—by Chris Rifer

If there were any doubts remaining that the Timbers were serious participants in the playoff race, they were decisively dispelled on Friday night. From the opening kick, Portland took command of the match, shelling Revs keeper Matt Reis, and showing the Army the confidence and flair they have developed over the last month.

As has been common in home matches recently, the Timbers took control of the proceedings early. In the 9^th minute, Lovel Palmer chased down an errant cross and sent a ball into the box. There the ball found the feet of Diego Chara, who split three Revs defenders and slotted the ball past Reis and into the bottom corner.

From there the match would open up into a crowd-pleasing, attack-minded affair. New England would pose the next threat, as Milton Caraglio juggled the ball onto his left foot at the top of the box and fired at net, only to have Troy Perkins parry it away with a diving save.

Two minutes later, Mike Chabala found Darlington Nagbe at the far post, but the youngster’s header floated just wide. In the 32^nd minute, however, Chewy’s ambition getting forward would pay off. After Sal Zizzo held the ball up with a dizzying array of moves, he switched the ball to Chabala. Mike found Kenny Cooper unmarked at the mouth of the goal, where Cooper redirected Chabala’s cross into the net.

From there the Timbers would thoroughly dominate the shell-shocked and disorganized Revs defense. In first half stoppage, A Jack Jewsbury corner was cleared only as far as Lovel Palmer. Palmer mishit his volley attempt, but the ball spun onto his left foot. His left footed strike from 25 yards skipped through the defense, beat Reis, but was stoned by the post. The rebound, however, ricocheted out to Palmer, whose third effort sailed over the bar.

At the outset of the second half New England looked to reestablish some sort of order. The Revs began to control the midfield a little bit more and showed at least some intent to go forward. Despite creating a few looks, including a Caraglio poke from close range that went high, New England couldn’t turn their momentum into goals.

In the 66^th minute Portland would salt the match away. Kalif Alhassan settled the ball on the left wing, and sent a beautiful ball into the box that found Nagbe eight yards from goal. This time Nagbe’s header was on target, skipping past Reis into the bottom corner.

With the end result no longer in doubt, the teams treated the fans to an entertaining last 25 minutes. New England continued to press to pull one back, but disappointment accompanied each Revs opportunity.

If there is a statement to be made against a weaker opponent, the Timbers made it. Clearly the best team on the night, Portland dominated virtually from start to finish. One thing is clear coming out of Friday, Portland is serious about its playoff bid.

Match Observations

• Keeping the clean sheet on Saturday was as much about the midfield as it was about the defense. While the defense didn’t play poorly, there were certainly times where a Revolution attacker would get lost and wind up all alone at the back post. The midfield, however, was stellar at keeping New England from pinning the Timbers defense down, as they transitioned nicely from defense into attack. Just as importantly, they did extremely well to keep the attack going when the Revs cleared out a volley.
• One frustrating bit about the night, though, is the recurrence of nagging injuries forcing players out of action for brief spells. While it hasn’t had an adverse effect on Portland in the last few weeks, just as the team seems to be gelling, the Timbers are missing a couple key players. Specifically, the back line of Horst and Brunner seemed to be really coming together, but just as it is, Horst goes down with an injury.
• As good as Friday night was, however, Saturday was equally tough on the boys in green. Chivas USA’s loss at the Fire largely puts the kybosh on the Goats’ previously remote playoff hopes. As expected, D.C. United got beat in Seattle, with the thoroughness of the stomping suggesting that the loss of Pontius may take a toll on D.C. That was the end of the good news. In what wasn’t a surprise, Houston took care of San Jose, even if some brief hope was afforded when the Quakes broke through with an early goal. Union, in a largely inconsequential result for the Timbers’ purposes, broke out of their funk to beat Crew – who seem to have started a tailspin of their own. The really bad news, however, came out of Dallas, where the Red Bulls took three unexpected points from a faltering F.C. Dallas side, catapulting the energy drinks over the Timbers in position for the final playoff spot.
• Before the weekend I agreed with John Spencer that 10 points from the final seven matches would be enough to put Portland in the playoffs. I’m not so sure now. If Red Bulls regain form, they face a favorable schedule that has most of their toughest fixtures at home. D.C. United, although in questionable form with the loss of Pontius, have two games in hand on everybody, although sit two points behind the playoff pace. Despite being a game down on the field, Houston sits three points above the cut line. The Timbers need to end the season ahead of one of these teams in order to advance. The nice thing is that the Timbers face all three of these teams, so their task is simple: You want to go to the playoff, go win matches.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 6 Didn’t have a ton to do, largely because the Revs showed a remarkable ability to miss the target, but his save on the heels of the Timbers’ first goal was huge.

Mike Chabala, 6 Had a field day coming forward, as the Revs defense looked especially disheveled on its right side. Didn’t have his best game in defense, but with all the marauding he was doing, that’s understandable.

Futty, 5 Just an average outing from Futty. I’m not convinced he is entirely healthy.

Eric Brunner, 6 Probably the best of the defensive unit again on Friday. I was perhaps a bit premature on this matter last week, but after stringing a few good outings together, it’s clear Brunner is back to being the dependable center back we have come to know and love.

Lovel Palmer, 5 Again, sort of like Chabala. Plenty of room to roam up front, and took good advantage of that. Still, he gets a harsher grade for mistakes in defense. The Timbers right side was its leakiest, with a number of blown marks in the second half.

Kalif Alhassan, 6 Good outing from Kalif. Was great with the ball at his feet, and his cross to Nagbe for the third goal was class. That said, his grade is held back a little bit by getting absolutely schooled a few times in defense.

Jack Jewsbury, 5.5 As the season has progressed, Jewsbury has been joining the attack a lot less than he used to. He does well enough in his holding position, but his impact has become much less obvious. No blame to Jack for it, though. With the emergence of Chara as a force, that’s the role he has to slip into.

Diego Chara, 7 No reasonable argument can be made that he hasn’t been the team’s best player over the course of the last month. He has been simply fantastic, and it paid off again with a good opening goal and another game of great box-to-box play in the center of the midfield.

Sal Zizzo, 6.5 Was linking up really well with Lovel. Primarily, though, he was unstoppable on the right side. Ran at and around New England’s defense with complete impunity.

Kenny Cooper, 6 A couple more missed opportunities and offside calls than some would like to see, but you can see that he is starting to do a better job of providing a target and putting pressure on the defense.

Darlington Nagbe, 8 Wow. Just wow. I’m having a hard time thinking of very many players in the league that bring the mix of pace and quality up front that Darlington showed on Friday. If he can do that with regularity, he is going to dominate.

Bright Dike, 6 Whereas last week he was out of control, this week was a good example of how Dike can create controlled chaos. Teams still don’t respect his pace, which, if it continues, will lead to goals.

Eric Alexander, 5.5 Brought more to the match defensively than Zizzo did. Is a bit buried on the team at the moment, and barring injury or dramatic change will likely stay that way for the year, but it seems the front office would do well to find a way for him to at least compete for a starting position somewhere in the midfield next year.

Onward, Rose City!

Want a chance to win tickets to see the US Women's National Team face the Canadian Women's National Team? Want to help raise money for youth soccer players? Here is your chance to do both....

Get entered in a raffle for a chance to win two (2) general admission tickets for the Thursday, 9/22 match between the USWNT and CWNT at Jeld-Wen Field. The raffle is running until noon on Wednesday, 9/21. Still working out the logistics of ticket delivery, but Will Call will most likely be the method. Delivery method info will be updated with winner.

To be entered in the raffle:

• Please visit: Gisele Currier Memorial Fund
• Click on the "Donate" button and fill in your credit card information.
• When you review your donation, under the "Additional Instructions for Seller" field, please add "USWNT Raffle", otherwise we won't know that you want to be entered.
• For every five dollars ($5) you donate, you'll receive one (1) entry into the raffle.

  $5 = 1 chance | $25 = 5 chances

These tickets have a face value of $22 each. Including Ticketmaster fees, the pair is worth $59.75. If you have questions, feel free to post a comment.

Thank you and good luck!

Since 1985, Portland’s City Council has been presenting the Spirit of Portland Awards to individuals and groups that work to improve the city.   This year, the Timbers Army is one of 24 organizations and citizens chosen to be honored.

The Army was nominated by City Commissioner Randy Leonard, who cited both the Army’s role in making Major League Soccer a success and enthusiasm for the city that the Army brings on both game-days and in our numerous charitable endeavors.

The award will be presented in a ceremony beginning at 7 p.m. on Thursday, Oct. 27 at the East Portland Community Center, 740 SE 106^th Ave.  

If you’re reading this, you helped win the award.  Congratulations!

Want to help some kids do better in school?  Want to introduce some boys and girls to the joy and magic of soccer? 

Well, we’ve made it easy for you.  On Friday night, Jeld-Wen is teaming with the Timbers Army to raise friends and funds for AC Portland.  Launched this spring, AC Portland is a supplementary educational program focused on kids and neighborhoods that need a boost.  Aimed at elementary-school students, the AC Portland program mixes recreational soccer with literacy education, mentoring and nutritional guidance.

How can you help?  All you have to do is lift one finger.

When you arrive at the Jeld-Wen Field Friday night, pull out your Smartphone – don’t worry, John Spencer would approve – and open up Facebook.  Look on the right of the menu bar for the “Places” function.  Click on that, scroll down, and click again on the “Jeld-Wen Field” bar. 

For every click on that bar Friday night, Jeld-Wen will donate a dollar to AC Portland. 

The curriculum comes from America SCORES; the funding is coming from a wide range of Portland-based businesses and leaders.  The inspiration comes from the Timbers Army – its love of soccer, its passion for Portland, and its unmatched drive to make Portland “Soccer City USA” in every way possible.

Welcome to the first blog post for the Timbers Army of SW Washington, a.k.a. Northern Alliance. This first post is to let you know who we are, what we're about, and where you can find us, and future posts will be current goings-on in the TANA.

You might not have been aware of our group, but you've probably seen us around, talked with us in line or at tailgates, high-fived us after a goal. You may have seen one of our two flags waving at home matches, designed by John Acerbi. You might have seen some of our cool patches around. And soon you'll see the Northern Alliance scarves, which have arrived and been distributed in the last few weeks.

The Northern Alliance is the brainchild of Kelly Dews, who first created the Facebook group and started searching out TA members north of the Columbia early in the season. Along the trail the Northern Alliance picked up Troy Maxcy, the other half of the leadership team. Together, Kelly and Troy have organized most of the events of the Northern Alliance which have taken place. Some of our other notable members include the famous Brent Diskin and contest-winning photographer Bradley York.

The first group event planned for the Northern Alliance was a simple viewing party for Seattle Away, which took place at the Smokey's Hot Oven Pizza in NE Vancouver. It wasn't a large draw, but it was a humble beginning. Family-friendly (i.e. kid-friendly) viewings still continue there. Subsequent events have been held at Dublin Down, on Main Street in downtown Vancouver, which is a Tier-1 Timbers bar and shows every match. We've had a couple of auctions at Dublin Down during matches, and have raised money that are earmarked for use to benefit youth soccer in SW Washington (exact details to follow in the future).

The Timbers U-23 squad played two matches in Clark County this season.  I won't lie, we dropped the ball on the first event, but for the second the Northern Alliance gathered a good showing of Timbers fans for the match, with a pre-game bash in downtown Camas, followed by a short drive to the match at the Camas HS stadium. A few of us even did a couple of chants for the guys, showed them they had some TA support (even if we did draw the ire of an entire girls soccer team, disgusted that soccer fans could MAKE NOISE during a match!).

While most of our members are located in SW Washington, some members are Portland-based and others live in as well as north of S**ttle, and we're growing; We're approaching 170 members on the Facebook page as I write this. We're looking forward to making more noise in the future.

Feel free to venture across the bridge to the 'Couve (which, by the way, is the ORIGINAL Vancouver, not that other city up north) and join us for a viewing party.  There's plenty of fun for all.

And so, as every post shall close, Cheers and RCTID!

—by Chris Rifer

With the playoff chase heating up, the Portland Timbers scratched out a tough point in a scoreless draw on the road against Philadelphia Union.  The draw puts Portland at 33 points, one behind D.C. United for the final playoff spot.

At the outset, Philadelphia established themselves as the dominant side, but failed to truly take advantage. Union were able to send a few crosses into the box—most dangerously a 22^nd minute Michael Farfan ball to the near post—but were unable to create any bona fide chances.  Philadelphia’s best opportunity came in the 28^th minute, as Seb Le Toux chested down a ball coming over the top, but sent it wide of the far post.

While Philadelphia had a few more chances than Portland in the first half, the Timbers showed a little bit of intent going forward. At times the combination of Lovel Palmer and Sal Zizzo moved down the right side with impunity, but the Timbers’ last ball repeatedly failed them.  Portland nearly closed the first half with a shocker, however, but Philly Rookie Zach MacMath blocked a Jorge Perlaza effort at close range, and Perlaza couldn’t turn the rebound toward the open net.

The second half wouldn’t see any dramatic changes in the run of play. Portland controlled a little more of the midfield, although still primarily relied on the counterattack, and Philadelphia continued to struggle to find any serious attempts on goal.

Kenny Cooper found a bit of space 30 yards out in the 59^th minute and took a go, but MacMath easily covered his post to keep things level. A brilliant strike by Danny Mwanga in the 69^th minute was parried over the bar by Troy Perkins. Until the late stages, however, there wasn’t a whole lot doing for either side.

Finally, in the 85^th minute, Portland would make its bid to steal three points. Diego Chara caught Union committing too many numbers forward and made a blistering run up the gut of the midfield. The diminutive Colombian found Kenny Cooper alone on the right wing, but MacMath cut down Cooper’s angle, and forced KFC to drag the ball wide of the far post.

Three minutes later, Philadelphia would make its case for the victory. After Justin Mapp knocked Mike Chabala off balance, he crossed the ball to Kyle Nakazawa at the top of the box. Nakazawa’s sent his shot off the woodwork, however, and the Timbers cleared the danger.

In the end, neither team could break the stalemate, leaving Philadelphia frustrated and desperate for a win, and Portland satisfied with the point. Coming down the stretch, any road point is a good road point, and with the result the Timbers firmly embedded themselves in the thick of the playoff race.

Observations

• I was pretty surprised at the amount of disappointment from Timbers supporters on the internet after this match. True, Philadelphia hasn’t been on the best run of form recently, but they certainly haven’t been horrible at home. In the past month they have tallied home draws against F.C. Dallas, Houston, and a resurgent Revs side in what may be the craziest game of the MLS season thus far. The reality is that this draw, on the road, against a fellow playoff contender, is a good result by any objective measure. Could Kenny Cooper have slotted his 85^th minute effort home? Yeah, sure. But Nakazawa also could have put his 88^th minute effort in the net. In the end, the draw was a just, solid result for the Timbers that gets them through a tough road test while keeping their playoff hopes alive and well.
• Speaking of playoff hopes, let’s reset the picture. At this point, there are effectively six teams battling it out for three spots. One of those spots will go to a top-3 Eastern Conference side, but that doesn’t fundamentally change the picture because of the six teams in contention, four are from the East. Of those teams, Chivas seem to be in the most trouble, as they are in the midst of a terrible run of form and are at least a game down on most of the other teams. Here is how things are playing out, with my extremely unscientific playoff odds and random guesses on the far right.

Team	Points	GP	Remaining Schedule	Playoff Odds[1]	Predicted Points[2]
Union	36	27	Crew, @ K.C., D.C., @ Chivas, @ Sounders, Toronto, @ NYRB	85%	45
Dynamo	35	28	@ Crew, San Jose, @ Dallas, Chicago, @ Timbers, Galaxy	38%	42
D.C. United	34	25	@ Seattle, Chivas, RSL, @ Union, @ Crew, Chicago, Timbers, K.C.	75%	45
NYRB	33	27	@ Dallas, RSL, Timbers, @ TFC, Galaxy, @ K.C., Union	30%	41
Timbers	33	27	Revs, S.J., @ N.Y, @ 'Caps, Dynamo, @ D.C., @ RSL	42%	43
Chivas	31	28	Fire, @ DC, Toronto, Union, @ Galaxy, Sounders	10%	38

• I didn’t take the injury to Chris Pontius into account, mostly because we have no idea how it will affect D.C. Obviously it looks like a huge loss on paper, as Pontius has arguably been their best player this year, but without seeing it on the field it is hard to say how bad the damage will be. We will likely learn a lot on Saturday when they travel to Seattle.
• I didn’t explicitly predict any Timbers games. Superstition. If you do the math, you can probably figure it out. But, the point is that with the seven points from the last three matches, the Timbers are right in the thick of the playoff hunt. The other thing I would like to point out it how huge that point in Philly looks on this chart. So, those of you who are upset about Saturday, stop whining.
• Finally, looking at the season from a larger perspective, at this point it is hard not to be ecstatic with how the campaign has gone. Yes, the Timbers have given away a lot of points. Yes, if they hadn’t given away quite so many, they would be in excellent shape for the playoffs. But let’s be reasonable, here. At the beginning of the season, if you had told me that in the second week of September the Timbers would be a serious contender to make the playoffs, I would have declared the season a smashing success. So, next time you get the urge to bellyache—an urge that I get multiple times per week—remind yourself of that.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 5.5 Handled Philly’s crosses and corners especially well. All told, though, didn’t have that much to do. The defense in front of him primarily held the Union to half-chances.

Mike Chabala, 4 One of his poorer games as a Timber. Seemed a bit out of sorts throughout, and conceded one of Philly’s few legitimate chances by letting Justin Mapp send him to the turf and cross the ball to Nakazawa.

David Horst, 5.5 A bit quieter than the Chivas game, but was still very effective in the middle. Le Toux seemed to be loitering in Horst’s area quite a bit, but with only one real exception David kept him quiet.

Eric Brunner, 6.5 The last two matches have seen Brunner come out of the mini-slump he was in. On Saturday the Timbers got exactly what they want out of a center back—great positioning, solid tackling, and good leadership in keeping his back line organized.

Lovel Palmer, 6 Linked up with Zizzo very well, especially in the first half. Also had a nice game in back, keeping the right side pretty quiet. Probably safe to say this was one of Lovel’s best outings since coming over from Houston.

Kalif Alhassan, 4.5 Had a pretty anonymous game on the left wing. Only found himself in position to break down the defense once or twice, and failed to create anything especially promising from it.

Jack Jewsbury, 5 Held most of the game as Chara looked to get forward. The result was that nothing from Jack really jumped off the screen, although he did show nicely in defense on more than one occasion.

Diego Chara, 6 Perhaps his best road effort of the season. Was electric at times moving the ball up the center of the midfield and distributing out to the wings. Created several turnovers by using his signature sidling defense. And yes, I do believe that was a legitimate cramp.

Sal Zizzo, 6 Would go higher if his last ball hadn’t betrayed him a couple times. In the first half and early on in the second, Sal constituted the vast majority of the attack.

Kenny Cooper, 5 The big fella has to put that 85^th minute shot on frame, good play by MacMath or not. Still, between that and his other shot from distance, even the most cynical Cooper detractors would have to admit that he posed a danger to the Union defense.

Jorge Perlaza, 5.5 Really nice run to create his opportunity at the end of the half. The pickings were meager for him, as the left side behind him wasn’t functioning all that well. I do question his early exit. The Timbers best opportunities were coming on the counterattack, and Perlaza brings much more in that facet of the game than Dike.

Bright Dike, 4 Let’s be honest here; he didn’t do anything other than commit fouls and end Timbers possession in the attacking third. I love his work rate and I love his mentality, but he was out of control on Saturday.

Rodney Wallace, 5 Had a decent, if unspectacular, brief outing at left midfield.

Darlington Nagbe, 5 Filled in for Zizzo anonymously.

Onward, Rose City!

—by Andrew Brawley

I like Philadelphia, and I don’t like that I can’t be there more often. Trading Places was filmed there. Ween and the Dead Milkmen are from there. Then there’s all that history stuff like the Liberty Bell and the Constitutional Convention. Oh, and cheesesteaks (which are pure awesome until Cheez Whiz is slathered on…seriously Philly, would real melted cheese be so bad?). This city also happens to be a major hub for sports fans…that of the fanatical breed. I doubt anyone will have to worry about any sort of away-day experience like an Eagles game (or a Dodgers game), but after the local supporters’ group’s not-so-favorable feature in GQ UK, who knows what mood they’ll be in (I know I wouldn’t be stoked about such an article...which is why I’m thankful that our own alt-weekly covers us in unabridged, non-cherry-picked fashion).

Anyway, my buddy Rob, a.k.a. Bobby Soup, has graciously offered up a few tips for the City of Brotherly Love. He’s one of my old music industry pals who also learned that being in LA is harmful to your soul. Hope they treat you well.

The public transportation from the airport sucks, so if you don’t have access to a car, your best bet is a taxi.

As far as Philly goes, I guess off hand I would recommend Pat's and Geno's. They are the famous cheese steak places in South Philly, and they are right across the street from each other.

The 9th Street Italian Market is fun.

Also the Reading Terminal Market is great, too. Tons of food stands.

The better local bars can be found in south Philly, whereas the bars on South street are a mix of locals along with the tourists they’re hosting.

In August of 2011 the 107ist board decided to award two scholarships to two exceptional young men Alex Segovia and Rubio Mendez-Rubin whom after years of hard of dedication both young men earned an incredible honor to study and train at the IMG Academy as two of the top 40 U-16 players in the United States. Prior to this both had participated in the U-14 US National Soccer Development Program Team during the 2009/2010 season.

Alex and Rubio come from close-knit, hard-working families and share the important value of love of family and friends. The boys serve as an inspiration to all. Despite their modest means, both families have made extreme sacrifices in an effort to support their respective son’s pursuit of playing soccer at the highest level. The boys and their parents understand the importance of the educational opportunity associated with the residency program and will place primary emphasis on academic achievement as a precursor to success on the field. Success and balance in both disciplines will advance Alex and Rubio one step closer to their goal of one day playing on the men’s U.S. Soccer National Team.

Alex Segovia – His first experience playing organized soccer was his U-13 season at Westside Metros 2008/2009. In addition to team practices Alex spends countless hours at soccer fields working on and improving his skills with his brothers, friends and teammates. Alex possesses a strong, yet quiet confidence in himself and is very competitive – he meets challenges head on and just keeps his eyes on the goal. His dedication and commitment has resulted in him earning this incredible opportunity to advance his personal growth and development both off and on the pitch.

Rubio Mendez-Rubin – He is one of the original Westside Metros youth development players that has lead his team to four Oregon State Cup Championships starting his U-11 season. It was clear to everyone that witnessed him play, even at a young age, that he was a special player. His passion for the game of soccer, his competitive spirit and personal drive are beyond measure. He plays with heart, every minute of the match, no matter what the temperature, score or opponent. The fire inside him to dream big and achieve at the highest level started long ago. At ten years, when other kids missed practice because they couldn’t find a ride, Rubio rode the city bus. He’s humble, yet supremely confident in himself. On occasion you will see him smile or laugh when he plays- just because he loves to play the game of soccer. Even players on opposing teams have become “fans” out of respect for his ability and approach to the game.

Over 80 Timbers Army members volunteered at the Oregon Food Bank on Saturday morning, and a great time was had by all, young and old. We packed snap peas and pasta, to the tune of more than 14,000 pounds; which means that each volunteer was responsible for packing roughly 500 servings of food that will benefit those in need, and all in only two hours of work.

Timbers Army at OFB West in Beaverton

This was the second time we've had an organized TA day at the Food Bank, and we had big groups at both the Portland and Beaverton locations. We'll have these outings roughly every three months from now on, with our next coming sometime in December. Watch this space for further details, and if you'd like to receive updates about future dates, email me at Lucas.Grzybowski@107ist.org and I'll add you to the list.

Two hours of your time can help bring food to hundreds of hungry people, so thanks again to everyone who volunteered, and thanks to Oregon Food Bank for making it so easy to help.

—by Chris Rifer

The Portland Timbers logged perhaps their biggest win as an MLS club on Thursday night, knocking off Chivas USA 1-0 in a match rife with playoff implications. Before the match, many had professed it to be make or break, but for one reason or another it didn’t have the feel of a big game. There were no bright lights. There was only slightly above average giddiness in the Timbers Army. There was almost no national pregame hype. And yet, when you looked at the table, the importance was obvious. A win and the Timbers were right in the thick of the playoff race. A loss, and Portland was probably cooked.

Luckily for the Rose City faithful, the Timbers had a complete grasp on the importance of the moment. From the first whistle, Portland showed tremendous impetus going forward. Portland shelled Chivas early, culminating in a Kalif Alhassan 5^th minute cross that Goats keeper Dan Kennedy snagged just before it fell to the head of a waiting Sal Zizzo planted at the far post.

For the entirety of the first half Portland would keep applying the pressure. The Timbers moved the ball effectively down the left side, leading to countless crosses into the box from both Mike Chabala and Kalif Alhassan. Chivas created the occasional chance—namely a Laurent Courtois strike from distance that Troy Perkins just tapped over the bar—but was held on its heels through the entirety of the first stanza.

For just a brief second in the 32^nd minute it appeared as though Portland was destined to pull ahead. Jack Jewsbury sent a ball from the right wing into the box, where David Horst had muscled his way on the ball. Horst’s header appeared fated for the net, but at the last moment Kennedy switched directions, dove, and tapped the ball just wide.

In the 44^th minute, the Timbers would stop teasing. Chabala, taking over the duties on corner kicks from the right side, sent an in-swinger to the near post, where Eric Brunner got just enough of a head on the ball to redirect it across the goal, past a helpless Kennedy, and into the side netting.

In the second half Portland would trade dominance for defense. Down a goal, Chivas began to show much more intent in coming forward, but the Timbers defense was more than up to the task. Led by some brilliant play from their center backs, prominently including the extra-human performance of David Horst, for the first part of the half the Timbers limited the Goats to efforts from distance that were easily mopped up by Troy Perkins.

The Timbers, meanwhile, showed that they could create some chances on the counter. A Kenny Cooper crack from distance was parried away by Kennedy. Kalif Alhassan’s chip from 30 yards forced Kennedy into action again. Finally, a last-ditch tackle forced Diego Chara to send an effort just wide of Kennedy’s post.

Chivas wasn’t done yet, however. In the 73^rd minute, Marcos Mondaini sent a volley off of a long ball just wide of the far post. In the late stages, the Goats continued to pin down the Portland defense, as the once stalwart legs looked to get a bit heavier. Finally, two minutes into stoppage time, a headed cross fell to an unmarked Courtois in the box. This was the moment— the Rod Wallace handball moment, the Drew Moor moment—that had haunted the Timbers all season. This time, though, Courtois had his steps mixed up. Instead of a clinical finish with the right, he was forced into an awkward stab with his left. His effort sailed wide, and Portland pocketed three hard fought points.

The match more than met the moment. This was a big game complete with inspired play by the boys in green, thwarted opportunities, a brilliant goal, and gritty defense to hang on through the drama to the finish. The ramifications are complex, but can be summed up quite simply: The Timbers are still in contention.

Match Observations

• It’s too bad that match was buried in a midweek showdown on regional TV. That is exactly the kind of match that MLS needs to get out to households across the country to show that this league can be top notch without involving gimmicks like David Beckham. Make no mistake, on Wednesday night there were two teams out there desperate to win. There was fantastic drama. There was physical play. There was everything a sports fan could ask for in a soccer match. Except there weren’t that many viewers.
• I thought John Spencer was a little bit slow with his substitutions. By the 65^th or 70^th minute it was clear that some legs were starting to get a bit heavy. Specifically, Sal Zizzo and Mike Chabala looked completely cooked. With Chivas having to burn two substitutions early in the match, the Timbers would have done well to bring on some fresh legs, control possession, and make Chivas chase the match a little bit more. Instead, Portland seemed spent and had to retreat into a shell a little bit. With the exception of a couple nervous moments, it worked out well. But still, it created some pretty nervous moments.
• The last couple matches at home have been vintage Timbers.[1] Portland has gone back to the direct style that was successful for them early in the season. Portland has looked to play the ball up the wings a lot more and send balls into the box. The difference between this and that early-season tactic, to me at least, is the play of Diego Chara. Whereas in April and May the Timbers pretty much exclusively moved the ball up the wings, now Chara brings a different element. If given a little bit of space he brings the threat of being able to take the ball into the teeth of the defense. As has been thoroughly discussed on message boards around Soccer City, it is not necessarily the prettiest style of play, and it usually doesn’t show that well on the stat sheet (possession in the low 40s again), but it has produced results in the last two matches.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 6 Okay, not even the Perkins detractors could detract from this performance. Name one moment in the match where he did anything subpar. I dare you. That’s what I thought. He doesn’t get an amazing grade because he was very well protected through most of the night, but still, when called upon he was stellar.

Mike Chabala, 5 Chabala was fantastic in the first half. He was marauding. He was effective defensively. And he was Chewy on the Spot with his crosses and set pieces. As the second half wore on, though, he lost his legs and became a complete liability. Lots of his men—Justin Braun, most often—were left unmarked in the box. So, it all evens out to a 5.

David Horst, 8 In his poorer moments of the night, he was very good. In his best moments of the night he was superhuman. Most of the time he was somewhere around fantastic. There was one sequence in particular where he cleared three Chivas efforts in quick succession. I know Brunner scored, but Horst is my Man of the Match.

Eric Brunner, 7 I’m sorry pal. Any other night and you would probably be MotM. No, you didn’t do anything wrong in defense. You were really good there. And yes, you scored a really nice goal. I know, I know. I’m not undervaluing that. But seriously, did you see what Horst was doing all night? Don’t take it personally, Eric. David just logged the best defensive effort of the year by a Timber. And yes, I just spent most of Brunner’s grade space talking more about Horst.

Lovel Palmer, 5.5 Had a nice evening on the right side. He certainly doesn’t get forward as much as Chabala does, but I imagine Brunner and Horst secretly appreciate that. Still, he showed some signs of getting more comfortable in the green shirt on Wednesday.

Kalif Alhassan, 6 One of his better outings. Was great on the ball, and again was smart in mostly making the simple pass. Most exciting was that he put a couple on frame. A few more of those, Kalif, and you might just log yourself a goal. Baby steps, though, baby steps.

Diego Chara, 6 I love how active he is. He didn’t have his best night, and was somewhere short of ridiculously effective, but I would still say he was very effective.

Jack Jewsbury, 6 I noticed him more in defense than I usually do. Late in the second half he had one particularly nice sequence where he picked up a man in the box on the ball with his back to goal, shut him down, and made him play the ball out of the box. Just the kinds of things Jack can do that don’t always go noticed.

Sal Zizzo, 4.5 Wasn’t awful. Had a few nice crosses, and was maybe even a bit unlucky to have Kennedy pick off what would have been a tap-in goal. It looks to me like he’s still struggling through some tired legs. He’ll be as pleased as anybody to see the off week after D.C.

Kenny Cooper, 5.5 Did an awful lot of dirty work, and also had a couple nice sequences on the ball. I really like when he hits balls from distance. For having such great pace on the ball, he does a good job of keeping it down and on frame. When defenses are preoccupied by the quickness of Perlaza, that very well could end up being a nice way to tally a surprise goal.

Jorge Perlaza, 4.5 Struggled just a touch with his first touch. Even then, he came oh-so-close to notching a second straight assist to his countryman. I’ll also say this, Chivas was paying a lot of attention to him defensively. I better stop typing before I talk myself out of this grade.

Eric Alexander, 4.5 When he came on he looked understandably out of sorts. As the minutes wore on, though, he seemed to be finding himself a little bit. More importantly, when are we going to be able to find this guy some meaningful training time? Oh, right, next week. Don’t expect much from him until after that.

Darlington Nagbe, 5 Had a couple moments of nice possession, but was otherwise pretty quiet.

Rod Wallace, 5 Was the prudent move to make, but he didn’t provide much cover for the ailing Chabala. Can’t really blame Rod for anything, though.

Onward, Rose City!