 |
| That's the thing...you never know when it'll hit... |
Long story short, when fate tells you you’re fucked, there’s not a lot of room for negotiation. Sixes meet sevens, good gods, where to begin?
It was fitting, if nothing else, for the season to end on an ill-timed goal against one of those Major League Soccer teams that lives and dies by grit. Portland hardly put in a dominant performance, but they managed to play the ball inside the six-yard area, and with minimal contact from any FC Dallas player at various, if sporadic moments over the first 70 minutes, but the Texans always had one last defender to block the shot or poke the ball away (this is what I meant in the preview thread when I said they nearly always have someone in the way). When a toe, foot or shin couldn’t get in the way, Jimmy Maurer jumped in front ofeverythingelse - and all the way to the death as it happened.
That penalty shoot-out possessed a twilight kind of vibe, something that hinted it could go on forever, with shooter scoring and ‘keepers missing indefinitely…and then Jorge Villafana did and, as noted above, Jimmy Maurer got in the way one final, decisive time and, just like that, game over, season over, and sweet Jesus, how am I going to keep body and soul together until the 2021 MLS regular season/dodgeball with COVID resumes? I guess I’m still getting over the shock of losing one of my favorite stabilizers amid the madness. If you’ve got movie/TV/youtube recommends that don’t traffic in flaming paranoia, I’m listening…
In the event I haven’t mentioned the score yet, the Portland Timbers went up 1-0 in the…are fucking kidding me? 82nd minute, and through the kind of goal that, near as I can tell, they’d tried to score all night. For all their faults - and those started with letting Dallas bestir themselves in the second half of the first half - the Timbers managed to pin Dallas against its own backline on multiple occasions tonight; moreover, they came within one step, one spin, one poke, one lunge of playing the ball to within 12 feet of Dallas’ goal-line and having nothing but daylight and a yawning goal resplendently before them…only to have something go awry at the last second. For what it’s worth, I think the box score tells a fair story: Portland posted 22 shots, and with 8 on goal, so they found enough chances. Dallas kept them out by defending all the way to their back-line - which is something you can really see around the tiny fucking spaces in which Valeri and Villafana had to operate for the go-ahead goal.
Dallas equalized on a wild-fling, as it happens, Ryan Hollingshead flailing blindly and under pressure, but hitting a ball over the top that landed squarely into Pepi’s run. Next thing you know, the 17-year-old receives his blessing from the post thing and he buries his follow-up, leaving Portland wondering how they’ll get through the next 30 minutes.
They didn’t, obviously: despite Dallas’ best efforts in the first half of it, and Portland’s…efforts in the second (so close, but also thank you for everything, Maestro!), extra-time ended with the game still tied 1-1. As hinted at above, neither team could stop scoring in the penalty shoot-out - I mean, how often do anything of these things hit 5-5, never mind 7-7?. Maurer swiped closer here and there, but Steve Clark couldn’t stop shit (no judgment; it happens), so it was always a matter of who would be the first to fuck up. The fact that it was Villafana feels equal parts fitting and worrying. In more than a few ways, the 2020 season was the torch passing from a damned good Timbers generation to the hopes of the next one. The Old Guard, at least as many members as were present, did their jobs well enough tonight. As for the New Guard, I’d argue it performed better than I expect they’ll get credit for, but, as much anything else, the Portland Timbers found the practical limits of their depth tonight. Thus endeth as season of, frankly, attrition.
Without getting too dramatic about it, I’m calling Eryk Williamson going down the final straw for the 2020 season. It’s less that he was having a phenomenal game before he got hacked down late in the first half, but that he took another option/pair of younger legs off the field. Things get complicated and detailed from here - also, trust me, I don’t wanna drown in this shit - but the break-point on Portland’s youth-v-talent equation bites pretty hard once you look past the starting eleven, especially with Sebastian Blanco, Jaroslaw Niezgoda out of the frame, and Jeremy Ebobisse available only as a sub. In fewer words, Portland played their best available pieces and with a thin margin for upside in reserve. As such, when they ran out of gas - and, for the record, I’m still amazed at what Villafana, Valeri, and just about everyone produced in the second overtime, but it was punch-drunk by then - the Timbers didn’t have any real options besides, “run harder.” The ball rarely reached Ebobisse after he came on and it didn’t matter when it did, the players they brought on didn’t make a difference, and arguably couldn’t, etc.
This is actually a real heartbreaker, in that I’d say Andy Polo and Cristhian Paredes had their best games of the 2020 season tonight. That’s not a super-high bar for either player - Paredes, especially - but they both had solid moments, and on both sides of the ball. Their one, fatal lapse aside - and, golly, does that count! - Larrys Mabiala and Dario Zuparic played solid games tonight, the latter perhaps more than the former. Valeri missed a couple touches, but he carries that ever-present capacity to fuck a team up in his back pocket like most people carry ID - e.g., the goal - so, he did his job, while Diego Chara quietly choked out his job as always.
If anyone struggled tonight, I’d call out Felipe Mora; if I really cared about stretching, I’d say Yimmi Chara only really showed up for 20 minutes in the second half (also, what a 20 minutes), but…that’s kind of the trick. Portland played pretty well tonight. Hell, various unexpected people (e.g., Bodily, Blake) kicked home one penalty kick after another tonight, which means the only thing that just one fatal (leggy?) fuck-up stopped them from winning tonight. Hell, Valeri damn-near won the game after almost 120 minutes and got the Timbers off the right start by burying his penalty kick after that.
In a metaphor that fits the season, the Timbers played a decent game, but choked down the stretch. For anyone inclined to go darker, yes, there’s a transition coming for this team and it’s not entirely clear how that’ll play out. What I can say for sure is that I felt better about all that before Niezgoda went down. I knew there’d be issues ahead - and I still believe that, as any reasonable person would - but, I also think the Timbers will go into 2021 with more questions than answers. And a lot of that’s on 2020’s rash of injuries.
Well, shit…till next year, I guess. (Nah, I’ll make up something to write about, trust me.)
No comments:
Post a Comment