—by Chris Rifer

So here we are, at the first true turning point of the inaugural MLS season. Sure, there have been ups and downs before this week, but this feels like the first time this season there has been legitimate concern about an extended slide.

The first five minutes on Saturday started encouragingly. Portland controlled possession and showed some early promise going toward goal. Unfortunately, for the first half, that was about it.

Possession remained fairly even through the first stanza—with neither team doing a fantastic job of stringing passes together. Chivas USA, however, looked by far the more dangerous team going forward—three times forcing Troy Perkins into serious action. Chivas repeatedly asked questions of Portland’s Brunner-less defense, and nobody but Perkins seemed to have any answers.

The Timbers best chance came in the 19^th minute from a Jack Jewsbury set piece from 30 yards out on the right wing. David Horst was able to get a head to the ball, but it was deflected away by a flailing—and perhaps a bit lucky—an Kennedy.

The Timbers started to apply a bit more pressure on the Chivas defense in the second half. Through the first twenty minutes, Portland controlled much of the possession and largely played in their attacking half. The Timbers couldn’t reap the benefits of their possession, however, as shoddy service thwarted Portland’s attack time and again.

Finally, in the 70^th minute, Chivas broke what looked more and more like a stalemate, as Paulo Nagamura sent a bending cross in past a disorganized Timbers defense for Marcos Mondaini, who easily tapped it home. The Timbers lack of shape and miserable marking were all the more embarrassing considering the run up to the play consisted of Chivas meekly passing the ball around their own half, then jogging into their own half past a shocked-looking Portland defense.

Portland’s search for an equalizer was largely in vain, as two Jack Jewsbury shots from distance were the best the Timbers could muster, forcing Rose City to limp out of The Home Depot Center for the second time in this young season.

Match Observations

• After a heartbreaking loss to D.C. United and a reported good week of practice, this effort was a little bit shocking to me. The Timbers seemed listless and at times even a little disinterested. The backline was disorganized all day, the midfield looked overwhelmed, and the strikeforce looked like they were on an island and didn’t care much to get off.
• Eric Brunner might just be the most important player to this team. Saturday it was clear how much he was missed. The guy is the anchor of the Timbers defense, and without him the backline looked completely adrift. There were some nice individual plays, but the shape was awful and the marking was nonexistent. If you can stomach it, go back and watch the Chivas goal. Here is what the shape pretty much looked like: Rod Wallace at striker, Futty playing left wing, Jack Jewsbury at left back, David Horst and Jeremy Hall and center back, and Sal Zizzo at right back. Other than Jewsbury applying some pressure to Nagamura, everybody else that was involved wasn’t marking anybody. Point is, if you have a spare moment today, take Brunner some orange juice and chicken soup.
• Okay, so there is no such thing as a must-win in early June, and anybody who says otherwise is either exaggerating or dumb, but Saturday’s game against the Rapids is definitely more important than your run of the mill regular season match. Portland is coming off of two losses against teams that, frankly, they are better than. A loss on Saturday and the Timbers would be staring a long losing streak right in the face, with fixtures against New York and FC Dallas coming down the pipe. In the grand scheme, dropping two in a row isn’t a big deal, but going five in a row with little to speak of in the way of points would be devastating to the Timbers’ playoff hopes.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 7 The best performance Portland has had from a keeper this year. This match could have easily been 1- or 2-nil at half but for Perkins’ heroics. By far the man of the match.

Rod Wallace, 4.5 The Chivas offense was going up his side much of the night, but probably not because of him. Defensive mistakes in the midfield meant Rod had to play a lot of defense a long way from goal with acres of room behind him. That’s a tough spot for an outside back, so Rod doesn’t get all the blame here, but he also didn’t exactly handle it brilliantly.

Futty, 4 Again, had to scramble for much of the night, often forced to play out on the left wing because of Rod being pulled upfield. Still, he was the guy that the defense was looking to provide some leadership in the absence of Brunner. Made some nice individual plays, but as the leader of the defense, a couple nice plays isn’t enough to warrant a positive grade.

David Horst, 4.5 Also had a few nice individual plays, but is also partially culpable for the disorganization of the backline. Made a couple more plays than Futty, and also doesn’t bear as much of the cross for the failure of leadership.

Jeremy Hall, 4.5 Remember last week when we talked about Jeremy’s propensity to disappear on the pitch for periods? About that…

Kalif Alhassan, 4 I really like the guy, but he played really poorly. Didn’t do a whole lot offensively in the midfield and was brutalized defensively a number of times.

Diego Chara, 5 Created as much offense as anybody in the midfield, and wasn’t bad defensively, but he and Jewsbury didn’t do nearly as good a job controlling the game in the center of the pitch as they have the last few weeks.

Jack Jewsbury, 5 Had a couple nice strikes at goal, and was maybe even a bit unlucky that one didn’t find net, but doesn’t get much of a reward due to the inability to establish much control over the match.

Sal Zizzo, 4.5 Could never establish himself a good position, partially because he was being flipped every 25 minutes and partially because he was pinned in defense for extended periods.

Jorge Perlaza, 5.5 Perlaza was really the only guy that brought much in the way of urgency to the match. His final ball betrayed him a few times, but at least he was getting himself in a position to send a final ball in.

Kenny Cooper, 4 Holy overcompensation, Batman! Last week he was all ants in the pants in netting 4 offside calls. This week he was barely on the pitch. Remember when this guy used to work his butt off to get the ball at his feet – even if that meant tracking back into the midfield? He drew fouls, created opportunities, and even scored a few goals. Coop needs to get back to those days.

Darlington Nagbe, 6 I thought this was actually one of Darlington’s better outings. He brought a dimension on the ball that had been sorely lacking earlier in the game, showed a desire to go at goal, and successfully created a few chances.

Eddie Johnson, 5 Had a couple nice moments, but ultimately didn’t make much of a difference. Was much more active than Cooper, though, which is as much as anything a sign of how big a funk KFC is in right now.

James Marcelin, 5 Sort of a weird substitution, but in Spenny’s defense, there really weren’t any good options.

Onward, Rose City!

Looks like we're finally going to get a break from our current trend of rain, wind, rain, cold, rain. I can just imagine the swarms of hipsters already planning on descending to Colonel Summers Park.

I remember when my coaches stepped up the practice intensity. It usually involved being long, painful, and a lot of sweat.

If you didn't already know. The Timbers are still looking for their first road win and hoping to pull it off in Los Angeles against Chivas. USA not Guadalajara.

John Spencer doesn't mind that we've been called offsides more times than any other team in MLS but one. I don't mind much either.

They announced Game C today that is included in your season tickets package. Take your time to educate yourselves about Independiente and their storied history.

Good day to you all

Did everyone get their Axe Society gifts in the mail yesterday? Gotta admit that first game ticket is pretty cool. Kind of wish I could fit my real one in there too. Did everyone keep theirs or am I the only one?

If you can't make it to the Timbers U-23s vs. Kitsap Puma's US Open Cup play in game on Friday (you should really try) the Timbers will have it streaming live. So that's pretty awesome. I did notice it will be on USL Live. No word ye...buffering, buffering, buffering, buffering...

Kip "Oldballs" Kesgard has a really great look back about what we know 1/3 of the way through the season on the Timbers Blog at Oregonlive.

If DC's Ben Olsen thought Sunday's atmosphere was great just wait until he comes back and we aren't a tiny bit off like we were on Sunday. RAWR CONTROVERSY ANGRY ANGRY

Our mayor Sam Adams gave the mayor of Sao Paulo, Brazil and Portland Timbers scarf.

Good day to you all.

"All the Marbles" in this case being a spot in the US Open Cup.

Prost Amerika is reporting that the front offices of the Timbers and Kitsap Pumas have agreed, with the blessing of the United Soccer Leagues, to allow their league match this Friday (June 3, 11am, JELD-WED Field, $5 general admission) to count as the tie-breaker for the deadlocked PDL NW Division qualifying group.

Further adding to the excitement, the Timbers have decided to broadcast the game via webstream, so all of you employed people, who can't get away from the office, can watch the game in your cubicles.

If you've never made it to a U23 game, here are a few players with whom to familiarize yourself:

First and foremost has got to be Brent Richards: Camas, Washington's favorite son, Bicycle Brent is a true talent in midfield, and one of a handful of players (along with standouts Tracy Hasson, Steven Evans, Roberto Farfan and keeper Garrett Staples) who have been with the U23 team since they began play in 2009. He has been a difference-maker since the very beginning, notching two assists in the team's second game, and two goals in the following match.

Richards finished 2009 with only four goals, but in 2010 he emerged as a bona fide star, leading the team with 16 goals. He scored twice in the national title game vs Thunder Bay Chiiiillllll (who were not very Chiiiiilllll) at PGE Park, en route to a 4-1 win, which capped off a perfect 20-0-0 season. The highlight of Brent's season wasn't the title game though; he scored four against the hapless Spokane Spiders one night in front of 247 people in Tigard, Oregon. He had a hat-trick by halftime, including what remains the single most amazing goal I've ever personally witnessed: a full overhead bicycle kick goal, taken from about 10 yards out, off a deflected cross.

Dazzling, stupendous, sublime, Brent Richards is for real. He already has one hat trick this season, but has only played in three of the team's first five games due to his scholastic commitments at the University of Washington, where he is just about to complete his junior year. Friday is the last day of regular classes at U-Dub before final exams, and I want all #RCTID Timbers fans to join me in urging Brent: SKIP CLASS! Would you rather kill time on the last day of classes, when nothing of substance happens anyway, or help the U23s qualify for the US Open Cup against their best and staunchest rival? The choice is clear Brent: Soccer Rules, School Drools!

(Edit to add: Our John Strong hinted on twitter this evening that Richards may indeed have gotten a note from his Mom and will play tomorrow. Fingers crossed!)

He's wee! He's ace! He flies through Time and Space! (Photo by Sarah Alley)

Another three-year standout with this team is former Oregon State Beaver, and Lake Oswego product Tracy Hasson. The winger may be short in stature, standing a mere 5'4", but he is pure energy and dynamism on the pitch, often winning head balls vs much taller players, and generally working his ass off, flying up the right side to deliver crosses into the box. Plus, if you include his hair, he's like 5'9".

Hasson has been a constant on the right side of the U23 midfield since they began play in 2009, and has been a big factor in their success. Up until this season, you always saw a certain lack of quality to go along with his indefatigable energy; he'd race 60 yards to beat a defender to a ball, then half the time he'd deliver a bad cross or boot it out for a goal kick. This season though, Tracy looks to have improved his game without sacrificing any of that manic energy that makes him such a joy to watch. Of the three games I've seen, he looks like overall the best player on the team; and that's saying something, considering he's on a squad with Brent Richards, Bim Ogunyemi and emerging star Miles Byass, all of whom have been superb.

Here's a nice Tracy Hasson highlight package video; at the 1:25 mark you can see what I mean about his surprising aerial prowess, as he opens the scoring in the title game with a looping header from 10 yards.

Other players to watch:

Paul "Bim" Ogunyemi - The Bim beneath my wings, the Real Bim Shady, the Notorious B.I.M., our left-sided midfielder was selected by FC Dallas in the superdraft. But Dallas is stupid, so they cut him, so his speed and strength continue to provide a great counterpunch to Hasson on the right.

Miles Byass - our new striker has a cannon for a leg and he's not afraid to use it; just ask the Tacoma keeper, who helplessly watched a Badass Byass strike sail into his net just a minute into the second half last Sunday in Clackamas.

Ryan Kawulok - the massive center back, who also stars for the University of Portland Pilots, was all-league last year, and his steady, calm play has helped the U23s to four shutouts in their first five games. Kawulok has also trained with the Colorado Rapids Soccer Academy, though I don't know if or how this affects his potential "homegrown" status with the Timbers (any help from the soccerheads out there? Bob? Tifo nerds?).

The Three Rickys - Messrs. Abrego, Dorrego and Carrillo are all currently coming off the bench for the U23s, but all have contributed much to the team. Forward Ricky Abrego scored the winner in the PDL Western Conference final last year, to beat tomorrow's opponent Kitsap and earn the U23s a date in the national final four. Ricky Dorrego and Ricardo Carrillo provide an active second-half oomph in the midfield, when lesser teams' players are flagging. At some point in tomorrow's game, say around the 75th minute, it's quite likely that if you yell "OOHHHHH RICKY RICKY!" you'll be cheering for 27 percent of the Timbers currently on the pitch.

Nick Palodichuk - In the three games I've seen this season, Palodichuk hasn't been the most eye-popping player on the pitch, but the central midfielder has drawn high praise for his stellar career at Camas HS and his heroics for the USA at the 2009 U-17 World Cup, and everyone in the know is predicting big things for him. Nick is a big kid and certainly fills up space in the middle of the park; here's hoping he can continue his growth with the Timbers U23. (Note: Palodichuk is an academy product of...*them*...but I don't know if this absolutely prevents him attaining homegrown status with the Timbers. For now he's ours and while that's the case he gets one hundred percent of my support.)

Former Timber and current radio color-man Ross "Short Shorts" Smith has put in some time in the back line as an over-age exemption (PDL teams are allowed three O23 players). Smith only played one season for the Timbers, but he's embraced the team and the town, and you have to see it as a boon to the organization that he's stuck around in his various capacities.

Oh and some guy named Scot has been playing center back and wearing the captain's armband, and looking great doing it. No fooling.

---

Kitsap Pumas have been the U23s best rival by far since both teams came into existence in 2009; even with a perfect season last year, the Timbers U23 were edged by Kitsap on goal-differential for the USOC spot. This year, thanks to some surprisingly sensible thinking by all parties, there will be no ambiguity: if it's tied after 90 minutes it will count as a draw for the league, but we'll get a penalty shootout to determine who goes on to face Chivas El Paso Patriots in the first round of the US Open Cup.

Come out and support the kiddos! Take an early lunch! Take two lunches! Tickets are only $5, and it should be a decent crowd (of little kids) at Jeld-Wen Field.

I received one suggestion for naming this here daily link thing. I'm going to use it unless something far more creative comes to me. Besides that I like it anyway.

Are you a season ticket holder? Head to the stadium to sample their prawn sandwiches on June 21st. Yum!

Kenny Cooper is a little regretful about his sideshow on Sunday against DC United.

In their continuing efforts to try and copy the huge success of Toronto FC our very polite Canadian friends to the North have sacked Teitur Thordarson and replaced him with Tom Soehn just 11 games into the season. The Southsiders once again don't agree with the Vancouver front office's decision. For a club that was pretty much a model of consistency and success during their time in the second division they're really doing a good job of trashing that tradition.

FIFA's Congress happened. SURPRISE they reelected Sepp Blatter. In one of the more humorous moments of today's proceedings FIFA allowed this guy on stage to trash England for trying to expose the corruption. These last few days sure have been interesting.

On a side note. If you ever questioned whether you should wear facepaint to a Timbers game the answer is no. NO NO NO NO NO. The comment win, "Sounders fans: The juggalos of MLS."

Good day to you all.

—by Garrett Dittfurth

Since we here at the Timbers Army blog are only here to create controversy we've come up with something new. Towards the end of the day or early evening I will troll through the internet and find various pieces of news that might be of interest so you can continue being lazy and not doing it yourself. Please thank Hierarchy5 for the idea on your own time. I'm going to start today and go from here out. So...

I don't know what I should call this as it will likely become a daily section. If you have any ideas please share below in the comments and then I will judge you based on your suggestions. Whattaya think?

Because the Timbers U-23s and Kitsap Pumas clearly have the largest sets of stones in the PDL they're going to use this Friday's 11:00 a.m. PDL match at JELD-WEN Field as the determining factor of who gets to play in the US Open Cup. Come on you saplings!

John Spencer is certainly a firery coach. Something gives me the idea that his players would die on the pitch for him. Stumptown Footy has a poll up and you can have an opinion on the matter as well.

If you haven't been following the FIFA and CONCACAF bribery scandal that's been going on you're missing out. It's fun of hijinx and plenty of drama. In today's news the acting CONCACAF chairman tried to fire the General Secretary Chuck Blazer. Who knows how this is going to play out because Chuck Blazer controls the Twitter, Facebook, and press machine of CONCACAF. Grant Wahl seems to have the same thought.

Sal Zizzo is becoming a true Portlander. Next on his list are skinny jeans and maniacal reading of Pitchfork.com.

New MLS power rankings are out. Have fun judging these completely arbitrary judgements.

Good day to you all.

—by Andrew Brawley

I think for more reasons than we care to admit, yesterday’s match against DC United will be a memorable one. A typically gloomy Pacific Northwest-style Memorial Day weekend. The penalty kick fiasco. Discussions of who was actually officiating the game (the center referee or the east linesman). No shortage of material.

One thing that I will remember is the tone of sections 101-108 & 201-208. While we were certainly louder than most other American supporters sections this weekend, I don’t believe our A-game was on display. The volume was down a notch or two. The breaks between chants seemed a bit longer. When compared to our previous five appearances this season, yesterday’s presence was above average, but not excellent.

I have a couple theories on why this happened. 1) An early Sunday afternoon game under cloudy skies (in late May) does not a festive atmosphere make. 2) DC United players of various interests (Davies, McCarty, Cronin) didn’t make an appearance. But I believe this last one might be the overarching reason:

3) Too many hangovers.

Folks, I read the Twitters and Facebooks. I know what most of us were up to. In this world where everyone shares everything at every possible juncture, it’s difficult to avoid the mundane updates. I’m just as guilty of this. So it’s not hard for me to recognize the signs. We were slower. We were quieter. We had to exert more energy for a lesser performance.

This morning I looked at the Timbers' schedule to find our next early afternoon home game. Thankfully it’s not a big deal of a game. Just a casual Sunday game, July 10th against Seattle on ESPN that kicks off (as of now) at 1:00 pm local time. No biggie.

So here’s where I’m going with this. I’m going to issue a challenge to the Timbers Army. It’s one that I know will get me a lot of flack. Some might even call it controversial. Even I’m having a hard time writing it down, but here it is:

I want all Timbers Army members to stay 100% sober on Saturday, July 9.

This includes all of July 9 (midnight to midnight), and part of July 10 (midnight to 6:00 am). You can only start drinking after 6:00 am on match day, and after you're within walking distance of JWF. That’s 30 hours of sobriety, followed by seven hours of “ramp-up time” prior to kick-off.

If we bring yesterday’s presence to the game on July 10, we’ll be begging ESPN to return to Portland in 2012. It simply won’t cut it. We have to bring everything we’ve got into the July 10 match, and coming in hung over will do far more harm than good.

So…who’s in for #ss79 (Sober Saturday on July 9th)?

—by Chris Rifer

In college I played a lot of NCAA Football 2004 on PlayStation. I know, I probably wasn’t the coolest kid on campus. But still, I was really good at NCAA 2004. Like multi-year 200-something game winning streak good. Each season, as I was slicing my way through the Pac-10 with high-double digit wins, I would run into one game where virtually everything that could go wrong did go wrong. Penalties, dropped passes, fumbles. You name it. The twists and turns of the game would be beyond absurd. Back in the day, my brother termed this game the “Oh No You Don’t Game.” Until Sunday I didn’t know the Oh No You Don’t Game happened in real life.

The match got off to its expected start with the Timbers controlling possession, if struggling to make the final pass. In an instant, however, D.C. United would turn the game on its head. In their first real push into their attacking third, Chris Pontius threw the ball inbounds to Blake Brettschneider on the endline who headed back into the box and onto the foot of Perry Kitchen. Perry knocked the ball into the open net for his first MLS goal.

The Timbers pushed hard for the equalizer in the first half, and appeared to have it when Kenny Cooper slotted past Bill Hamid. Not so fast. Cooper had jumped early on his run, and the goal was nullified by an offside call. After another Jack Jewsbury corner was cleared only as far as Diego Chara, who ran into a threatening position in the box looking to cross. Not so fast. The referee blew the whistle for halftime.

The second half got off to a similar start. Portland appeared to be pushing for the equalizer when Kenny Cooper again broke free—this time on a Jewsbury free kick from the left wing. Cooper nodded Jewsbury’s perfect service into the back of the net, and the game appeared to be back on level terms. Not so fast. Cooper had again jumped early, pulling himself offside just before Jewsbury struck the ball.

Finally, the Timbers got their equalizer. On a Jeremy Hall long throw, United defender Dejan Jakovic pulled Cooper down in the box, yielding a penalty. If things weren’t weird before, they were about to get Twilight Zone. Hamid saved Cooper’s first penalty effort, in large part because he illegally came off his line to cut down the angle. The assistant referee was on the call, and Cooper was awarded another penalty. Hamid, however, again saved the second penalty, but for the same reason—he had come off his line, and the Timbers were awarded a third penalty. This time Jewsbury stepped up to the spot and pounded the ball into the upper left corner. All was level, and the Timbers were again thinking about three points.

Not so fast. Those thoughts would be short-lived. As Chris Pontius lined up a shot at the top of the box, Diego Chara slid in to tackle the ball away. Chara missed the ball with his feet, and as he was sliding by the ball grazed over his arm as Pontius took a touch. It was about as incidental a handball as you will find, but Geoff Gamble, the young referee in his second MLS match, signaled for a penalty. Pontius smashed the penalty into the top left corner, and in the 74^th minute D.C. once again had the lead.

United looked to put the game on ice in the 85^th minute, as Josh Wolff took a ball off the head of Brettschneider and slotted it past a charging but isolated Troy Perkins. We’re done, right? Not so fast.

Just three minutes later, Hall again took a long throw and found the head of Jorge Perlaza, who nodded it into the bottom right corner past Hamid. Three minutes later in stoppage time it was again Perlaza, whose shot from distance beat Hamid but skipped tantalizingly wide of the target. In the end, Portland couldn’t find the final equalizer and dropped their first league match at Jeld-Wen Field.

Match Observations

• I hate talking about the referee a lot in match reports, but when they affect the game like Gamble did, it demands discussion. First off, the linesman was correct to disallow Cooper’s goals. He was offside both times, although the second was quite a bit closer than the first. That should not in any way be taken a vindication of Gamble and his crew. They were atrocious. First off, I have never seen a half or fulltime whistle blown when the attacking team had possession of the ball in the box. It is true that added time is entirely at the discretion at the referee, but referees generally exercise their discretion more responsibly in blowing the whistle after the danger has been cleared. Moreover, Gamble flat blew the Chara handball. When he was talking about it with Jewsbury after the play, the camera appeared to show him motioning to Captain Jack like Chara had hooked the ball in his arm. Nothing could be further from reality. The ball did glance off Chara’s arm, but only really as a result of a Pontius touch, and the incidental touch on Chara’s arm did not affect the play in any way. Chara certainly did not reach for the ball, and his arm was not really even extended away from his body. Is that a handball at midfield? Probably, but to give a game-changing penalty for such an incidental, inconsequential handball is the height of refereeing irresponsibility. Lest we think the bad calls only went D.C.’s way, however, there were plenty of head-scratchers that favored Portland. My favorite? Jeremy Hall went up to make a play on a long ball in the first half, but out-ran the ball. As he was flying by, he blatantly handled the ball. Gamble made a call, but incredibly awarded the free kick to the Timbers. I think I’ve said my bit on this subject.
• Portland didn’t deserve to win the match. The defense that has been so reliable was bad all day. They were constantly caught out of shape and left Perkins on an island several times. The Timbers’ midfield dominated the match, as Portland had a 60-40 possession advantage and, for once, didn’t get killed in passing accuracy. United only had 7 open play crosses and two corners, to the Timbers 23 and 8, respectively. In spite of that, Portland’s backline escorted D.C. to 10 shots with five on target. Perhaps the loss was a bit unjust, but the defense simply didn’t play well enough to earn three points.
• In the first half, Portland showed an alarming lack of quality and creativity in the attacking third. Again, the midfield was dominant, but when Portland moved into the attacking third they showed little in the way of danger.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 5 I had a hard time with this one. None of the goals were really a result of his mistakes, and he did make a couple nice saves. That said, he also had a self-inflicted nervous moment or two that he escaped from. Not his best match, but he’s not the reason the Timbers lost.

Rodney Wallace, 4 One of the culpable parties on the third goal. It was sort of a fluky goal, but he and Futty should have had Wolff bracketed. Wallace, though, was wrongsided and too far behind, letting the ball bounce to Wolff’s feet and put the Timbers in critical condition.

Futty, 4.5 I’m not sure why Wallace was playing behind Wolff and Futty was in front of him, or why Futty had drifted so far up field when Brettschneider played the ball in the air. Nonetheless, he gets a half bump up for being robbed of a goal by a great save in the first half.

Eric Brunner, 5 Wasn’t his steadying self in the center of the defense, but gets spared a negative grade because he really wasn’t culpable on any of the goals.

Jeremy Hall, 5.5 Had a number of nice long throws, including two that led to eventual goals. He also may have been Portland’s best player in defense today. Still, on the big screen before the match Jeremy said that he wished he could have the superpower of invisibility. Funny, because there are some times when he appears to have that superpower.

Kalif Alhassan, 5 Was pretty dynamic on the ball at times, making several nice runs at goal and collecting the ball well at midfield. That said, he had his fingerprints all over the first concession, as Kitchen was his mark and Kalif was left watching as young Perry slotted the ball home.

Diego Chara, 6 I am learning to appreciate Chara more and more. He has a pretty remarkable knack for dispossessing opposing players of the ball. It’s like he sort of just sidles up to them and before anybody knows it, Chara has himself between his foe and the ball. His passing in the midfield is by far the crispest (Microsoft assures me that’s a word) on the team.

Jack Jewsbury, 6.5 He and Chara teamed to dominate the midfield, and it was a wise move (probably by Spenny) for Jack to take the third penalty and put it home. My one criticism: After Gamble awards that penalty to D.C., Captain Jack needs to get in his face a bit more. Gamble needs to feel the heat of that call, and Jewsbury was a bit too nice. Compare Jack’s reaction after a bad penalty call against D.C.’s reaction after a pretty obvious penalty call. This referee showed that he was bullyable (that definitely isn’t a word), and in that situation Jack needs to be more of a bully.

Sal Zizzo, 5 Had some nice runs up the right side, but really didn’t create that much from them. Today was Sallie’s chance to show that the difference between he and Nagbe was too dramatic to keep starting Darlington. He failed.

Jorge Perlaza, 6 As Spencer put it last week, his movement is electric. Was deserving of the goal he notched late to make things interesting. Unlucky not to find the equalizer in stoppage that would have sent Jeld-Wen into pandemonium.

Kenny Cooper, 3.5 Boy, oh boy. I love how active Cooper was trying to be up front, but he was caught offside four times—twice famously. He has to do a better job with that. He was getting good service today, but nullified a lot of it. Also, when your manager calls you off a PK—especially after you have had the first two (illegally) saved—just step back and let your teammate take it. His reaction to that took him out of the game at a crucial time. Not what you want from your target man. He is in no danger of benching, nor should he be, but Kenny has to put this very bad day at the office behind him and break out of his funk.

Ryan Pore, 5 Moved very well up front, but when it came time to make the decisive touch he was tragically lacking.

Adam Moffat, INC Didn’t make much of an impact in short duty. To be honest, it was kind of a funny move by Spencer, as Chara had been good. Shouldn’t have shaved his beard, either.

Belated Ajax Observations

• First of all, that was a lot of fun. Ajax is probably internationally a top-10 club, and their quality and depth showed throughout.
• All things considered, I thought the Timbers actually acquitted themselves pretty well. Obviously, Ajax more than outclassed Portland, but other than the two goals—one of which we will get to in a moment—Ajax really didn’t have many great opportunities. Portland’s defensive shape was pretty good throughout, and the team of Brunner, Futty, and Horst in the middle were at times dominant.
• Speaking of Brunner, Futty, and Horst, at the start of the season I strongly felt that the Timbers needed to bring in another central back in order to be successful. I was wrong. Those three guys have showed that they have what it takes to lock down a solid backline, leaving the Timbers a lot of options with what they can spend their remaining money on. NOTE: I wrote this before the United match. I think I still stand by it, but reserve the right to change my mind at a future date. After all, what’s the point of writing about sports if you can’t shamelessly flip-flop? Right, John Canzano?
• Eddie Johnson’s missed opportunity was one of the worst misses I have seen by anybody in a Timbers uniform. The cross was pretty much perfect and he couldn’t have been more than three yards out from a wide open net.
• He only got a few minutes of run, but I thought Kalif was again electric. If, as rumored, Ajax has their eye on him, they must have liked what they saw in his brief stint.

First Trimester Awards

We’re approximately one-third the way through the season, and because I have nothing better to do, I decided to hand out some awards and grade the front office. Of course, as always, sound off.

MVP – Jack Jewsbury. Is there any question that the most important factor in the Timbers’ early season success has been the set piece? No. Who has their hand in every set piece taken? Captain Jack. Therefore, he is your MVP. Honorable Mention: Eric Brunner, Kalif Alhassan.

Biggest Surprise – Kalif Ahassan. I expected him to get some minutes this year, but I didn’t think he was going to be a regular starter, much less one of the Timbers’ best players. He has picked up right where he left off the late stages of last year, and continued to improve and show more of that tremendous potential. He is either going to be a great Timber for a long time or earn the club a hefty transfer fee. Honorable Mention: Futty, Jake Gleeson.

Biggest Disappointment – Kevin Goldthwaite. The Timbers signed him last year expecting him to come in and compete for a starting spot on the MLS roster. He won that starting spot—then promptly lost it due to impressively poor performance. Since then, he hasn’t sniffed the pitch except in a virtual reserve match in U.S. Open Cup Qualifying. Dishonorable Mention: Adin Brown, Peter Lowry, Adam Moffat.

Most Improved Player – Rodney Wallace. In the first two league matches of the season, Rod was bad. Like, really bad. Like, Rebecca Black “Friday” bad. Okay, I got a little carried away there. Since then he has progressed virtually every week. Now he is the “No, No, No, No…Alright!” guy on the roster. The way he plays defense is at times a bit blood pressure-raising, but he gets the job done. His improvement is one of the major differences between what was an awful defense at the beginning of the campaign and a usually stingy one now. Honorable Mention: Kalif Alhassan, Jeremy Hall.

Most Poised to Make the Jump – Freddie Braun. Hasn’t had much first team time, but when he has, he has made the most of it. In both the Open Cup Qualifier against the Quakes and the second half against Ajax, Braun has impressed at right back. He’s still young, but the Timbers have to like what they see out of their former U-23er. Honorable Mention: Brian Umony, Jorge Perlaza. I didn’t consider Gleeson here because, well, in my mind he already has made the jump.

Grading the Front Office

John Spencer, A-: In the words of the great Yul Brenner from “Cool Runnings,” in John Spencer I see a badass motha’ who don’t take no crap off nobody. I think sometimes he lets that distract him, and perhaps the team, a little bit—as I think we saw during the post-Seattle comments. That said, Sunday aside, he has done an incredible job of turning a team that looked awful into a legitimate playoff contender in a matter of a few weeks, and if the team keeps it up he will have to be the favorite for MLS Coach of the Year.

Gavin Wilkinson, B+: His saving grace was getting the Diego Chara deal done and the resurgence of Rodney Wallace. The McCarty trade went from looking inexcusable to brilliant in a matter of a couple weeks. As is to be expected, some of his Expansion Draft picks have fallen flat (Moffat, Lowry), while others have been surprisingly successful (Brunner, Horst). His signings from the 2^nd division have generally been good, with Kalif, Futty, Gleeson, and Braun being the highlights. There have been a couple that have disappointed thus far, namely Goldthwaite and Johnson—although it’s probably too early to close the book on Eddie. In the end, the positives have far outweighed the negatives, and any questions about whether Gavin was qualified to handle such a high profile job have been resoundingly put to rest.

Merritt Paulson, A: Now granted, I am not on the inside of Army-FO relations, in fact far from it, but I don’t think from an organizational standpoint the first trimester could have gone any better. The Army and the FO appear to have a good working relationship, which has certainly helped take The North End to another level this year. The Timbers have become the darlings of the MLS because of a surprisingly quality team, creative marketing campaigns, and a loud, sold out Jeld-Wen Field. Merritt gets credit for all of these things, and also for throwing chips and hot dogs to the travelling Army in Seattle. It’s good to be the boss when things are going well, so Merritt gets the credit right now. Just don’t look to your cross-town major sports franchise owner as a role model.

2,991 words! If you have made it this far, you have my hearty congratulations and gratitude. Onward, Rose City!

—by Lucas Grzybowski

As we look forward to tonight's friendly with Dutch heavyweights AFC Ajax, I'm reminded of the first international friendly the Timbers played during the USL era. It was in my second season supporting the club, and I still feel like it was the biggest exhibition match they've played (though tonight's attendance is certain to eclipse the 15K+ we had that day). I'm talking of course about the 2005 friendly vs English club Sunderland AFC.

Photo by Allison Andrews

2004 had been a fantastic season for the Timbers, both on the pitch (winning the Commissioner's Cup before succumbing to the fish mob in the playoffs), and off it (the TA experienced a real growth spurt, eventually filling OMG the entirety of section 107!). In 2005 hopes were high: the team had cast off the old-new-old badge, with the tree motif (which I still hold dear), in favor of the new-old-new-old-NASL-retro badge (which I also still hold dear); all the new fans from the previous season were champing at the bit to get back in the park and support their newfound love; and even with the loss of super striker One(-season-wonder) Alan Gordon, the squad looked likely to repeat their success from 2004 (helped by the full signing of 2004 loanee Scot Thompson).

The 2005 season had begun well enough; the Timbers were unbeaten in their first six, but then they went into a stretch where they lost seven games out of 12, including what remains the most brutal defeat I've personally witnessed on home turf (a 0-5 drubbing at the hands of Rochester, who were at the time a perennial league powerhouse).

Then along came a team from the North East of England, who wore a candy-striped uniform and had just been promoted to the Premier League. They spoke in incomprehensible accents, they called themselves "Mackems," and they came in large and loud numbers across an ocean and a continent to support their team on a pre-season (for them) tour of the western US and Canada.

Photo by Tye Ortega

July 23, 2005 was one of the most exciting days of my time as a Timbers supporter; and that's with a game that ended in a nil-nil draw! It was the first time I'd seen PGE Park at anything close to full capacity (over 15k, which by 2010 was considered a sold-out crowd), and it was certainly the first time I'd seen opposing fans in numbers.

Photo by Allison Andrews

(An aside, in light of recent rumblings about away fans in the Woodshed: Before the match began, a Sunderland fan climbed atop the North End dugout [remember those?] to hang a PTFC/SAFC banner (see above) that they'd made for their trip. Even on this lovefest of a day, the sight of an away fan in the Shed was enough to inspire jeers and a missile to be hurled - I think it was an empty cup - at which the Mackem merely smiled and waved and continued with his work. The moral is: Keep away fans out of the Shed, no matter how friendly they are.)

A couple tidbits from the game: Byron Alvarez missed a penalty kick that would have given the Timbers a 1-0 lead, but in some way if felt good for the game to end drawn. It was the one and only appearance between the posts of fan favorite Sam Reynolds (he of the traveling TA parents), who subbed for Josh Saunders and played the second half.

Misty water-colored mem'ries...of the way we were

After the game there was much revelry. Parties were attended. Chebs were seen. Thick Mackem accents became even more inscrutable with the addition of drink. And after that raucous day, the friendships that were forged proved to be long-lasting: three dozen odd Timbers supporters made the return trip to the UK the following season to support Sunderland against English giants Manchester United (and also against one of their regional rivals).

GERRIN!

That TA trip to the UK is a good long bunch of stories, but too long for this blog post. One thing I'll mention here is that your author (pictured), one joyous night in Seaham, won, and to my knowledge is still in possession of, the "Special Relationship" Pint Drinking Championship, Individual Category. (They creamed us in the Boat Race.)

Since that time Seaham's Finest, one Gary_The_Mackem, has been back to Portland for some Timbers matches, and our own Kip and Jen Kesgard spent part of their honeymoon over in England with the Mackems. When TA nerds like me tell you it's a lifestyle, it's no bullshit!

I'm not crazy about mid-season friendlies; I think it can demean the entirety of American soccer that we play meaningless exhibitions in between real games. I'm not crazy about them, but they can be lots of fun. Meeting supporters from around the globe has been a real thrill, and an eye-opener for a soccer neonate like me. As long as the teams play friendly, and no one gets hurt, there's really little to complain about. Plus it's the only time I don't utterly hate seeing a game end in a penalty shootout (which the Timbers didn't start doing until a couple years later, I believe vs AC Milan Primavera).

Have fun with our Dutch guests tonight, and represent the Rose City proudly. Show them a good time, buy them beers, swap scarves and stories, and try to keep in mind that the game is called "friendly" for a reason. Whereas normally your opponent, no matter how high the regard in which you hold them, is an enemy for 90 minutes...perhaps tonight the Ajax supporters can be 90-minute frenemies?

The 107ist Board has agreed to join adidas and the Portland Timbers in supporting an ambitious and exciting project that will use soccer as part of an after-school program focused on elementary students in the Portland area.

The project – Portland Advantage Centers – will meld soccer with after-school programs intended to boost student achievement and literacy.  The Centers are envisioned as community gathering places hosting both recreational and organized soccer. Volunteers will work with kids on both schoolwork and soccer.

This project will kick off during the summer with a field-development project, hopefullly at James John Elementary School in North Portland.  Plans call for having six Advantage Centers running by this fall, at schools in both Portland and Beaverton.

Timbers Army and 107ist members will be invited to take part in publicity and fund-raising campaigns that will begin in June.  In addition, there will be hands-on work parties, the first of which will transform the concrete playground at James John Elementary and install a new artificial turf soccer field. 

The board discussed the proposal at three meetings, and formed a subcommittee to work further with project organizers.   We felt that the Advantage Centers project aligned well with our mission:  "To promote soccer in Portland from the grass roots to the highest professional level."