Welcome to this week in Timbers Army Football Club news, and it’s been a while since we checked in on game action for the TAFC clubs.  A big reason for that is that 5 of the member teams have nearly a month off between fixtures, as Old Growth, Cascade Rangers FC, North End United, Rose City Athletic and Northern Alliance FC are all on extended breaks.  While many played matches the first week of May in league play, they don’t resume playing until the first weekend of June.  That’s not the case for everybody, as we have reports from other clubs within the umbrella since our last update for some late matches within May, including a first ever TAFC derby match within GPSD Division 1.

There’s been some delays in getting the site updated for recent results, and for regular readers of this column that can be frustrating. However, I can speak as being a player on a TAFC club in the spring since 2009 and this has been a most unusual term relating to scheduling. It’s very odd to give an entire league a month off between fixtures, but it speaks to the competition for pitches within the area. Most teams I’ve spoken with share the same concerns about finding regular fields for practice or scrimmages, but the situation has lead to some rather creative solutions.  Old Growth FC used the break to play outside their own division in meeting Cascade Rangers FC a few weeks ago, then played Widmer FC in a friendly on May 27. While Widmer FC is also an over 40 Division 2 club in GPSD, the schedule doesn’t have the two teams meet officially.

We’ll hit the highlights of each team as they are reported and links where they are available. There will probably be some catchup over the next few weeks to get things back on track, but my hope is that the fall term will provide some uniformity in scheduling, allowing this report to be done on a more consistent and regular basis.

101^st FC reported a 10 to 7 loss in their last match on May 18 as they have begun their second session within the spring futsal season.  The team spent the first half adjusting to some new players and a change in strategy, but fell behind until making a feverish run in the second half to make things interesting.  We’ll post a link to the official match report and full schedule when it’s available.

AC Loco Moco also reported a 3 to 1 loss in their last match on May 18, but according to manager Matt Wagner, the team is really beginning to respond and gel together.  According to their official schedule page, they have one more match officially on June 1^st to finish their current term, but plans are underway for future domination of indoor soccer.  Ok, maybe the domination is a strong term, but it appears things are looking up for them.

Coat? FC manager Milon Good reported two wins for them on May 15 and May 22.  The May 15 match was a tight 10 to 9 win that saw the scoreline change multiple times but Coat? FC was able to pull ahead behind 5 goals from Reid Storm.  Apparently, Reid wasn’t finished as he netted six in their next victory of 8 to 3 in their next match. We promise to get the stats pages and schedule updated for them, as it appears there could be some impressive numbers being posted by these guys.

FC Dynamo and FC Portlandia met on May 19 in the first official TAFC derby in GPSD Division 1.  It was a close matchup as evidenced by the final tally of a 1 all draw, per the match report submitted from Portlandia’s Alan Leonard.  We didn’t get that posted yet, but both Dynamo and Portlandia played a clean match full of friendly, sporting banter.  Both clubs have fixtures in the first two weekends of June that could improve their fortunes and perhaps keep both clubs on the top flight for another term.  Look for updates on them coming soon.

In the adventure that is GPSD Division 4, all four TAFC clubs here are on extended break, but will resume league play this coming weekend.  Cascade Rangers FC will resume league play on June 3 when they play Broken Arrow.  North End United and Northern Alliance FC will get things rolling in another TAFC derby on June 6 in a midweek affair at Delta Park that isn’t at Old Oregon City HS to the joy of both sides. Rose City Athletic will also play on June 6 atDeltaPark against longtime GPSD Division 4 members May Day, who apparently have employed a new spirit of competitiveness from previous versions of the club.

Old Growth FC have six fixtures left on their schedule through June and July, and they’ve used the time to heal up from injuries and come up with clever retorts that involve people getting off the grass.  A full compliment of players will be available for their next match on June 3 at LaSalle HS playing the Rose City Revolution.  I’m looking forward to hearing about that from one of my teammates, as I will be traveling over the break in the Timbers schedule.

That’s all from the headquarters for now, but we’ll be back the first week of June with a plethora of updates from the various TAFC clubs.  Enjoy the weather, and if you get a chance to see one of the TAFC matches, we appreciate any and all Timbers Army members to come out and watch. It’s great entertainment combined with various moments of competitive soccer, and there’s no charge to come out and support your favorite TAFC side.  You might also see something truly amazing, too.

—by Chris Rifer

Take just a moment and think about how much happier life would be if the Timbers were 5-2-5 right now, sitting on 20 points in 4th place in the West, and a three point cushion between them and the playoff cutoff. The Timbers would be tied with San Jose for the fewest losses in MLS, and sit one spot behind Seattle with at least a game in hand on everybody above them. That’s how happy you would be if MLS matches were 80 minutes long.

But they’re not. And for the fourth time this season, the Timbers conceded a goal near the death to leave points on the field.

With John Spencer going to a 4-4-2[1] featuring the mini-mite central midfield of Darlington Nagbe and Diego Chara, and Kalif Alhassan and Eric Alexander manning the wings, the Timbers brought a new look to Jeld-Wen Field on Saturday.

The changes worked borderline magnificently. The first half featured some of the best Timbers possession of the season, with over 80% passing and absolute dominance of the ball.

Between some stout Vancouver defense and some rust in the final third, however, Portland had little to show for it, as a Kris Boyd shot from distance in the 12^th minute was the Timbers’ best opportunity on goal in the first half.

The best chance to break the deadlock went Vancouver’s way in the 45^th minute, as Troy Perkins came out to take the ball off Sebastien Le Toux’s foot, but the former Sounder evaded Perkins, and laid the ball off for Camilo Sanvezzo. Camilo made a mess of his finish, however, sending it well wide.

Whereas the first half featured a lot of aesthetically pleasing play but little in the way of chances, the second was in many ways the opposite. The match became more physical, but the chances started to come.

Darlington Nagbe started the stanza in the 50^th minute when he received a pretty cross from Jorge Perlaza at the near post, but in Camilo-esque fashion, botched his finish well high of the target.

In the 58^th minute, Le Toux gathered a ball in the box, spun, and mishit a shot which deflected off of Hanyer Mosquera, only for Perkins to make a magnificent diving save, changing directions after the deflection.

The next ten minutes would take things to another level. In the 65^th, after Kalif Alhassan collected a rebound from his own deflected shot, he took the ball toward the byline, only to be met in the box by the two feet of Jay DeMerit. The former American international wasn’t near the ball, and, as this incriminating photo on Stumptown Footy clearly shows, took Alhassan down.[2] It was a clear penalty, and—like a few others for the Timbers this season—it went uncalled.

Two minutes later, however, the Timbers broke through. After a nifty piece of play from Alhassan in the box he laid it off for Jack Jewsbury. Jewsbury’s apparently goal-bound cross was awkwardly punched away by Joe Cannon, but only as far as Kris Boyd who tapped it in.

From there, the game turned back to the midfield. Portland seemed to fatigue, but Vancouver didn’t seem capable of creating anything truly dangerous.

That is, until the 84^th minute. After Martin Bonjour sent a long free kick toward the box, Eric Hassli flicked the ball to Darron Mattocks ten yards out. David Horst overran Mattocks, who chested the ball toward the center of the field and volleyed past a helpless Troy Perkins.

And that was that. The Timbers didn’t have the legs to seriously challenge for the winner, and Vancouver was more than happy with a dubiously deserved draw. The three points would have been huge for Portland; putting the Timbers right in the thick of the playoff race going into the long league break. As it is, Portland is still feeling the effects of their early season struggles and late-game follies.

Match Observations

• While the Timbers certainly looked better offensively with the new lineup, there really weren’t that many golden opportunities. Aside from the botched penalty call, the Timbers’ only great chances were Nagbe’s shot over the bar and Boyd’s goal. One would expect more from a team as dominant as Portland on Saturday.
• Still, the offensive signs were positive for Portland, as for the first time since the Philadelphia match the Timbers really passed the eyeball test as a good team. Given a little bit more work in this formation—hello, Cal FC—this could mark a tactical turning point for Portland.
• While the referee is certainly deserving of criticism, it is purely speculative to say Portland would have scored two goals had the penalty been called. The missed call was only about two minutes before the Timbers’ real-life goal. Simply put, if the referee correctly signals for a penalty, it can’t be said with any certainty the course of the game thereafter would have led to a second Timbers’ goal. In fact, it seems unlikely—given their proximity in time and the disruptiveness of a penalty call—that in the 67^th minute Jewsbury would have found Boyd in the box for a second goal in the same fashion it happened in real life. So, it’s fair to say the referee blew it. It’s speculative, however, to say had the referee not blown it, the Timbers would have won 2-1.
• The mini-mite midfield worked pretty well on Saturday. It will be interesting to see how it stacks up against a more physically imposing central midfield, though.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 6 A little bit dodgy on Vancouver’s chance in the first half, but came up huge with his save in the second half. Helpless on the late concession, so that can’t really be attributed to him.

Steven Smith, 6.5 A really nice game from Smitty. Lots of handy defending on the left side. Still gets caught upfield from time to time, but by far the best natural defender the Timbers have had in that position.

Eric Brunner, 5.5 Didn’t have that much work to do while the Timbers’ midfield was bludgeoning Vancouver in the first half. Almost conceded a penalty when he fouled Camilo just outside the box in the 45^th.[3]

Hanyer Mosquera, 6.5 The guy is just a monster. It wouldn’t surprise me if I’ve said exactly that in a previous grade.

Jack Jewsbury, 6 I’m really growing to like Jack at right back. Defended well, combined with Kalif well, and sent some very nice crosses into the box.

Eric Alexander, 5 Another tough game to grade Alexander. Had some really nice moments on the left wing, but ultimately struggled to create much out of it. He and Smith seemed to have a little trouble combining at times, so it may just be a matter of chemistry.

Diego Chara, 7 Was a 10 in the first half and a 6 in the second half.[4] Terrorized the sputtering Vancouver attack in the first half, but as the Caps started to go up the wings a little more, he was increasingly isolated. Also seemed to run out of gas a little bit. Still, had some fabulous stretches in his natural position.

Darlington Nagbe, 5.5 Has to put that shot on frame. Still, Nagbe had a decent outing playing a little bit deeper than he has in the past. His prowess on the ball came in handy a number of times in transitioning from defense to attack. Attacking center mid is a good position for him.

Kalif Alhassan, 6 His grade would be higher but for the fact he struggled mightily in the first half. Many a Timbers attack found its demise at the feet of Kalif early on. Until he fatigued, though, was back to his dynamic self in the second half. Time to get some fitness in him.

Jorge Perlaza, 4 Regardless of his other qualities, you can’t put a striker out there that can’t finish.

Kris Boyd, 7 Active up front again, and gets a boon in his grade for scoring the goal. Boyd has also become the heart and soul of this team. It’s no exaggeration to say this team’s fortunes for the rest of the season rest on his slightly slumped shoulders.

David Horst, 4 Made an absolute mess of defending on the concession; giving Mattocks a free path to the center of the pitch. Other than that, though, Horst was fine.

Sal Zizzo, 5 Didn’t get much opportunity to put his stamp on the match. Found the ball at his feet a couple times going forward, but didn’t make much of it.

Mike Fucito, 5.5 Gracious, this guy has energy. I would be interested to see what he brings over the course of 90 minutes.[5] He might just be an option as a second striker in this formation.

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 2, Whitecaps 1. Perlaza brace.

Actual Result: Timbers 1, Whitecaps 1. Boyd, Mattocks.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Chris Rifer

Progress is often incremental, but it’s progress all the same. On Saturday the Portland Timbers channeled the 2011 Timbers by scoring two goals off set pieces on their way to a 2-1 win over the Chicago Fire.

The Timbers stopped their offensive goalless drought after 447 minutes when Eric Brunner slammed home a Kris Boyd volley in the 20^th minute to open the scoring.

Portland almost started the party in the fourth minute, however, as Kris Boyd put his head on the ball over two Fire defenders, but Sean Johnson made an acrobatic save to keep things level.

In the 9^th minute, Rodney Wallace slid a shot from the left wing across the face of goal, but it dribbled wide of the far post without a Timber sitting there to tap it home.

Brunner’s 20^th minute opener, however, rewarded the Timbers for their dominance over the course of the match’s first trimester.

As the half wore on, however, Chicago found their front foot. In the 36^th minute, after Troy Perkins conceded a corner by spilling a shot, the Timbers’ keeper erased his own mistake by making a phenomenal diving save to deny Pavel Pardo the equalizer.

On the ensuing corner, Perkins’ gloves would again betray him as he spilled a rocket from Marco Pappa, but he deflected the ball enough to allow Eric Brunner to clear the danger.

Four minutes later there would be no such clearance. After Steven Smith gathered the ball near the corner flag, he cleared it toward the center of the pitch rather than send the ball out. The only player there to receive the clearance was Pappa, who found Jalil Anibaba in the box to slot past Perkins for the equalizer.

The Timbers had one more nervous moment in the 43^rd minute when Dan Gargan found Pardo all alone in the box, but Pardo did a poor job of adjusting to the cross and sent his header well high and wide.

Coming out of halftime level, the Timbers wasted little time in separating themselves for good.  In the 47^th minute Wallace found Brunner lurking in the box again off a set piece, but the Dubliner couldn’t get square and sent his header wide.

There would be nothing wide about the Timbers’ next set piece. Five minutes later halftime substitute Sal Zizzo sent a corner in from the Timbers’ left side. Kris Boyd got head to it and sent the ball toward the far post. It would never get there. Instead Fire midfielder Logan Pause put the goal-bound header[1] out of its misery by knocking it home himself.

From there Chicago had to chase the game. The Fire’s only real chance came in the 62^nd minute, as Gonzalo Segares’ shot from inside the box deflected just wide of the far post.

The rest of the way the Timbers would put on a clinic in closing out a match. In controlling the midfield and sustaining pressure, the Timbers kept Chicago from ever seriously threatening to once again pull level and steal a point.

Ultimately it was a deserved three points for Portland, and the Timbers have now taken eight points out of the last 15. It wasn’t always pretty, and both goals came from set pieces, but the Timbers put their scoreless streak to bed and may have turned a corner in their effort to get back in the playoff picture.

Match Observations

• The Timbers’ win sets up a huge match against Vancouver on Saturday. With a win, the Timbers would pull themselves to 15 points, having taken 11 of the last 18 heading into their long May to June break. Portland would be within three points of a playoff spot with time to get healthy and gel for a summer run. All of this is contingent, however, on Saturday’s first Cascadian installment for the Timbers.
• Vancouver has a bit of a week in front of them before they get to Portland. They fly to Toronto for a huge Wednesday ACC Final fixture, where they go on the road tied 1-1. With a CCL berth on the line, it seems likely the Caps will play starters a full 90. Presumably, then, they will fly directly to Portland for Saturday’s Cascadia Cup matchup—affording little time for recovery. Simply put, Saturday sets up nicely for Portland.
• I was baffled at Frank Klopas’ decision to bring Dom Oduro off in the 60^th minute. While Oduro hadn’t put his mark on the match on the ball, his pace and aggressiveness getting forward was a huge bother to the Timbers’ backline. After he came off, Portland was able to sit back a little more comfortably, which cut off much of the Fire’s attacking oxygen.
• John Spencer’s substitutions, on the other hand, were both spot on. Sal Zizzo again provided some life to the Timbers’ attack in place of the disappointing Franck Songo’o, and Jorge Perlaza was a great late sub to pin Chicago’s backline in their defensive third. Spencer has alternated between looking like a genius and a lunatic this season. On Saturday he was the former.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 5 An up-and-down night for Troy. Battled a case of the dropsies,[2] but cleaned up his own mess in brilliant fashion.

Steven Smith, 4.5 Again, a tale of two halves for Smith. Looked dodgy in the first stanza, highlighted, of course, by his poor clearance that led to the Fire’s goal. Had some pretty handy defending in the second half, though, to salvage his grade.

Eric Brunner, 6.5 One of the Timbers’ most dangerous attackers on Sunday, and also put in a useful shift defensively. Portland has choices at center back, and that’s awfully nice.

Hanyer Mosquera, 6 The center of the defense was quiet again. Chicago’s best chances either came off the break or from the wings. Can’t blame the big fellas for either of those things.

Mike Chabala, 3.5 His best play of the night was when he shoved Patrick Nyarko and—if memory serves me correctly—Pavel Pardo at the same time. Otherwise, he looked every bit as out of position as he was.

Rodney Wallace, 6 Rod had a 15 or 20 minute stretch in the second half where he looked as good as I have seen him in a Timbers uniform. Nice shift on the whole for Rod.

Lovel Palmer, 5 Solid, if unspectacular, work for Lovel in central midfield tonight. Doesn’t provide much of anything going forward. Off the ball he is pretty good in finding positioning as a central midfielder. The problems begin, though, with the ball at his feet.

Diego Chara, 6.5 Another very good outing for Chara, as he had spells of terrorizing Chicago’s midfield. It’s no coincidence that the Timbers’ form is improving just as Diego seems to be hitting his stride.

Franck Songo’o, 4 Unless his form improves, Franck is living on borrowed time. With Kalif Alhassan looking poised to return and Sal Zizzo impressing as he gains fitness, Franck probably only has one more shot to show why he should be the first choice on the wing.

Darlington Nagbe, 4.5 Struggled to have much influence at all on the match. Had some decent moments when he tracked back into the midfield, and was robbed of a tap-in goal by Logan Pause’s own goal, but was otherwise pretty quiet.

Kris Boyd, 7 You know who wasn’t quiet? Kris Boyd. What did both goals have in common? Kris Boyd. Much more active than Tuesday, and it paid off in major ways for Portland.

Sal Zizzo, 6 If his form right now is any indication, this could be a breakout season for Sal. Was once again very dangerous on the right side, and had a couple nice corner kicks as well.

Jorge Perlaza, 5 Perlaza’s presence did more than Perlaza himself did. Bringing on his pace made Chicago respect the Timbers’ attack a little bit more and prevented the Fire from committing too many numbers forward. Good substitution.

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 3, Fire 0. Boyd, Alhassan, and Perlaza.

Actual Result: Timbers 2, Fire 1. Brunner, Pause (OG).

Onward, Rose City!

—by Andrew Brawley

Quite often, I get quite a few Timbers- or Timbers Army-related thoughts into my head in rapid-fire succession, and I have to pick and choose which ones to write about. Then I have to determine whether it’s justified to dedicate an entire (!!) blog post to just one topic. Lately, it’s been a bunch of smaller things that have made their way into my brain. Rather than let them sit and collect dust, I figured maybe it’s time to do a little bit of house-cleaning and empty my brain of these things. Hopefully I don’t come across as some kind of ADD-riddled version of Andy Rooney…especially with those eyebrows of his.

First, let’s start with the nice things:

• If you’re looking for a ticket to the upcoming Vancouver (May 26) and Seattle (June 24) matches, a TA season-ticket holder is auctioning off one ticket to each game in a package deal, and the proceeds will be donated to Harper’s Playground. This is a good way to get hard-to-find tickets AND donate to a worthy cause. Get on that!
• Portland scored more goals than Chicago last night. At Jeld-Wen Field. Which is our home turf. This all means the Timbers won at home. Feels good, eh?
• Despite my constant ripping on vegans and environmentalists, I really like the GO BOX initiative at JWF. If you haven’t signed up for it, you really should.
• Here’s a great shot of the TA last night after a goal that caught a couple embracing in celebration (courtesy of the Timbers' Facebook page). Despite my past objections to making out at Timbers matches, I was actually forced to clarify my position by a few friends. It’s one thing if you’re hugging and kissing in celebration of a goal. It’s another thing to just be forcing attention onto your own action while blocking the action on the pitch. If I wanna watch people get down, I can do that on the Internet for free. If I gotta pay to watch someone make out, I better be in the state of Nevada. If you gotta make out at JWF, make sure it’s after a Timbers goal. They score…you score. More goals leads to sexy time, which leads to more TA babies. This is known as a win-win-win…we ALL win!

 

OK, now some not-so-nice stuff:

• Fellas, the amount of hand-washing I’m seeing in the men's bathrooms at JWF is appalling. That’s because I’m hardly seeing it happen at all. Remember, clean hands = more goals. The towel dispensers should be empty. And to add to my previous point: clean hands > more goals > sexy time > TA babies.
• Also, some guy was standing at a urinal at last night’s match, cell phone in one hand, and “doing his biz” in the other. C’mon dude, really?! It’s bad enough there’s a line out the door due to lack of urinals. There’s already a delay tactic in the form of above-urinal advertisements that seem to make the wait even longer. Now you gotta tweet or text while emptying your bladder? Your Man Points account is about to go into default.
• It’s unfortunate that the TA must do so much self-policing in the North End, but clearly it’s still quite necessary. Apparently the need for some folks…let’s just call them ‘n00bs’…to throw things is too much to overcome. Regardless of whether that object gets thrown on the pitch or not, it doesn’t matter. Throwing anything aside from streamers at the opening cue or after goals is not cool.
• Am I the only one sick of the Juggalo factor in the North End? The amount of face paint I’m seeing is a bit troubling. I might be on an island on this one, but the use of face paint on adults bothers me. I have no problem with kids doing it. It’s fun for them, and totally acceptable. Probably because they’re kids, and that’s what kids get to do. But seeing full-grown adults spend hours carefully applying face paint to show their devotion is rather off-putting. It also really bums me out when I see one of these Juggalos used as a focal point in a story posted on the official Timbers web site, or any MLS team for that matter (except Seattle…they can use all. the. Juggalo. pics they want. I get that you wanna show your wild, unwavering devotion to the Timbers. I get that you wanna make the TA look dangerous and out-of-control. There are so many other ways to do this. Make a two-stick. Buy a shirt from the TA merch van. Scream till you lose your voice. Grow a Mohawk. Covering your face and body with paint just can’t end well, especially when you start sweating through it as our days get warmer. If you must, get a face tattoo. We’re Portlanders…we still find those people to be mostly employable.

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

—by Chris Rifer

The Portland Timbers have played seven hours and seven minutes of soccer since its offense scored a goal. On the calendar, it’s been more than a month.[1] And folks, Chance Myers is not walking through that door.

By any objective measure, a road draw at Houston is a perfectly respectable result. But when the point comes in the midst of a remarkable display of impotence from the offense and a match as tedious as Tuesday’s, it’s hard to find the positives.

The Timbers controlled much of the first half, but again failed to create anything truly dangerous from it. A Lovel Palmer strike from distance found the frame, but did little more than let Dynamo keeper Tally Hall touch the ball.

Time and again the Timbers’ strikeforce failed to present its wide players— namely Franck Songo’o—with viable options, and when they did find themselves in a dangerous position, they were offside.

As toothless as Portland looked up front, the Dynamo didn’t look substantially better.  Brad Davis pulled a 41^st minute shot well wide, and Macoumba Kandji’s 45^th minute shot from distance was right at Troy Perkins, but Houston never really caused the Timbers’ plastic man any trouble.

In the second half, the Dynamo—playing their third MLS match in seven days—began to shift to their front foot. Davis’ 54^th minute free kick from 25 yards sailed just wide of the near post.  Luiz Camargo found Mac Kandji in the box in the 58^th minute, but the former Rapid’s effort to turn and shoot skied well over the bar.

For the first hour Portland was lucky Houston couldn’t find the mark. For the final half hour Portland was lucky Troy Perkins is reemerging as one of the better goalkeepers in the MLS.

In the 67^th minute, Calen Carr found Camargo in a seam the size of the Gulf of Mexico in the Portland defense, but Perkins was very quick off his line to keep the Brazilian from turning toward goal.

The Timbers best chance of the second half came in the 69^th minute when 2012 debutante Sal Zizzo beat his man to the byline and found Darlington Nagbe 10 yards out. Nagbe’s shot, however, was blocked by Jermaine Taylor, appeared to take an incidental deflection off the Jamaican’s hand,[2] and was cleared away.

From there, it was one-way traffic in Perkins’ direction. In the 78^th minute Colin Clark turned the ball in a dangerous spot on the left wing, but shot right at Perkins. Four minutes later Carr settled on a deflected ball with nothing but green in front of him on the wing, but Futty got a toe on the ball and a body on Carr to end the danger in controversial fashion.

Try as they might, though, Houston couldn’t find the finishing touch either. In the 90^th minute Carr found space on the wing against a lame Futty, and picked out Brian Ching in the box, but Ching’s touch sailed embarrassingly off target. The Timbers weren’t out of the woods yet, though, as two minutes later young midfielder Alex Dixon took a go from the left wing, but, after an initial bobble, Perkins smothered the chance.

To be sure, the point in Houston is plenty satisfactory for a Timbers team that has struggled to earn results away from home. Nonetheless, the performance fell far short of inspiring confidence in the Timbers’ offense and setting the club back on track.

Match Observations

• If we’re always looking on the bright side of life, we should start out here with the play of the defense. Until Futty got hurt in the late stages, the defense was stellar; limiting Houston to a pretty meager helping of half chances.
• The offense, however, is completely disjointed. The reasons for this are numerous, but I’ll only address one here. The central attacking players are doing a very, very poor job of making runs and presenting targets. On Tuesday, the Timbers actually got some fairly handy play from the right wing tandem of Franck Songo’o and Sal Zizzo, but every time one of those guys turned to send a cross in or find somebody making a run into the box, they saw green grass and orange shirts. Kris Boyd couldn’t have been more anonymous. Darlington Nagbe wants to track back into the midfield to receive the ball, and seems allergic to work off of it. Diego Chara—well—Diego Chara couldn’t present a target to save his life, but that’s not really his fault.
• The solution, however, isn’t obvious. Some have called for Fucito or Perlaza up front with Nagbe at the top of a midfield diamond. This would be impossible with Diego Chara also manning the center of the pitch, and, considering he was the best Timber not wearing a mask on Tuesday, it would be unwise to move him. A central midfield of Nagbe and Chara—to say nothing of Fucito playing as a second striker—would be prohibitively vertically challenged. The only thing I can think of would be to replace Lovel Palmer with Eric Alexander in the center of the midfield, and let Diego sit back a little bit more. Alexander did play in the center with Dallas, but really hasn’t done much in his two relatively brief stints the past two weeks to change John Spencer’s mind about his spot on the bench.
• The Timbers are a mess on set pieces. Like, embarrassingly so.
• How is Kalif’s knee?

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 7.5 Didn’t have much to do until the final half hour, but then the Dynamo poured on the pressure. Troy was up to the task and then some, making several crucial saves look routine.

Steven Smith, 5.5 Nice day defensively and sent some useful crosses and set pieces into the box. A few giveaways in the midfield, though, temper his rating a little bit.

Futty, 6.5 A really nice day from Futty until he got hurt. The knee injury didn’t look good, however, so Sunday could see changes on the backline…again.

Hanyer Mosquera, 6 Not Mosco’s best day in back, but still more than adequate. Has a tendency to get caught on the wrong side of his attacker from time to time, but does a great job of recovering, steering his man toward a post, and cutting off the angle from which to score.

Jack Jewsbury, 5.5 Lost Brad Davis once on the right flank, but otherwise had a competent first half before coming out. Also showed some good quality sending crosses in. If his hip injury isn’t too bad, this experiment at right back might actually work.

Rodney Wallace, 3 The only thing he was effective at on the wing was being called offside. If Rod wants to play in an attacking position, he needs to learn to not kill the attack like that.

Lovel Palmer, 3.5 Wasteful going forward, barely passable defensively. Diego Chara was doing a lot of work, and that was primarily because Palmer was doing very little. Seeing him wearing the armband coming out of halftime was downright chilling. What, oh what has he done to earn John Spencer’s favor?

Diego Chara, 6.5 Was the best player on the field for the first hour. Very good defensively and one of the Timbers’ few effective players going forward. Did a lot of running, though, so ran out of gas a little bit as the second half wore on. That’s when it showed how important he is to this team.

Franck Songo’o, 6 Until he came out, Franck was by far the Timbers’ most dangerous player in the attack. Not that he didn’t get dispossessed a time or two, but Songo’o was really the only player finding space and looking to put the ball in dangerous areas even if those areas were manned exclusively by Houston.

Darlington Nagbe, 4 This might be generous. Couldn’t help himself but take touches. Dribbled himself into nothing and when Zizzo found him in the box with space Darlington decided to take two touches rather than get a shot off.

Kris Boyd, 2 Not only did he not score, but despite teammate(s) looking for him all day, Boyd wasn’t making himself available. His former supporters said there would be games where we would want to call him lazy and anonymous. Yep.

Mike Chabala, 5 Decent effort from Chewy coming in at right back for the injured Captain Jack. Despite Houston being uniquely suited to do so, for the first time this season a team didn’t seem determined to exploit the Timbers’ right flank. That’s a testament to the competence Jack and Chewy brought to the position last night.

Sal Zizzo, 6.5 The Timbers’ best player in the attack after he came on. Great to see him back in his first game since he was injured against the Dynamo last fall.

Eric Alexander, 5 Had one nice shot from distance that caused Tally Hall a little trouble, but was otherwise lost in the late Dynamo flood.

Preseason Prediction – Dynamo 1, Timbers 0. Will Bruin.

Actual Result – Dynamo 0, Timbers 0. Again.

Onward, Rose City!

The Harper's Playground project is getting close to it's goal, and the 107ist is working to help put it over the top.

Join us at Paddy's, SW Yamhill & 1st, on May 15th at 5:30 PM to see the mighty PTFC take on the Houston Dynamo in their new house.  The $5 suggested donation at the door will help raise crucial funds to make Harper's Playground a reality, and help kids of all physical abilities play.

A special viewing of Shed Culture Live! will air after the match, and DVDs of the hit stage performance will be available for $15, with all proceeds being donated to Harper's Playground.

Paddy's will be making a generous donation to Harper's Playground from pint sales at this event.  Also, if you present your 107ist card, you will receive happy hour prices on food and drink all day.

Lastly, the first 20 members who show their card on game days will receive their first draught beer for $1.07 in honor of the section that started it all.

Welcome to this week in Timbers Army Football Club news. Because of the various leagues and limited amounts of fields within the area, many TAFC teams will have a bit of a break in their spring seasons before resuming play in early June. The gap within the fixtures should give teams plenty of time to practice and hone their skills before the June flourish, and some are taking advantage of the break to schedule friendlies.  Here is a look at each team’s most recent news listed by club:

We are awaiting updates from 101^st FC and Coat? FC after each team finished their first spring sessions in their respective futsal leagues and second session matches were scheduled to begin soon. While 101^st FC has been dealing with some unfortunate injuries, their competitive streak allowed them to finish the first term strong, while Coat? FC was finding their stride after some rough matches to start their session. We wish them both luck and hope we get some reports about how their next sessions are going.

AC Loco Moco also hasn’t submitted a match report since their loss to Team America, but they’ve been busy with their matches at Portland Indoor. After a match this coming weekend, they will have one fixture left on June 1 to finish out their current schedule and look towards playing in either the summer or fall terms.

There hasn’t been an official report submitted for Cascade Rangers FC since their loss to Rose City Athletic in mid month, but since then they’ve played two teams we’ve talked about in our weekly recaps, the very quick South VN and the oddly named Electric Dream Machine. While we await reports from these matches, our crack reporters can indicate that Cascade Rangers did indeed secure a win in a friendly versus Old Growth FC on May 12 at Willamette Park. Under gorgeous conditions, CRFC found their scoring touch in securing a 6 to 0 win that was extremely competitive and well played.

After achieving results to get them into a first place tie in GPSD Division 1, FC Dynamo met up with Team Awesome at Gladstone HS. Unfortunately, the lads fell behind by three goals before Perry Broderick scored from a corner kick from Scott McDowell to get them on the board. Unfortunately, the scoreline stayed at 3 to 1 for Team Awesome to give them the win. FC Dynamo did have a match this past weekend against County Cork FC before the highly anticipated derby match versus FC Portlandia.

I’m not used to the FC Portlandia being so quiet, as we haven’t had an official match report submitted in some time from them. In checking the GPSD website, FC Portlandia has lost their last three matches: a 5 to 2 defeat to Portland Internationals on April 28, a 1 to 0 loss to SDFC Eastburn on May 6 and a heartbreaking 3 to 2 loss to Concordia Ale House on May 12. We hope to have a report from both sides as the TAFC Division 1 derby takes place this weekend on May 19 at 6 PM out at Gladstone High School.

North End United had another TAFC derby match on May 6 when they battled the boys in red, Rose City Athletic.  We have perspectives from both sides as North End United won the battle 4 to 2. From the NEU perspective, it was an exceptional effort from Joel Weakland who scored two goals and avoided receiving a caution during this week’s match, while Ed Ramirez and Casey McLaughlin scored the two goals for RCA in manager Rob Jerand’s match report that was a tribute to a former Portland Trailblazer who had a way with words.

Northern Alliance FC got us caught up with their two last matches, a 9 to 0 loss at the hands of Mayday on April 29 and a 4 to 1 loss to Broken Arrow on May 6. The long break should give the Vancouver team some time to rebound from their rash of injuries before they battle North End United on June 6 when Division 4 resumes matches. In the Mayday match, NAFC had only 8 dressed players until reinforcements from CRFC showed up later in the first half to assist, but Mayday was too strong for the team on this day. The numbers were slightly better for the Broken Arrow match as they had 11 players dressed, which actually was the same as Broken Arrow, but Broken Arrow were able to put up three goals before responding with their own goal before a rather chaotic finish. NAFC hopes to use the time to regroup and rest up, while also playing a friendly against a new TAFC club joining in Fall 2012, Guerreros Verde FC on May 19.

Old Growth FC played a midweek match on May 9 against Nor’East FC, who seemed to delight in seeing the plight of their opponent when they absorbed a significant defeat earlier in the season. While they were a nice enough team, Nor’East FC seemed overly confident especially with OGFC only fielding 15 healthy players. It was a rather inspired effort, however, as OGFC held them to just three goals and limited chances in the first half before succumbing 6 to 0 in their best effort all year. While they didn’t score, they certainly had chances abound and played a tough defense that made Nor’East FC work for everything they had. OGFC gets a long break before resuming their schedule on June 3, but have a friendly against Pelada PDX on May 20 and hope to schedule a few more dates later this summer before their fall campaign.

You know things are bad when the Timbers look to a home scoreless draw against Columbus for moral victories. But, in light of the club’s tepid start to 2012, such are the times.

Coming off a week where the team was publicly questioned in just about every possible regard, the Timbers were looking to set things back on course with three points. But for some poor finishing touches, they probably would have. As it is, however, the Timbers will have to be satisfied with moral victories rather than a real one.

The match opened up with some pretty riveting end-to-end action. In the 10^th minute, Darlington Nagbe seemed to be through on goal after a mistake by Crew center back Eric Gehrig, but Gehrig recovered nicely to harass Nagbe enough to give Andy Gruenebaum a chance to get the ball off Nagbe’s foot.

Ten minutes later, Rodney Wallace nearly put the Timbers on the board after taking a crack from 30 yards out on the left wing, but Gruenebaum dove to tap the ball just wide of the far post.

Columbus would take their turn on goal in the 27^th minute, as Mike Chabala and Jack Jewsbury cleared Milovan Mirosevic’s shot off the line, and Diego Chara similarly cleared Josh Williams’ effort to tap in the ensuing corner.

Whereas the first half hour was played in the respective attacking thirds, the remainder of the first half largely settled into the midfield, with Gruenebaum’s clearance of a dangerous-looking Franck Songo’o free kick in the 39^th minute being the only time either side truly threatened to break the deadlock.

In the second half the traffic would move largely in the Timbers direction, but despite a bevy of chances Portland couldn’t find the winner.

In the 58^th minute, Kris Boyd tried to bend a free kick from 20 yards out inside the near post, by the ball flew just wide of the target.

The Crew’s lone legitimate chance of the half came in the 66^th minute, when Troy Perkins tapped Williams’ header off of a corner kick just over the bar.

Portland’s best opportunity came just a minute later, when Songo’o sent a beautiful cross from the right wing toward the far post, but Boyd’s clear header flashed wide.

Boyd looked to redeem himself in the 82^nd minute, as his nodded ball angled toward the far post and an onrushing Hanyer Mosquera, but Gruenebaum snagged it before Mosco could facilitate the ball’s nestling into the side netting.

A minute later, Darlington Nagbe looked to have a go from distance after one of his signature runs on the ball, but the sure-handed Gruenebaum again extinguished the threat in the face of three Timbers waiting to put away any rebound.

Portland looked to have one final chance to snag a deserved winner in the 3^rd minute of stoppage time, but Jewsbury’s cross was just a little bit too high for Boyd, whose header again sailed wide of the far post.

There were certainly encouraging signs coming from the Timbers, but for all the chances they couldn’t find the net. Maybe it was just a spell of bad luck on Saturday, but the fact remains that the Timbers’ offense hasn’t scored in its last 337 minutes of soccer.

Match Observations

• John Spencer would hate me for saying this, but the Timbers really miss Kalif Alhassan. Kalif is really the only guy for Portland who is not only dynamic on the ball, but creative in setting others up. Boyd, obviously, is a true poacher. Nagbe’s strength is his magnificent ability to make runs on the ball. Diego Chara really isn’t a true attacking center midfielder, as his final third distribution is by far the weakest aspect of his game. Franck Songo’o thus far has looked more dangerous on the ball than in setting other up – although that could be more a matter of lack of playing time than anything else. The point is, there is nobody in the Timbers attack that has shown the ideas Kalif has. Portland could use a few more ideas right about now.
• I thought Spenny’s tactical changes worked pretty well on Saturday, and wouldn’t mind seeing something like that team again. Obviously, despite the lack of hard production, the Timbers were doing a much better job of creating chances than they have in the past several weeks.
• Opponents’ strategy against the Timbers has been to attack Portland’s right flank. It will be interesting to see if that changes one—maybe I should say “if”—the Timbers are able to fix the right back situation.
• The Timbers have yet to score in the south goal in MLS regular season play this year.
• In my opinion, the “Goals” song needs to become a permanent fixture. Loved it.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 6 Probably should have done better on both efforts that were cleared off the line, but was otherwise solid. His save on Williams in the second half was one of his better saves of the year.

Mike Chabala, 5 Decent outing for Chabala. Had some squirrely clearances and passes—including a giveaway that led to the Crew’s two efforts that were cleared off the line—but it was otherwise a pretty quiet day on the Timbers left flank.

Hanyer Mosquera, 7 Mosco has one of the most hilariously ironic nicknames ever. There is absolutely nothing in his play that resembles a mosquito. The guy is just a monster. He is developing into a rock solid central defender, and could become downright scary if he keeps improving at the rate he has over the past six weeks or so.

Futty, 6 Had a lights out first half, where he got to every ball that came anywhere near him. Wasn’t as influential in the second half, although he didn’t need to be. Spenny’s decision to bring him on in favor of Brunner is a little bit of a head scratcher considering Brunner has been fine, but Futty acquitted his coach well on Saturday.

Jack Jewsbury, 5.5 Was solid, if unspectacular, at right back. After the last several weeks that’s a welcome development. I don’t think Jack is going to be the answer there long term, but he may just be effective enough duct tape to give Gavin Wilkinson and Spencer time to figure something out.[1]

Rodney Wallace, 6 Rodney had a nice outing on the left wing, and combined with Mike Chabala pretty well going forward. I just don’t think Rod has the quality that the Timbers’ other options on the wings have, however, so I would be a little bit surprised to see him still there once the injury situation gets ironed out a bit.

Lovel Palmer, 5 Defensively he has been fine as a central midfielder; much, much better than he was at right back. I still think Lovel is too wasteful with the ball, however, to be a solution here long term.

Diego Chara, 7 This is the Diego we got used to seeing at the end of 2011. Was better launching the attack than he has been in the last few weeks, and is resuming the masterful job he does controlling the midfield. Even his fouls are good. If Diego can play like this on a regular basis, there will be much better things for Portland ahead.

Franck Songo’o, 5.5 A little bit of a tale of two halves for Franck. Looked uncomfortable at the start, but got better and better as the game went along. It’s important to keep in mind that before arriving in Portland, Franck hadn’t played much competitive soccer in quite some time. I am very interested to see what he looks like come July and August. He needs playing time to make it happen, though, so I welcome his inclusion in the XI and hope it keeps up.

Darlington Nagbe, 6.5 Another good outing for Darlington at the withdrawn striker spot. He’s much better utilized there, and the Timbers attack on the whole was a lot more width when he is at striker and somebody who doesn’t mind playing wide is on the wing.

Kris Boyd, 3.5 Could he use better service? Yes. But he had three pretty good opportunities—his two headers and the free kick—and only put one on frame.[2] Boyd’s rating will depend mightily on whether he scores or not. He had chances to on Saturday and didn’t. So, his rating suffers accordingly.

Eric Alexander, 4.5 Was pretty anonymous in his fifteen minute stint. Apparently he is in the doghouse for some reason, and he didn’t do anything on Saturday to change that.

Mike Fucito, 5 I like how active he is. Based on his short shift, he looks to be exactly as advertised—a high-work rate, scrappy striker. That said, did he even touch the ball?

Preseason Prediction: Timbers 1, Crew 1. Jewsbury, Dilly Duka.

Actual Result: Timbers 0, Crew 0.

Onward, Rose City!

Welcome to this week in Timbers Army Football Club news.  Rumors persist that the weather is finally supposed to be nice this weekend, which should aid the teams as they progress through their spring schedules.  I’m pleased to see the various team members wear their kits to Timbers matches to indicate they are part of the TAFC umbrella, and my goal is to have pictures added of the display at Far Post Soccer Supply of all the TAFC kits.  As the official supplier of TAFC gear, Far Post has been a huge fan of the Timbers and Timbers Army, and as a player, I love that a local company is stepping in to help local soccer.  Onward to the updates!

101^st FC finished session 1 of their spring futsal term with a loss to Urban Honking 9 to 6.  As team manager Owen put it in his official update, “With a loss this week we finished below .500 and in the bottom half of the table. This weeks action was much of the same as before... Inexperience at GK hurts and makes things difficult when you're playing catch up in a fast paced game. We're looking forward to the new session next week so that we can forget all about this one.”  We look forward to hearing more exploits as they move to session 2!

Cascade Rangers FC didn’t submit an official report, but through the TAFC Facebook page, they announced a loss to South VN 7 to 1 on April 28.  They play their next league fixture on May 6 at Gladstone HS against Electric Dream Machine before they have a four week break in matches, but they’ve already set up one friendly versus Old Growth FC on May 12.  The location was just announced as Willamette Park at 9 AM, so apparently for those teams, it’s on like donkey kong!

FC Dynamo used a strong start and a strong finish to beat Salsa Azul 4-2 and move into a tie for first place in GPSD Division I.  That’s the words from manager Dave Trausneck as Jon Bial scored a brace to assist his team to victory.  We also got a recap of the team’s last victory on April 15 3 to 1 over Abysinnia before they suffered a heartbreaking loss 1 to 0 over North End on April 22 in their last match.  If our information is correct, FC Dynamo will battle Team Awesome at 4 PM out at Gladstone HS, which is quickly becoming TAFC Central.

Old Growth FC played their third match, which was highlighted by the unveiling of their primary green kit , a change in formation and the team’s first official goal, a penalty kick by Sean Moran.  Unfortunately, OGFC lost 7 to 1 in a really competitive match where their defense was greatly improved, but was beaten by some exceptional shots on goal.  They get a bit of a break in the schedule, as their next league match is on May 9 versus FC Nor’East at Delta Park 1.

We didn’t get reports from AC Loco Moco, Coat? FC, FC Portlandia, North End United,  Northern Alliance FC or Rose City Athletic for this week, but we do know they have upcoming matches. AC Loco Moco has a match on May 5 just before the Timbers face Columbus at JWF, while we await details from Coat? FC about when they start their next session of futsal. FC Portlandia has a date with SDFC Eastburn at noon out at Gladstone HS. North End United has a date with Rose City Athletic at  9 AM out at LaSalle HS, which we hope is a fun, spirited and friendly affair.  Northern Alliance FC meets up with Broken Arrow out at Sherwood’s Snyder Park at 2 PM on May 6.  We will get you caught up with previous matches as soon as those reports are submitted.

—by Garrett Dittfurth

Together with fellow MLS fans around the league, the ISC would like to express our severe disapproval of comments made about female MLS fans by MLSSoccer.com Senior Editor Simon Borg on the MLS podcast "Extra Time" this week. All supporter groups know the incredible value of the passion that supporters - regardless of their gender - bring to MLS. We applaud the actions MLS has taken in response to this situation. The ISC hopes that MLS and all their employees work to stay connected to all those who put so much time and effort into supporting the league.