Timbers Versus DC United: Reversal Of Fortunes

Posted on May 23, 2013 by Brenaldo

The Portland Timbers are back on the road this weekend, a trip to the nation’s capital on tap as DC United serves as host at RFK Stadium on Saturday (4 PM, ROOT Sports).

Both clubs come into the match on the heels of draws in their last outings, Portland twice coming from behind to draw level at the Vancouver Whitecaps while DC earned its first point in over two months time after equalizing at home against Sporting Kansas City.

Equivalent recent results is where the comparisons end between two teams headed in opposite directions.

After making the playoffs last season with the league’s third best record and coming just short of contesting the MLS Cup, high hopes of repeating those feats were soon dashed as United laid claim to sole possession of last place in the league with losses in eight of their first ten matches to start the campaign.

Contrast that change in fortune to that of the Timbers of a year ago, a club third from bottom of the table in 2012 with realistic postseason aspirations extinguished by mid-season. The club’s nadir is now a passing shadow, the team transformed under new manager Caleb Porter as Portland sits third in the Western Conference and only five points shy of the best record in MLS courtesy of a ten match unbeaten streak.

The draw versus SKC was a welcome relief for downtrodden DCU head coach Ben Olsen, yet counterpart Porter was less enthused of his squad’s showing in spite of the fightback that saw his side claim another late tie in a Cascadian derby on the road.

While Jose Valencia’s late goal showed a glimpse of the potential potency of the club’s future strikeforce, the flat nature of the team’s performance as a whole was viewed as fortunate to avoid defeat. That elevated sense of expectation is a sign of progress for Portland, a club now considered never out of a game.

That reputation is even stronger given the fact that the draw was achieved after going a man down, a questionable red card issued to Mamadou ‘Futty’ Danso meaning fellow Gambian Pa Modou Kah will make his debut alongside Andrew Jean-Baptiste in central defense.

Kah is a veteran of the top flight in Scandinavia and the Netherlands, but after only a couple weeks training with his new teammates he’ll rely heavily on the lengthy MLS experience of Jack Jewsbury, Michael Harrington, and netminder Donovan Ricketts to adapt to the pace and physicality of the league.

Although Portland already exceeded their away points total from a year ago, they are still seeking a second win on their travels, and United presents perhaps the most winnable opportunity from a form perspective.

A return from injury by last year’s top goalscorer Chris Pontius brings a big part of DC’s offense off the sidelines, but former Whitecap John Thorrington is still trying to get match fit in time to shore up the league’s second leakiest defense with some much needed cover from midfield.

Former MLS MVP Carlos Ruiz is enduring a disappointing first season with United, an ankle sprain limiting his involvement as the Guatemalan is yet to get off the mark in 2013. Another former MLS MVP in captain Dwayne De Rosario is doing little better, a subpar return of one goal and one assist a clear indication of the team’s struggles this season.

A league low six goals is ample motivation for the home side to improve on an abysmal scoring rate, Lionel Pajoy the lone forward to tally for DC thus far up top. Portland are by no means impregnable at the back, but a career season from Ricketts means it will take something special for United to unlock a Timbers team difficult to break down from open play.

Two goals created directly and indirectly from set pieces is still a thorn Porter is trying to excise from his side, the two goals conceded to Vancouver from a free kick and a throw-in offering some areas to focus on in training in the buildup to this weekend’s contest.

Portland benefited from a spot kick of their own in that match, the second penalty awarded this campaign converted by captain Will Johnson, who now leads the club with five goals.

The Timbers Army are certainly glad to see some calls going their way, but goals from the run of play are what’s desired from supporters who travel in numbers hoping to see the same fluid football that two weeks ago ripped apart another team in a downward spiral, Chivas USA.

Portland are dominating possession this year, but that prevalence has only equated to all three points in four out twelve matches to date. If the Timbers are to take their game to the next level and join the league’s elite, a better ratio than one quarter of matches won is required.

That starts with the dismantling of a DC defense already in shambles, where former Porter protege Perry Kitchen is trying to re-instill the winning belief he had under his one-time college coach.

Another player familiar to Portland fans is James Riley, the defender moving over from a one year stay at Chivas in the offseason after a longer stint with the Seattle Sounders beforehand.

Riley is trying to shake off an injury to feature against Portland, so instead defensive responsibility likely falls to Ethan White, Chris Korb, Dejan Jakovic, and goalkeeper Bill Hamid to help Kitchen repel a Portland team capable of throwing everything but the sink at the goal.

An injury that saw Darlington Nagbe leave the last match early means a potential opportunity for more minutes from the start for Frederic Piquionne or Kalif Alhassan, so how Porter rotates a lineup that looked tired in the second Cascadia Cup match of the season is sure to be scrutinized with an important US Open Cup tie just days after the long trip to the East Coast.

In the United midfield, former FC Edmonton player Kyle Porter is adjusting well to the step up from the NASL despite his team’s travails, a goal and assist more production than flashier teammate Nick DeLeon, who is still trying to replicate the form that made him a Rookie of the Year runner-up last season.

DCU is looking to build on their most positive result in ages, whether they can do so comes down to the tempo brought by Portland. If the Timbers don’t come into this game with the gas pedal to the floor from the opening whistle, they could again find themselves trying to recover from a deficit on the road.

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Timbers Tie Vancouver Via Late Valencia Tally

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Brenaldo

The Portland Timbers walked away with a point after a late goal from Jose ‘El Trencito’ Valencia leveled the tie 2-2 late on, disappointed Vancouver Whitecaps fans at BC Place still waiting for a first win in a Cascadian derby match at the MLS level.

The point gives Portland an early lead in the Cascadia Cup standings, and the extra away matches the Timbers play in the competition this year are now effectively neutralized, the previous result another late stalemate earned at the Seattle Sounders back in March.

That draw in the Emerald City was the onset of Portland’s now ten match unbeaten streak, a run of results that includes four wins and six draws. 8 of the 17 points earned in that stretch came on the road, one more than the total away points the Timbers managed to muster in all of 2012.

That level of improvement alone speaks to the evolution of the Rose City club under Caleb Porter, but the new manager will be ruing one of the poorer performances by his squad during his tenure thus far.

Porter opted for the same starting eleven that beat Chivas USA in the previous match, while Vancouver head coach Martin Rennie rang the changes from the team that defeated the Los Angeles Galaxy a week prior.

Goalkeeper Brad Knighton replaced Joe Cannon, Brad Rusin came on for Alain Rochat, and Jordan Harvey was in for the suspended Johnny Leveron in the back. Up top, Russell Teibert and former Westview High School start Erik Hurtado started with Camilo Sanvezzo, Darren Mattocks relegated to the bench.

In spite of dominating nearly two-thirds of possession against the Whitecaps, the Timbers could not make it count in the final third, notching only one more shot than the hosts and the same number of shots on goal with four for each side.

From the opening whistle, Rennie’s Whitecaps looked set up to sit back and soak up the Timbers pressure and hit back on the counterattack. The Scot’s tactics did appear to frustrate the visitors, but again the ultimate undoing was poor defending on set pieces.

Portland started brightest and nearly took the lead just before the quarter hour mark when Ryan Johnson put Diego Valeri through on goal, but Vancouver netminder Knighton parried the shot and his defense was there to clear before Rodney Wallace could poach the rebound.

Ten minutes later a forgettable match for Timbers left back Michael Harrington was marked by a an ill-advised pass to captain Will Johnson, Gershon Koffie picking off the ball and laying it into the path of Camilo, who went down at the edge of the box under the slightest of contact when the skipper tried to cut off the Brazilian’s run into the danger area.

Harrington could only watch in vain as Camilo expertly lifted the free kick up and over his position at the edge of the wall and into the upper corner of the net in the 25th minute, the strike leaving Portland goaltender Donovan Ricketts questioning his placement of his taller defenders.

The Timbers tried to responds shortly after when Valeri fed a cross to Wallace in the center of the box, but the forward’s snap header went straight into Knighton’s gloves.

For all the positivity Portland brought before the goal, the deficit seemed to sap their forward momentum, and their day got worse when Darlington Nagbe was forced off with an ankle injury in the 34th minute, Porter forced into his first substitution with Kalif Alhassan entering in his stead.

The change did little to improve the Timbers for the remainder of the half, and the Whitecaps took a one goal advantage into intermission.

The lead was short-lived once play resumed, Johnson earning a penalty kick after his shot hit the arm of Whitecaps centerback Andy O’Brien.

The captain coolly slotted the spot kick home to his left with Knighton diving the opposite direction in the 52nd minute, the shushing gesture to the Southsiders supporters group not earning the Canadian any fans from his compatriates in British Columbia.

Portland’s scoring equality lasted barely a minute whenbefore Vancouver were back on top, a throw-in well received by Camilo at the top of the box proving troublesome when he held off Andrew Jean-Baptiste to pick out an unmarked Koffie trailing behind.

The Ghanian’s first touch settled the pass to set up a shot on his right foot, and Koffie made no mistake with his second by brilliantly curving a blast to beat Ricketts at the far post in the 54th minute.

Again on the front foot the hosts appeared to retreat into a shell and invite more pressure from Portland, who started to look more dangerous when Frederic Piquionne replaced Ryan Johnson shortly after the hour mark.

The goalscoring Koffie was forced off in the 72nd minute after picking up a hamstring strain, Matt Watson stepping in for the final twenty minutes hopeful of providing equivalent influence on the scoreline. Porter countered Rennie five minutes later with Valencia on for Jack Jewsbury, the Colombian’s insertion proving the more impactful exchange.

Before the second year striker could make his mark on the match, however, a Nigel Reo-Coker interception and long ball upfield to Camilo set the stage for the biggest point of contention in the proceedings.

As Camilo tried to step in front of Portland defender Mamadou ‘Futty’ Danso on the breakaway, the Whitecap’s legs became entangled with his Timbers counterpart and the two tumbled to the ground. What initially appeared to be a foul on Camilo was whistled on the Gambian instead, and the official made matters more severe when he presented a straight red card to Danso in the 81st minute.

Prospects for a point looked bleak for Portland after going down to ten men, and Rennie seemed poised to ride out the waning minutes of the match when he subbed on Rochat for Hurtado two minutes later, only for Valencia to impose himself on the match with the tying goal when Johnson lofted a long ball over his shoulder.

Valencia burst into the box and chested the ball down between two defenders, then took two touches to freeze Rusin and O’Brien before putting a sidefooted finish past a sprawling Knighton for his first MLS goal in the 84th minute.

There were shouts for handball on Valencia’s initial bringdown in the buildup, but if the referee missed an infraction it was perhaps justified reparations for numerous earlier calls that went harshly against Portland.

The equalizer put Portland on level terms for a second time in the match, and the Timbers rode out the remainder of the match comfortably as Vancouver regretted not pressing for a third goal when they had their guests on their heels.

The resiliency of the Timbers is now a trademark of this team, one that puts them in rarefied air as the lone team in the league without a road defeat this season.

The Timbers also lead MLS with 16 second half goals, the only downside to that statistic the fact that Portland is not taking control of matches earlier and eliminating the need for late game heroics.

In the end a draw was a fair result in this Cascadian contest, but for Portland to capitalize on their unconquerable form they must make a habit of taking all three points on their travels.

Now off to DC United for the second of three consecutive road matches, the Timbers face a difficult test in Danso’s absence, newcomer and fellow Gambian Pa Modou Kah the likely replacement on the backline.

If Kah can step in and produce after less than two weeks with his teammates, Portland stand a good chance of extending their streak against a struggling DCU.

More concerning for the Timbers is the relatively off games for Valeri and Diego Chara, the two midfielders playing below their typically high standard in Vancouver perhaps a sign that Porter’s reliance on them match in and match out is taking its toll.

And although DCU is a team the Timbers are expected to defeat, the real question is which Timbers team shows up, the one that handily dispatched a reeling Chivas USA at home, or the one that required another resounding comeback to salvage points on the road.

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Timbers Versus Whitecaps: Cascadia Cup Defense Resumes

Posted on May 16, 2013 by Brenaldo

The Portland Timbers travel northbound to take on the Vancouver Whitecaps at BC Place Saturday (4 PM, ROOT Sports), the second Cascadian derby for the visitors this season and first for the hosts as Portland aims to retain their perfect MLS record in British Columbia.

Portland nicked a late point at fellow Cascadian club Seattle Sounders back in March, an equalizing goal in the dying minutes courtesy of Rodney Wallace kicking off a more regular role for the Costa Rican, who is now the Timbers hottest player after scoring the opening goal and providing an assist in a 3-nil win over Chivas USA last Sunday.

The man of the moment for Vancouver is Russell Teibert, the Canadian club’s academy product notching his first two first team goals in a 3-1 defeat of the LA Galaxy, the victory a first for the Whitecaps over the reigning MLS Cup champions.

The win also saw Darren Mattocks resume his scoring ways with a second tally of the season after a five game drought, the one time protege of Portland manager Caleb Porter now facing his former college coach for the first time at the professional level.

The second year striker is one of several scoring threats for Whitecaps head coach Martin Rennie, Kenny Miller and Camilo Sanvezzo also on two goals apiece, yet Porter boasts an even vaster wealth of attacking options with five players on three or more goals.

Diego Valeri is chief among them with four assists to accompany three goals, but the Argentine is hardly alone with captain Will Johnson pitching in four goals while Diego Chara has assisted on three others.

Up top Ryan Johnson equals his namesake with four goals of his own and three assists to boot, while Mattocks former University of Akron teammate Darlington Nagbe adds three goals to go with two assists.

The danger Portland presents is one Whitecaps goalkeeper Joe Cannon is hopeful of deterring, yet Vancouver is still searching for a second clean sheet in their league campaign after opening the season with a shutout.

The loss of captain Jay DeMerit to injury early on is a major contributor to the lack of consistency in the back, an area Rennie needs to remedy if he hopes to earn Vancouver’s first win over the Timbers in the MLS era.

The Timbers benefit from a few extra days rest and are sure to bring their first choice lineup to bear, while the Whitecaps will likely make changes again after a scoreless midweek draw with the Montreal Impact in the Amway Canadian Championship.

That contest saw Nigel Reo-Coker shift to outside back opposite Johnny Leveron with Andy O’Brien and Jordan Harvey in between, it’s anyone’s guess whether Lee Young-Pyo and Brad Rusin are given another chance to resume regular starting roles or if Rennie sticks with a newly effective group. One player sure to be on the sidelines is Leveron, who was suspended by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for a reckless challenge early in the Galaxy match.

Switching Alain Rochat to midfield and Reo-Coker to the backline offered a more stable defense than one that looked shakier than the final scoreline over the Galaxy suggested, but perhaps at the expense of more dynamism in the center of the park as evidenced by the lack of serious scoring opportunities against Montreal.

Portland’s back four is much more reliable of late in spite of a spate of injuries and departures at centerback, Mamadou ‘Futty’ Danso and Andrew Jean-Baptiste now provided with some depth with the recent roster addition of Pa Madou Kah. On the flanks Jack Jewsbury and Michael Harrington are stalwarts, Ben Zemanksi in reserve offering capable respite for the veterans.

Vancouver’s Miller is still struggling for fitness, and Daigo Kobayashi’s involvement is also up in the air after he exited early against LA with a slight knock that led to Teibert’s influential inclusion.

Gershon Koffie and Jun Marques Davidson are lined up to start in midfield, although rookie and former Westview High School and Santa Clara University star Erik Hurtado is proving a versatile alternative for Rennie.

The impetus is on the home side to earn their first point on home soil since these two clubs resumed top flight competition in 2011, a tall task to accomplish against a Portland squad riding a club record nine match unbeaten streak.

The form factor tends to go out the window come derby day, but Vancouver must be wary as Portland are also undefeated on their travels so far this year, a significant achievement for a club that lost 21 away matches in their first two seasons in MLS.

While the Cascadia Cup will be on display this weekend, the Timbers eyes are on a prize the Whitecaps accomplished last year, a first ever MLS postseason berth. If Portland can emulate Vancouver’s regular season success of a year ago and earn a shot at competing for the league’s biggest trophy, a chance to win more than regional pride is at stake.

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