bit of time because he is trying to find his rhythm both coming off of injury and in a new league, but it is clear that the physical tools are there.

Sal Zizzo, 4.5 Didn’t have his best outing, and with the emergence of Kalif Alhassan it is becoming doubtful that he has a place in the starting XI. He’s still a nice player, but how can you keep Kalif off the pitch right now?

Eddie Johnson, 4 Was set up nicely a couple times but failed to make anything terribly dangerous from it. Will be a nice change of pace substitute when he gets back into full form, but for now is a noticeable downgrade from Perlaza.