—by Chris Rifer

Two road matches, one point. For most clubs and for most supporters that’s a disappointing road trip.  And in many ways for the Portland Timbers, that’s a disappointing result, too, but only because of the way it happened.

On Wednesday, missing Diego Chara and Donovan Ricketts, the Timbers travelled down to San Jose to meet the surprising Supporters’ Shield frontrunners. By all means, there was absolutely no reason for Portland to be competitive in the game. And by and large, they weren’t. San Jose out-possessed, out-shot, and generally out-classed the Timbers through almost the entire field.

The only exception, however, was the final third. Whereas, for the first seventy minutes, the Quakes routinely made a mess of things in front of goal, the Timbers found chances with rarity, but took them with frequency. Danny Mwanga opened the scoring after intercepting a pass in San Jose’s own end, playing a give-and-go to Rodney Wallace, taking a touch around Jon Busch, and slotting the ball into the net.

Mwanga doubled the lead in the 62^nd minute, as Franck Songo’o made a brilliant run, and fed Mwanga on the left wing. Danny, who became known for his shots from distance in Philadelphia, buried his effort from twenty in the upper far ninety.

From there, the Timbers didn’t park the bus. They slashed the tires, took the wheels off, and put the thing on blocks. There was no way that could last, and it didn’t. A brace from second half substitute Chris Wondolowski – who had been resting for Saturday’s win at Seattle – erased Portland’s lead. First, Wondo stole the ball off of David Horst’s half-hearted clearance effort, took a touch, and fired past a helpless Bendik. The soccer gods wouldn’t punish him for his wild fist pumping celebration, however, as Sam Cronin found Wondo on the far post a minute into stoppage time, and the striker nodded it home.

The drama wasn’t over, however, as the jubilant Earthquakes nearly threw their point away. After Songo’o got out on the break again, he found Bright Dike in the box, but the mercurial frontman’s strike from an enviable position went just wide.

The teams engaged in a little bit of post-match extracurriculars that were, in hindsight, much ado about nothing.

The Timbers capped off their eight-day, three match stretch with a visit to Salt Lake. If things looked dour on Wednesday, they looked downright hopeless Saturday. Still no Diego or Donovan, the third match in eight days, and playing at elevation against )albeit struggling) playoff opposition. Oh, and did I mention the Timbers previous visit to Salt Lake resulted in a three-to-goose egg loss that wasn’t even that close?

For a little over half an hour, it looked like that familiar script was going to play out. After set piece goals by Fabian Espindola and Javi Morales, the Claret and Cobalt looked on their way to an easy win.

The lead was a little on the specious side, however, as RSL had struck gold twice without really mining the Timbers defense. As the match went along, the Timbers began to assert a little more control. In the 61^st minute, Sal Zizzo broke down the right and sent a cross toward the far post, where Bright Dike headed it back across goal and into the net.

The Timbers’ continued influence over the match, however, wouldn’t bring about a goal. For the third match in a row, Dike had a late chance go just awry, as his header off another Zizzo cross hit the bottom half of the bar and bounced away.

On one hand, the results are devastating. The Timbers very easily could have come away from this trip with four points from two of the better teams in the Western Conference. If they had, the talk would be about a surging Timbers team making a late, desperate, darkhorse run toward the pl-, pla-, playoffs. Imagine for a moment that Bright Dike converts all three late chances last week. Instead of two points, the Timbers come away with seven. Portland would be sitting on 34 points, four points behind Vancouver with a trip to the Great White North in hand. Bollocks. Story of our lives, I guess.

On the other hand, however, the results are encouraging. If I would’ve told you in July that the Timbers would go to San Jose and RSL and come back 3-4 on aggregate, you would have called me a noob, Merritt-loving, Gavin-apologist, fanboy. But there it was. And there was some good soccer played at times along the way, and it was all done with the Timbers’ best player being spelled by Rodney Freaking Wallace. So, a little bit of optimism, even if it is for 2013, isn’t altogether inappropriate.

So where do we go from here? Well, first of all, we welcome Chewy back to the Rose City on Saturday. That will be fun.

But the real matchup comes eight days later in Seattle. Here are three things to watch Saturday with an eye toward Sunday. First, yellow cards. Jack Jewsbury, Ozzie Alonso, and Fredy Montero sit one yellow away from missing the winner-or-drawer-take-all Cascadian showdown. Unlike Portland, which has the luxury of sitting Jewsbury if it feels like it, Seattle is in a race for playoff positioning. So expect Alonso and Montero to both be going hard on the other side of the border.

If Alonso, especially, misses Timbers-Sounders match, the complexion of the game changes. Whereas two weeks ago in Portland, he was able to single handedly mark Darlington Nagbe and thirty yards of space in the center of midfield out of the game, the Sounders midfield would suddenly start to look a little bit on the skinny side. With Franck Songo’o, Sal Zizzo, and Nagbe all on form, that could turn a major part of the game to advantage, Timbers.

Second, injuries. While Christian Tieffert is back for Seattle, Mauro Rosales is still MIA – although rumored to return on Saturday against the Whitecaps. For Portland, Ricketts looks close – although perhaps not quite ready – to return to the lineup, while Diego Chara looks ready – although perhaps not quite close – to return for Portland. At this point, it looks like both teams will be full strength heading into the penultimate Cascaidan match of the season, but that’s far from a sure thing. The Timbers’ roster inclusions will tip their hand a little bit as to how healthy this team is heading to Seattle. If Diego is in the eighteen – not necessarily the XI – and Ricketts starts, the Timbers can feel good about having all hands on deck heading to Seattle.

Third, most importantly, results. There is no question the Timbers’ play has improved over the last six weeks or so. Even the most ardent #GWOut advocates must admit that this team is in vastly better shape than it was at the end of the Spencer Era. But they still aren’t getting results. All three of the results over the past two weeks have been harsh. The Timbers simply should have gotten more from each game.  Now, some chalk that up to bad luck. But you’re blind if you can’t look at this team and see a chronic inability to grind out a result.

Say what you will about improved play and possession, the only thing that will win a Cascadia Cup is a result. Which brings us to Saturday. This is the one reason why being overly cautious may come back to haunt the Timbers. If Portland leaves another result on the field on Saturday, you have to think it will be in the back of their heads on the way up to Seattle. That’s not the preferred mentality for a huge away derby. Three points, however, can put the Timbers on a bus with confidence in both their form and their ability to put that on the scoresheet. Now that's more like it.

Onward, Rose City!

The new season is upon us and North End United find themselves playing TAFC derbies almost every week.

Week 1 saw them come up against the new boys of last season, Northern Alliance FC. NAFC found themselves a player short for the first game of their season, so NEU had a one man advantage throughout the game.

Although, NEU almost found themselves a player down before the game, when Jimmy L could find his player card that he had in his hand moments before. He had everyone check his bag, and their own bags. No one could find it. At on point Stevie J mention to check behind the flaps in his bag. During the 20th minute of the game, Jimmy found his player card, behind on of the 'flaps' inside his bag. Stevie J claimed the assist.

Anyway, to the actual match. NEU had most of the possession through out the game, but took a while to break the deadlock. In the 15th minute Stu S hauled a long pass up to Rob H that hammered the ball into the back of the net 1-0 NEU.

NAFC didn't let this phase them, and pulled level in the 20th minute with some determination that they kept throughout the match. 1-1.

Marcus N found himself with a couple of good chances as the first half went on that fizzed just wide of the post. On the 40th minute Marcus N was making a run from the midfield and was fouled about 25 yards out. Marcus took the resulting free kick and powered it through the wall and into the back of the net. 2-1 NEU.

Halftime:

2-1 NEU

NEU took advantage quickly in the second half when Marcus N played Brandon B down the right, Brandon B threaded a perfect ball into the box, so perfect that it went passed everyone and into the back of the net. 3-1 NEU. Moments late Brandon B returned the favor to Marcus N by setting Marcus up for his second goal of the game. 4-1 NEU, Marcus didn't stop there, he was on a hat trick, he had it moments later when a through ball from Joel W found Marcus N and he claimed the game ball with his 3rd goal of the game. 5-1 NEU.

Kyle Oswalt soon claimed a bizarre assist when his cross found the head of a NAFC defender who guided the ball over his own keeper into the net. 6-1 NEU.

With 10 minutes to go, Simon O'G passed a ball forward to Stevie J who saw the keeper off his line, and lobbed the ball over him from 35 yards out to score his first of the game. 7-1 NEU. 5 minutes later Rob H squared a ball to Stevie J in the box that Stevie hit past the keeper to make it 8-1 and pick up a brace.

With the time and game winding down, NAFC scored a great consolation goal with a slick cross from the right that found the head of an NAFC attacker who powered a bullet header into the NEU net. 8-2

Final Score:

NEU 8 - 2 NAFC

Man of the Match: Marcus Nelson, for his hat trick and assist.

Honorable Mention: Stevie J, for his brace and also his assist in helping Jimmy find his player card.

Overall fun game for NEU. Very clean game played by both teams and a great job from todays referee.

—by Andrew Brawley

The number of story lines you’re going to read leading up to the Timbers home match against the rave green trash neighbors to the North on September 15^th is a bit staggering. Here’s my attempt at listing all of them in bullet point form:

• Briefly-hot-but-now-cool Timbers take on disgustingly-hotter Cascadian arch rivals
• Timbers can win the Cascadia Cup with a win
• Winning the Cascadia Cup is likely the last shot at partial redemption of a poor 2012 season
• Timbers defensive line coming off one of 2012’s worst performances
• Defender Steven Smith suspended on yellow card accumulation
• Three Timbers players (Purdy, Palmer, Wallace) will have JUST returned from International duty
• Timbers playing on nine days rest, vs. six days for Sounders
• Sounders have a CONCACAF match in Honduras four days later
• General Manager / interim coach continues to operate from the hot seat as fans keep the flames ablaze
• Newly-announced coach will be watching this game closely, yet from afar
• Timbers players under pressure of auditioning for new coach to keep their jobs
• Fans seeking tickets while fighting scalpers
• Tifo
• MLS trade deadline approaches, and Timbers are likely participants
• What will happen with Timbers million dollar man Kris Boyd?
• Timbers front office pushing season ticket renewals as on-field performance fails to improve
• Oh yeah…this game will be on NBC. Not NBC Sports, the actual NBC, the one with the single digit channel number (unless you want to watch in HD).

(I’m very certain I missed a few. Feel free to add your own in the Comments section below.)

To say this match is a big one for the Timbers would be the understatement of the year. This is the type of game that has the power to transform mocked n00bs into storied veterans in a single whistle blow.

I don’t think the importance of this match will be lost on the players. I don’t think I have to beg and plead for the Timbers Army section to bring every ounce of energy they can to this game. I don’t think I have to remind the South Deck’ers to prepare for the obligatory rogue/obnoxious Sounders fan(s) sitting amongst them. I don’t think I have to remind Key Club ticket holders to not pass their tickets on to their valued clients/customers, and to actually use those tickets on themselves. Nope, I think the hype machine won’t have to work too hard in reminding people about this next match.

I think everyone has a pretty good idea by now that this game has the potential to be one of the sweetest victories in Timbers history. It could also rival the travesty that was the Cal FC match, which is still too fresh in most memory banks. The potential for the highest high or the lowest low to occur is beyond great.

If I’ve learned anything this season, it’s that you have to experience the lows in order to be able to truly appreciate the highs.

So c’mon everyone…let’s get high!

 

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the TA.

Held on the eve of opening night of K+S Portland 2012, presented by KICKTV, K+S Word will present unique readings of soccer-themed stories by national and local writers. K+S Word will take place at Bazi Bierbrasserie.

“Our goal at Kicking + Screening is to facilitate the telling of great soccer stories, no matter the medium,” said Rachel Markus, Kicking + Screening co-founder. “We couldn’t think of a better way to kick off K+S’s first festival in Portland than with K+S Word.”

Based on the German tradition of Torwort, K+S Word will play off the theme of “Rivals/Derby Day” in honor of the Portland-Seattle match on September 15. Featured readers include NBC Sports’ Noah Davis, film critic Shawn Levy, author Zach Dundas, Bazi Bierbrasserie owner Hilda Stevens, and University of Portland professor Andrew Guest.

5 Minutes to Kickoff hosts Bob “Roberto” Kellett and Steven “Nevets” Lenhart will emcee K+S Word.

“In my life I have made friends and found common enemies because of a simple game called football,” Lenhart says. “I've huddled in damp basements with friends and drank in shady back rooms of pubs with people I would never see again because of this game called football. Anyone who has been a part of these tribes has a personal story to tell. K+S Word is an opportunity to tell these tales. We could not be more excited to partner with Kicking + Screening to bring it to Portland.”

K+S Word is free to the public (21 and over). Attendees are encouraged to make a $5.00 donation to Operation Pitch Invasion or bring a pair of new or slightly used men’s, women’s, or kids soccer cleats. There will also be a raffle benefiting OPI.

Doors will open at 7:30 and the first guest will take the spotlight at 8 pm. The reading will last one hour.

The 107ist board is excited to announce we have acquired the first physical space that the Timbers Army and 107ist can call our home.

This space will allow the us to consolidate our property and supplies that have been taking up valuable space in members’ basements and garages across Portland. We will have a space to create small scale tifo projects, host various social events, provide valuable meeting space for our volunteer committees, serve as an information point for visiting supporters of the Timbers and other MLS teams and serve as a member meeting spot for game day ticket exchanges free of scalpers.

Over the course of the last 2 years the 107ist and Timbers Army have grown exponentially and this step became a necessity for our organization. In addition to the above benefits, the location on SW 17th and Alder provides us with the opportunity to join the Goose Hollow Neighborhood Association and further cement the Timbers Army and the Portland Timbers as substantial allies to the neighborhood we call home. The 107ist board feels this space provides the perfect opportunity to do all of that.

What do we call this new home of ours you may ask? It’s not a store and there is no intention to sell anything, we will still use the Merch-van for that so we have decided to run with the closest thing we could find and call it the Timbers Army Fanladen. A fanladen is an independent community center for supporters, and in Germany they are operated by fanprojects, which are essentially the independent non-profit supporter organizations equivalent to 107ist.

Small scale renovations are currently taking place to make the space feel like home and we feel you’ll be impressed with the work done so far. We have followed green building practices and constructed a bar made from 98% salvaged materials, waste materials from deconstruction and build out are being source separated and recycled, and all the doors have been re-purposed on site or from the Rebuilding Center.

We still have some work to finish, but look for another announcement coming soon to let you know when you can come down and see the space for yourselves.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Andrew Brawley

Anyone following me on Twitter or Facebook knows my feelings are pretty well set on the issue of Gavin Wilkinson and his retention of the General Manager position. While I have intentionally been somewhat vague with my feelings about that topic on this site, I think most people can read between the lines.

In the spirit of fairness, I feel the right thing to do would be to present the other side of the argument. Since I’m not a traditional debater, I’ll allow someone with differing opinions to present that viewpoint. This person (who contacted me via Twitter) chose to remain anonymous, and their words below are presented verbatim, without rebuttal.

At the risk of being labeled a “newbie” or outcast, I feel the GWout crowd is misinformed in their position, and misguided in their expression.

I may have only been going to Timbers games since 2011, but that doesn’t mean I can’t research the history between Mr. Wilkinson and his pre-MLS version of the Timbers and the so-called “best soccer fans in North America” known as the Timbers Army. While I do regularly sit with the TA at the matches I can make it out for, I have to say it’s become a bit more embarrassing to do so in recent months. The match against Vancouver, where all those two-post signs made their one-time appearance, was a low point.

I’m having a hard time finding exactly what Mr. Wilkinson said or did to the TA. I researched using Google, and looked at a few of the local blog and podcast sites. I cannot find any quotes from Mr. Wilkinson that directly called out the TA in a negative way. Apparently only the TA knows, or they have created their own fictional version of history, and they seem to just want to keep those reasons to themselves and their exclusive message boards.

This GWout mob seemingly came out of nowhere. Since there appears to be no real incident conducted by Mr. Wilkinson to cause this type of response, I’m forced to assume this so-called “cause” is only a newer development created by some of the more self-entitled members of the TA. While they can certainly have an opinion about this, their method of expression was out of line.

I heard there was some form of communication between the front office and the TA board that GWout signs would not be allowed in the TA section at the following match against Colorado on August 31^st. Personally, I think the front office staff made the right call with that. While the Timbers may not make the playoffs this year, they are doing everything they can to scrape together what’s left of this season and make the most of it. All those GWout signs will do is cause distractions and hurt feelings of the team we love.

I ask the members of the TA: what good will it do to cause even more disruption during this season?

 

This is an opinion piece and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the 107ist or the TA.

—by Chris Rifer

Sometimes matches are won with ninety minutes of dominance. Sometimes they are won with a moment of brilliance. And sometimes they are won with dogged pragmatism.

Friday night, the Timbers won with the latter. Facing a desperate, physical Colorado side, the Timbers made a bet that their wings could make enough plays to put Portland ahead and their defense could keep Colorado’s recently muted attack quiet. That’s exactly what happened.

From the outset, the Timbers displayed a much more direct attack than they have showed over the course of the past month. While Colorado and Tony Cascio earned the first opportunity with a shot from the left side of the box that Donovan Ricketts snuffed out, the most influential player in the early going was Sal Zizzo. After repeatedly terrorizing former Sounder Tyson Wahl on the right side of the Timbers midfield, the majority of Portland’s first half chances came from Zizzo’s crosses.

Portland couldn’t find the finishing touch early on, however, and Colorado did nicely to earn themselves a couple half-chances as the half went along. In the seventeenth minute, Martin Rivero turned Jack Jewsbury around and pulled the trigger form twenty yards, but Ricketts made the diving save.

Portland’s first great opportunity wouldn’t come until the thirty-fifth minute, when Diego Chara deflected Tyrone Marshall’s pass and found Bright Dike running into the box. The former USL man, however, couldn’t steer his left-footed shot on frame.

That breakthrough was a harbinger, however, as before halftime the Timbers unleashed a triumvirate of chances that put them on top. In the forty-fifth minute, Kosuke Kimura flew forward on the right wing and laid the ball off for Zizzo. Sal switched the ball to a lonely Franck Songo’o on the left wing. Songo’o’s first-time shot took a deflection off of Drew Moor and was seemingly destined to nestle inside the near post, but Matt Pickens made a remarkable kick save to preserve the draw.

Not even Pickens could come to the Rapids’ rescue a minute later. After Diego Chara started the break by finding Darlington Nagbe near midfield, Nagbe took the ball into the attacking third and laid the ball off the Sal Zizzo. Zizzo—after having so many good crosses wasted early on—sent a perfect ball to the top of the six, past Pickens, where Bright Dike was waiting on the end of a brilliant run for the easy finish. Textbook stuff.

The Timbers weren’t done, however. Seconds later, with smoke wafting in the Jeld-Wen Field air, David Horst intercepted a Colorado pass in the defensive third and went on a mad dash forward into space. After giving to Songo’o on the left wing, Darlington Nagbe made a big run from the right wing where Songo’o found him in behind the defense on a magnificent through ball. The stubbornly right-footed youngster, however, couldn’t quite turn the ball on frame past a helpless Pickens, as his chip sailed just wide.

Overwhelmed by Portland’s pace on the wings, Colorado came out in the second half looking to turn the match into a brutishly physical affair. The Timbers were more the happy to oblige.

For much of the half, the Rapids enjoyed plenty of harmless possession, as their midfield was incapable of breaking down a stout Timbers defense. The best chance of the half for Portland came in the fifty-fourth minute, when Jewsbury collected a clearance thirty yards out and stung a shot from distance that was only kept out by another great Pickens save.

Colorado couldn’t create anything of note until the eighty-fifth minute, when they would finally ask a couple questions of the Timbers defense. After Andre Akpan found a sliver of a step on Steven Smith on the right wing, he picked out Omar Cummings in the center of the box. The veteran Jamaican striker, however, made a mess of his header, flashing it well wide of the far post.

The Rapids earned another chance off the Timbers’ left wing in stoppage time when Omar Cummings played a ball forward for Jaime Castrillon. The Colombian midfielder cleverly laid the ball off for Akpan, but his low shot went harmlessly wide.

From there, the Timbers’ defense regained its footing, keeping Colorado comfortably at bay for the rest of the night. The win, remarkably, marks the first time in 2012 that the Timbers have won back-to-back games, and momentarily pulls Portland out of last place in the Western Conference.

Match Observations

• First, a word about Caleb Porter. I won’t go so far as to say it’s a bad hire, as Porter is certainly one of the hottest young coaching prospects out there. But for an organization that was lamenting a lack of MLS experience in the front office a few short months ago, it is a little bit surprising. Porter’s hire is nothing if not risky. Porter has no professional experience, and the only major project he undertook with professional-level players ended in embarrassment. Still, Porter has extensive experience developing young players—something that will come in handy with a Timbers team with several key young pieces.
• The tactics on Friday were much more Wilkinsonesque. For much of the match the Timbers were content to concede a fair amount of possession with Portland often having eight players behind the ball.  The defense was much better as a result. When your wing players are as hot as Sal Zizzo and Franck Songo’o are right now, it’s not a terrible strategy. Odds are those guys are going to break out at some point and set up a goal. It was less than aesthetically pleasing, but ultimately produced three points.

Timbers Grades

Donovan Ricketts, 6 Good positioning throughout the night made a few dangerous spots relatively routine. Struggled a little bit in distribution, but that’s pretty much baseline around Morrison Street.

Steven Smith, 5.5 Had a good game. Got beat once which led to a dangerous Omar Cummings header, but was otherwise solid.[1]

David Horst, 6.5 The mercurial center back was very much in form on Friday. Physically dominant, disciplined, and decisive.

Hanyer Mosquera, 7.5 Constantly in the right spot, winning the right ball. Dominant in the air all night, making Colorado’s seven corner kicks mostly routine. Outstanding stuff from Mosco all night.

Kosuke Kimura, 5.5 Got beat a couple times defensively—and got nutmegged again – but had an especially good night coming forward.

Jack Jewsbury, 6 I’ve come to really enjoy watching Jack play in this role. Very solid defensively, but his sharp, simple passing is what has made him so effective as a true holding midfielder. Also, heck of a crack from distance in the second half, as he was a little bit unlucky to get robbed by Pickens.

Diego Chara, 7 As fun as it is to watch Jack, nothing compares to watching Diego Chara. He was his typical sharp self on Friday, even getting out of the match without a yellow card.

Darlington Nagbe, 6 Nice game from Darlington. Whereas his central runs in the past always seemed to lack direction, Darlington is clearly developing a number ten’s instincts. Now his runs are setting up other players, and Darlington has his head up to find them. That said, still has to learn how to use the left foot.

Franck Songo’o, 6 Had a tough task taking on Drew Moor on Friday, but did reasonably well. The highlight of the night—and perhaps of the season—for Franck was his incredible through ball for Nagbe at the end of the half. Unfortunate not to get an assist for his remarkable efforts.

Bright Dike, 7 Great movement, clinical finish. I must admit, I was wrong about Bright. I didn’t think he had the technical ability to be a legitimate MLS contributor. While he still struggles with his touch once in a while, he’s improved it and his striking instincts enough to become a force up front.

Sal Zizzo, 7.5 Where has this guy been all my life? Had his way with the left side of Colorado’s defense and was rewarded with another quality assist.

Eric Alexander, 5.5 This move made some sense, as Darlington had put in good miles throughout the game and Eric provides a little more defensively.

Rodney Wallace, 2.5 The previously well-axled wheels started wobbling a little bit the moment Rod stepped on the field. He basically ran around, gave the ball away needlessly, and showed reluctance to defend his position.

Kris Boyd, INC. Oh yeah, and then there’s this guy. He didn’t do much.

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 1, Rapids 1. Songo’o, Larentowicz.

Actual Result: Timebrs 1, Rapids 0. Dike.

Onward, Rose City!

No Pity Originals is proud to announce the winner of our first ever design contest: Alexah Moore!

Alexah's "You Can't Stop Us" design took home the most votes with her unique print placement, and bold Timbers Army imagery. Look for her design to be featured at the No Pity Van in the near future.

All of our finalists produced top-notch designs and we'd like to recognize Colin Powers, Jeff Prymowicz, Matt Leamy, and Joshua Burd for their efforts. The Timbers Army has always prided itself on it's DIY mentality, and the number of submissions was a testament to that. We look forward to doing this again next year, and continuing to grow our design community within the North End.

As we hit the final stretch of the season, keep your eyes peeled for some brand-new items from No Pity Originals. We've been hard at work putting together the new Fall/Winter collection, and we can't wait to share it with you. As always, ever penny spent on No Pity Originals merchandise goes directly back into the Timbers Army/107ist, and the community we all love so much. Thank you for all your support!

Good morning all,

MLS is working with EA Sports ahead of the release of FIFA '13 in Sept. We are doing a 4 part series called 'Soccer 101.' The idea is that we're illustrating basic soccer rules and customs through off the field situations. In all four spots, MLS players with be playing the parts of other professionals.

They need you, the Timbers Army, to help. In this case they want extras. Much like Alaska Airlines did for their commercials EA and MLS needs you as an extra. If you are free this Wednesday August 29th from 1:30-5:30 please sign up. Wear your Timbers gear and help them out. Food will be provided and many thanks will be given. More details to follow once you are signed up. We are limited by space confines so only 30 TA members are needed. Send this link onto your friends and get them signed up as well!

If you have any questions feel free to email me at garrett.dittfurth@107ist.org

To sign up please follow the link below. Thanks for your help!

http://www.eventbrite.com/event/4219853696

—by Chris Rifer

Over the past two seasons, the Timbers have shown a penchant for reacting well with their backs to the wall. Time and again in 2011 the Timbers brought themselves back from the brink of playoff elimination with a big result, only to be eliminated in the last week of the season.

In 2012, until the wheels fell off the wagon before John Spencer’s firing, the Timbers again showed their ability to pull out a win when times are desperate; beating Sporting KC, Seattle, and San Jose in must-win situations.

On September 15^th, for the first time in their MLS history, the Timbers will play with something meaningful to win instead of everything to lose.

On Saturday night the Timbers beat the Vancouver Whitecaps for the third time in two years to move within a win against Seattle of securing the Cascadia Cup.

The match started as competitively as it would remain throughout. While Vancouver would win their fair share of possession, it was Portland that created the chances early on. The Timbers earned their first chance in the fourth minute as Darlington Nagbe dispossessed Alain Rochat on the right wing, dribbled toward the box, but sent his slicing shot high and wide of the far post.

Nagbe would reaffirm his intention to put his mark on the game ten minutes later, as a darting run through the center of the Whitecaps midfield set up Franck Songo’o for an effort from the left corner of the eighteen that Joe Cannon saved at the near post.

In the forty-first minute Nagbe’s influence would be rewarded. After Jack Jewsbury sprung Bright Dike on the right wing, the big striker played the ball back into the center to Eric Alexander. Diego Chara’s stand-in cleverly played it forward to a running Jewsbury, who sent a brilliantly weighted ball for Nagbe running into the box. Darlington found himself in behind the ‘Caps defense and cooly slotted behind a helpless Cannon. It was the Timbers’ third brilliant goal in as many games, a sign that the offense has truly turned a corner.

As has been the case so often in 2012, however, the Timbers would yield the lead in short order. After the referee awarded Vancouver an apparently erroneous corner in the forty-fifth minute, Camilo sent the set piece to the far post. Hanyer Mosquera managed to head away, but only as far as the top of the box. After the ball bounced around, Jay DeMerit found a wide-open Kenny Miller in front of goal, who easily found the net at the near post.

Unlike previous concessions, however, the Timbers did not follow this one up with another. Instead, Portland came out after halftime and largely reestablished control of the game.

The first chance of the second stanza, however, went to the ‘Caps. After another Vancouver corner, a ‘Caps player got a touch toward goal, but was denied by Ricketts with a diving save. The rebound fell to Andy O’Brien, but the English defender’s second effort was also stoned by Ricketts after apparently flying in from nowhere. For a few moments, it looked like the Jamaican keeper had himself a second consecutive Save of the Week candidate.

Portland found its winner in the fifty-fifth minute when Songo’o bent a free kick from thirty yards out over Vancouver’s wall, through Joe Cannon’s hands, and just inside the near post. While the shot certainly should have been saved by Cannon, it resulted in a very just first goal for Songo’o, whose recent brilliance has been a integral part of the Timbers’ offensive renaissance.

Vancouver would come back looking for the equalizer, however, and very nearly find it in the seventy-fourth minute. After Dane Richards sprinkled a little nutmeg on Kosuke Kimura and found himself near the byline, he looked to send a cross to Miller at the far post. A dubiously prudent onrushing Ricketts, however, blocked the cross. Unfortunately again for the Timbers, though, the rebound fell for the ‘Caps Camilo, who sidestepped Ricketts and sent a ball toward the seemingly open net. At the last moment, however, an aware Steven Smith jumped back toward goal and cleared the net-bound effort off the line to preserve the lead.

There, friends, is your Save of the Week.

Vancouver would be at it again three minutes later. This time Barry Robson collected a ball from Miller just past the center circle, found space in the Timbers midfield, and unleashed a shot from distance that Ricketts could only awkwardly parry away.

Any chance Vancouver had for a comeback found its end in the eighty-third minute, when second half substitute Darren Mattocks was sent off after catching David Horst in the face with an errant elbow.[1]

From there, the ten-man Whitecaps couldn’t maintain enough possession or find sufficient space to break down a Timbers team desperate for their first victory in more than six weeks.

The result sets up a speciously simple task for the Timbers. Beat Seattle and win the Cascadia Cup. In a season in which seemingly everything has gone wrong, the Timbers have a legitimate shot at silverware for the first time in their MLS history.

Match Observations

• This was a pretty darn good game. I thought the Timbers had the better of the play, but Vancouver did nicely to give themselves three really good chances at goal – one of which they put away. Ultimately the 2-1 victory was a just result for Portland, but this was a vastly different game from the 2-1 walkover against the Whitecaps in 2011. And yes, that was a backhanded compliment to our kindly northern neighbors.
• I can’t help but be shocked at the stunning incongruity between Gavin Wilkinson’s USL-era tactics and those he has employed—to, admittedly, some success—with the MLS Timbers. During the USL days Gavin earned a reputation as a doggedly defensive tactician, committed to getting goals by being conservative in the midfield and playing direct on offense. Today, he has the Timbers playing a fluid 4-3-3 with a disconcertingly exposed defense. I’m not sold on these tactics with this group of players as a long-term solution,[2] but it has been successful in revitalizing the offense and making the Timbers less of an eyesore.

Timbers Grades

Donovan Ricketts, 5 Three weeks in, we’re getting a good idea of what we have in Ricketts. He’s been nothing if not mercurial. One moment, he makes a seemingly impossible double save. The next, he’s unnecessarily abandoning his post in front of goal and requiring heroics from Steven Smith to keep the ball out of the net.

Steven Smith, 7 He’s officially out of his slump. Aside from the clearance off the line—which was fantastic—he had an otherwise solid game in defense. Isn’t getting forward as much as he used to, but with the Timbers working better through the middle of the field he doesn’t need to.

David Horst, 3 Fell asleep on the concession and the Timbers were punished for it. Horst’s once-per-match facepalm has cost Portland again and again. You have to think Eric Brunner has a one-way ticket back into the starting lineup when he’s fully fit.

Hanyer Mosquera, 6 Nice game from Mosco. Dominance in the air and solid marking make for a successful outing for a central defender.

Kosuke Kimura, 3.5 Also fell asleep on the concession, as both he and Horst were marking nothing but turf. Had a little impact going forward, but nothing terribly appreciable.

Jack Jewsbury, 6 We saw Captain Jack getting involved in the attack a little more than usual on Saturday, as we seemed to be playing a more box-to-box than he has in the past. It paid off on the first goal, as Jack registered his third assist of the season with a  magnificent pass to Nagbe.

Eric Alexander, 6 Nice game playing in a little bit of an unfamiliar spot for Eric. Had a hand in the first goal, and generally did well to orchestrate offense and get back defensively.

Darlington Nagbe, 8 Man of the Match. Man of the Month. The kid is just on fire right now.

Sal Zizzo, 4.5 After two remarkable outings last week, Sal came back down to earth a little bit on Saturday. Vancouver seemed to be respecting his pace a little bit more than Toronto or New York, which made things harder for Sal, but opened up some space for others. Maybe that grade is a little bit harsh.

Bright Dike, 4 I actually thought this was a pretty anonymous performance from Dike. Showed a little bit better touch a few times, but otherwise was dramatically upstaged by Nagbe’s brilliance.

Franck Songo’o, 6 A little bit lucky on the goal, but was still very active for Portland on the left side. Great to see him open his Timbers account, though. He still needs to work on his fitness, however, as he was getting awfully friendly with the turf in the late stages.

Rodney Wallace, 4 I thought this was a peculiar substitution considering Franck looked gassed. Rod didn’t make much of an impression playing square pegly[3] in the center of midfield.

Danny Mwanga, 5 Came on late, but had a couple moments of good hold up play as the Timbers were salting the match away.

Lovel Palmer, INC.

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 2, Whitecaps 0. Boyd brace.[4]
Actual Result: Timbers 2, Whitecaps 1. Nagbe, Miller, Songo’o.

Onward, Rose City!