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| Pristine, at long last. |
I barely talk about it below, but, just for the record, the last time the Portland Timbers kept their sheets clean happened the beginning of last November against the then- (and still-)boring AF Vancouver Whitecaps. At any rate, I put that in the title because the first clean sheet in league play is a moment that deserves a spotlight.
As for the breakdown, I want to begin by doing something I almost never do: declare a man of the match. I resist the idea for a number of reasons - e.g., it’s neither always obvious or fair, see the bias toward attacking players, it takes a village, etc. - but I also see a flaw in the assumption behind the concept. More often than not, the choice comes down to highlight factors like, who scored the winning goal or who scored two goals (or bagged two assists…wait for it), or maybe goalkeeper who saved a penalty kick, as the Timbers new borrowed ‘keeper, Logan Ketterer (wait for it), did tonight. As I see it, those metrics miss the point - especially when you can name the player who revealed the tone and quality of the game like it could stand up and stare into a mirror.
Tonight, in the Timbers 2-0 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes, that player was Marvin Loria. Let me explain…
As is his wont, Loria drove me fucking crazy tonight - like more than a couple Timbers players did too (more later). His decision-making is glacial and he rates his dribbling technique a step south of delusional, both of which cause him to loose possession and nip promising plays in the bud. And yet, when he arrived at a moment that required a good, decisive decision, Loria made it; when the Timbers recylced a 75th minute counter-attack to the right, and to a wide-open Eryk Williamson, Loria cheated to the back-post and, thanks to that run, he had nothing between him and San Jose's goal but a flailing James Marcinkowski. Loria buried the header, thereby giving the Timbers a two-goal lead that San Jose never even looked like denting.
And the game as a whole looked something like that. Like a drunk telling a great story, it only really got to the point here and there, while still telling the right story. And this is a story that took 90 minutes to tell. Bare, and frequently interrupted competence, best characterizes just about every single Timbers’ contribution tonight - too many players lingered on the ball to no better effect than getting caught in possession or making a shit pass (credit where it’s due, Yimmi Chara showed a real talent for using his body to keep possession and get the ball forward); on the other hand, the defensive organization/rotation was solid - but they managed to run through the ‘Quakes defense on the first goal (pretty one, Yimmi Chara!) and to literally play it like an accordion on the second. Who knew that taking all three points tonight would require as little as bare competence and a couple of moments?
Before moving on, I have to pick at San Jose and my heretofore vague impression of them. I’ve only seen them in MLS in 15 highlights so far, and most of those have shown them looking better than worse. They look smart in possession and they do a decent job of finding a pass that keeps the attack going - much as they did tonight - and, when it comes off, all that looks good - e.g., see them stealing a late result at Real Salt Lake with two late goals earned by all that pressure. Those clips, and the dogged moments that made them, were enough to make me wonder if I wasn’t sleeping on San Jose so far. After giving them a long look this week - e.g., the MLS in 15 highlights against Seattle (appetizer!) and tonight’s game (entrée!) - San Jose looks more like a team moves and passes a lot, but who also lives and dies by crosses, aka, a socially acceptable version of giving up.
That’s not necessarily garbage - i.e., do it often enough and you force the kind of mistake that Claudio Bravo made to give San Jose their penalty kick. The call was fine, but Ketterer saved Chris Wondolowski’s spot-kick - thereby giving himself 1) the memory of denying Major League Soccer’s all-time leading scorer from the spot and, 2) the best possible second introduction to the Timbers’ fan-base he could make. Not that I expect that to matter (more later), but I’d call that the first game-defining moment in a game that only had two of them - that’s with Loria’s goal being the second.
Not to take anything away from the Timbers, but the San Jose attack gave them the fairly simple task of throwing bodies in front of any San Jose player in the defensive third and waiting for the 'Quakes to screw up. They killed as many attacks as Portland did on their own; give them enough time and, one way or the other, they’d hand over the ball. Just to note it, the stats box shows San Jose getting more shots, but I don’t remember them and isn’t that xG without doing the math? That’s not to say the ‘Quakes never posed a risk outside the penalty - they found wide seams down Portland’s (and Bravo’s) left from about the 10th minute to the 30th - and, whether or not they highlights recorded it, they made a great, scrambling chance around the 17th minute - but the crosses mattered less and less as the game wore on. And then less again. Benjamin Kikanovic lobbed a smart header at Ketterer’s back-post, but that one came so late in the game (like past the 85th, I think) that looked pretty well won for Portland from about the 70th minute on…and, to call back a stat I just showed stage left, the xG in the stats paints the right picture: the ‘Quakes looked only vaguely dangerous and equally as interested in scoring.
To get back to Portland, I don’t see how anyone can sniff too deep about Portland getting three points out of a game that, between the long throbbing rash of injuries and San Jose’s apparent, randy form, they had every reason to lose or, at best, draw. Loria might have defined the game, but several players - e.g., Williamson, Yimmi, Felipe Mora, Bill Tuiloma and, once again and especially, Dario Zuparic - did the hard work of pulling the win out of somewhere at or around their collective asses. And they did it in a game-state-y bugger of a game to boot. For instance, I’d say Portland made their first goal by playing the Red Bull New York style of turning defense into very dangerous offense by forcing turnovers in the opponents half (aka, pressing). That lead to the early (glorious) opener, but, after that, Portland transitioned, minute by minute, to pressing high when they could then falling back into something close to banks of four, then compacting into banks of four. And I’d say that’s where the half ended.
I can’t account for the shift in Portland’s play when they came out for the second half - and I’m not about to claim it had a reliably greater effect - but they got all the way off the back foot somewhere around the 50th and never really looked like losing from there. They made the better chances throughout the game, but they made more and better ones in the second half - a great ball into Mora somewhere just before the 60th stands out. Again, this wasn’t the Timbers’ best line-up tonight, but they still won the game, on the road against a team in decent form, and they deserved to. I don’t want to dig too deeply into “what it all means,” but I’m getting an early impression that there’s a fair amount of slop in MLS’s Western Conference - e.g., match-ups that work better or worse given the teams in play - and I have a sneaking suspicion that’s where this one lines up. Long story short, I’m fucking delighted to call these three free points, but I’m also not sure how often Portland can get away with playing at this collective level: other teams won’t shoot their own foot the same way San Jose did tonight, and Portland can’t count on pulling a half dozen clear chances out of something close to nothing…but different from the day before….she wore a Raspberry Beret, goddammit.
Now, some stray notes:
- I don’t like what I’ve seen of Logan Ketterer’s politics, but I’m also sick to fucking death of wrapping politics around every moment, person and situation. Bottom line: I’m fine with quietly agreeing to disagree so long as Ketterer doesn’t start trying to own the libs from a soapbox big enough for me to notice, if he shuts up about it, I will, etc. Does all that make it harder to root for him? YEP! I see this relationship as strictly professional - think a business trip with a colleague you’d rather not with, and yet here you are - and, tonight, he acted professionally and played a conservative, yet safe 90 minutes. And that was a hell of a save on the penalty. On to brighter stuff…
- Jeremy Ebobisse had a decent game, even if he didn’t stand out, but, golly, does he do something I like - and it shows how much people respect him too. He uses several versions of a turn - sometimes it’s body work and a first touch, sometimes a rotation over the ball - that allows him to get to where he can face forward/goal, and he got away with that four or five times tonight. And just that little action is enough to put a defense on alert. Good shit, man…
- I love Felipe Mora and I don’t care who knows it! (Call me...) His technique falls just short of flawless, but he has elite trap/control on the first touch for the back-to-goal stuff to work in a way you'd never expect from a guy that small and, better still, he sees and plays the quick, instinctive dinks and passes that either start of make attacking combinations come off all over the field. I don’t think he has anything like a No. 10 role in him, but he’s one hell of a facilitator in tight spaces. I am fucking delighted Portland kept him.
- To reiterate something I noted above, Zuparic has been great this season, and with the right balance of aggression in his game. Related, I’m happy Portland has Bill Tuiloma to back up Larrys Mabiala and thought Zac McGraw looked all right in his short time back there. Against, that see notes on San Jose above…
- On the negative side, I think tonight showed the limitations of using Diego Valeri as a super-sub. Don’t get me wrong: I’m thrilled that Portland both won the game and saved his legs, but when he never found the game when he came on after the 80th minute and I strongly suspect that’s a real signal.
- Finally, this game highlighted between two thoughts - 1) Portland doesn’t have real depth, and don’t believe the hype, and 2) is it possible I see the outlines of it?
A lot of that turns on Williamson, honestly. The man looks super-smart going forward; sure, he pissed away that first-half counter where he had acres to run into against a back-pedaling defense with a weak shot, but he clearly has ideas about how to unbalance a defense and the talent exploit the disruption. As well as he covers ground, he strikes me more as an attacking 8, borderline 10 than anything else. Put players like Mora, Ebobisse, Yimmi, and even Jaroslaw Niezgoda and Dairon Asprilla in front of him, and I think Portland have a good starting point for an attack. The burning question is, what happens behind him in midfield? Who on the current roster comes anywhere near after Diego Chara? Cristhian Paredes? Renzo Zambrano? Andy Polo? A combinatoin thereof? I'm more comfortable with Valeri falling off/retiring at this point than I am with Diego Chara, so this will be my burning question until it gets resolved.
Anyway, I think this went long because I’m happy. This was a nice surprise in a couple ways. I don’t see a great future for the team Gio fielded tonigt, but I’ll take three unlikely points, and with a chaser, all goddamn day long.
As for the breakdown, I want to begin by doing something I almost never do: declare a man of the match. I resist the idea for a number of reasons - e.g., it’s neither always obvious or fair, see the bias toward attacking players, it takes a village, etc. - but I also see a flaw in the assumption behind the concept. More often than not, the choice comes down to highlight factors like, who scored the winning goal or who scored two goals (or bagged two assists…wait for it), or maybe goalkeeper who saved a penalty kick, as the Timbers new borrowed ‘keeper, Logan Ketterer (wait for it), did tonight. As I see it, those metrics miss the point - especially when you can name the player who revealed the tone and quality of the game like it could stand up and stare into a mirror.
Tonight, in the Timbers 2-0 road win over the San Jose Earthquakes, that player was Marvin Loria. Let me explain…
As is his wont, Loria drove me fucking crazy tonight - like more than a couple Timbers players did too (more later). His decision-making is glacial and he rates his dribbling technique a step south of delusional, both of which cause him to loose possession and nip promising plays in the bud. And yet, when he arrived at a moment that required a good, decisive decision, Loria made it; when the Timbers recylced a 75th minute counter-attack to the right, and to a wide-open Eryk Williamson, Loria cheated to the back-post and, thanks to that run, he had nothing between him and San Jose's goal but a flailing James Marcinkowski. Loria buried the header, thereby giving the Timbers a two-goal lead that San Jose never even looked like denting.
And the game as a whole looked something like that. Like a drunk telling a great story, it only really got to the point here and there, while still telling the right story. And this is a story that took 90 minutes to tell. Bare, and frequently interrupted competence, best characterizes just about every single Timbers’ contribution tonight - too many players lingered on the ball to no better effect than getting caught in possession or making a shit pass (credit where it’s due, Yimmi Chara showed a real talent for using his body to keep possession and get the ball forward); on the other hand, the defensive organization/rotation was solid - but they managed to run through the ‘Quakes defense on the first goal (pretty one, Yimmi Chara!) and to literally play it like an accordion on the second. Who knew that taking all three points tonight would require as little as bare competence and a couple of moments?
Before moving on, I have to pick at San Jose and my heretofore vague impression of them. I’ve only seen them in MLS in 15 highlights so far, and most of those have shown them looking better than worse. They look smart in possession and they do a decent job of finding a pass that keeps the attack going - much as they did tonight - and, when it comes off, all that looks good - e.g., see them stealing a late result at Real Salt Lake with two late goals earned by all that pressure. Those clips, and the dogged moments that made them, were enough to make me wonder if I wasn’t sleeping on San Jose so far. After giving them a long look this week - e.g., the MLS in 15 highlights against Seattle (appetizer!) and tonight’s game (entrée!) - San Jose looks more like a team moves and passes a lot, but who also lives and dies by crosses, aka, a socially acceptable version of giving up.
That’s not necessarily garbage - i.e., do it often enough and you force the kind of mistake that Claudio Bravo made to give San Jose their penalty kick. The call was fine, but Ketterer saved Chris Wondolowski’s spot-kick - thereby giving himself 1) the memory of denying Major League Soccer’s all-time leading scorer from the spot and, 2) the best possible second introduction to the Timbers’ fan-base he could make. Not that I expect that to matter (more later), but I’d call that the first game-defining moment in a game that only had two of them - that’s with Loria’s goal being the second.
Not to take anything away from the Timbers, but the San Jose attack gave them the fairly simple task of throwing bodies in front of any San Jose player in the defensive third and waiting for the 'Quakes to screw up. They killed as many attacks as Portland did on their own; give them enough time and, one way or the other, they’d hand over the ball. Just to note it, the stats box shows San Jose getting more shots, but I don’t remember them and isn’t that xG without doing the math? That’s not to say the ‘Quakes never posed a risk outside the penalty - they found wide seams down Portland’s (and Bravo’s) left from about the 10th minute to the 30th - and, whether or not they highlights recorded it, they made a great, scrambling chance around the 17th minute - but the crosses mattered less and less as the game wore on. And then less again. Benjamin Kikanovic lobbed a smart header at Ketterer’s back-post, but that one came so late in the game (like past the 85th, I think) that looked pretty well won for Portland from about the 70th minute on…and, to call back a stat I just showed stage left, the xG in the stats paints the right picture: the ‘Quakes looked only vaguely dangerous and equally as interested in scoring.
To get back to Portland, I don’t see how anyone can sniff too deep about Portland getting three points out of a game that, between the long throbbing rash of injuries and San Jose’s apparent, randy form, they had every reason to lose or, at best, draw. Loria might have defined the game, but several players - e.g., Williamson, Yimmi, Felipe Mora, Bill Tuiloma and, once again and especially, Dario Zuparic - did the hard work of pulling the win out of somewhere at or around their collective asses. And they did it in a game-state-y bugger of a game to boot. For instance, I’d say Portland made their first goal by playing the Red Bull New York style of turning defense into very dangerous offense by forcing turnovers in the opponents half (aka, pressing). That lead to the early (glorious) opener, but, after that, Portland transitioned, minute by minute, to pressing high when they could then falling back into something close to banks of four, then compacting into banks of four. And I’d say that’s where the half ended.
I can’t account for the shift in Portland’s play when they came out for the second half - and I’m not about to claim it had a reliably greater effect - but they got all the way off the back foot somewhere around the 50th and never really looked like losing from there. They made the better chances throughout the game, but they made more and better ones in the second half - a great ball into Mora somewhere just before the 60th stands out. Again, this wasn’t the Timbers’ best line-up tonight, but they still won the game, on the road against a team in decent form, and they deserved to. I don’t want to dig too deeply into “what it all means,” but I’m getting an early impression that there’s a fair amount of slop in MLS’s Western Conference - e.g., match-ups that work better or worse given the teams in play - and I have a sneaking suspicion that’s where this one lines up. Long story short, I’m fucking delighted to call these three free points, but I’m also not sure how often Portland can get away with playing at this collective level: other teams won’t shoot their own foot the same way San Jose did tonight, and Portland can’t count on pulling a half dozen clear chances out of something close to nothing…but different from the day before….she wore a Raspberry Beret, goddammit.
Now, some stray notes:
- I don’t like what I’ve seen of Logan Ketterer’s politics, but I’m also sick to fucking death of wrapping politics around every moment, person and situation. Bottom line: I’m fine with quietly agreeing to disagree so long as Ketterer doesn’t start trying to own the libs from a soapbox big enough for me to notice, if he shuts up about it, I will, etc. Does all that make it harder to root for him? YEP! I see this relationship as strictly professional - think a business trip with a colleague you’d rather not with, and yet here you are - and, tonight, he acted professionally and played a conservative, yet safe 90 minutes. And that was a hell of a save on the penalty. On to brighter stuff…
- Jeremy Ebobisse had a decent game, even if he didn’t stand out, but, golly, does he do something I like - and it shows how much people respect him too. He uses several versions of a turn - sometimes it’s body work and a first touch, sometimes a rotation over the ball - that allows him to get to where he can face forward/goal, and he got away with that four or five times tonight. And just that little action is enough to put a defense on alert. Good shit, man…
- I love Felipe Mora and I don’t care who knows it! (Call me...) His technique falls just short of flawless, but he has elite trap/control on the first touch for the back-to-goal stuff to work in a way you'd never expect from a guy that small and, better still, he sees and plays the quick, instinctive dinks and passes that either start of make attacking combinations come off all over the field. I don’t think he has anything like a No. 10 role in him, but he’s one hell of a facilitator in tight spaces. I am fucking delighted Portland kept him.
- To reiterate something I noted above, Zuparic has been great this season, and with the right balance of aggression in his game. Related, I’m happy Portland has Bill Tuiloma to back up Larrys Mabiala and thought Zac McGraw looked all right in his short time back there. Against, that see notes on San Jose above…
- On the negative side, I think tonight showed the limitations of using Diego Valeri as a super-sub. Don’t get me wrong: I’m thrilled that Portland both won the game and saved his legs, but when he never found the game when he came on after the 80th minute and I strongly suspect that’s a real signal.
- Finally, this game highlighted between two thoughts - 1) Portland doesn’t have real depth, and don’t believe the hype, and 2) is it possible I see the outlines of it?
A lot of that turns on Williamson, honestly. The man looks super-smart going forward; sure, he pissed away that first-half counter where he had acres to run into against a back-pedaling defense with a weak shot, but he clearly has ideas about how to unbalance a defense and the talent exploit the disruption. As well as he covers ground, he strikes me more as an attacking 8, borderline 10 than anything else. Put players like Mora, Ebobisse, Yimmi, and even Jaroslaw Niezgoda and Dairon Asprilla in front of him, and I think Portland have a good starting point for an attack. The burning question is, what happens behind him in midfield? Who on the current roster comes anywhere near after Diego Chara? Cristhian Paredes? Renzo Zambrano? Andy Polo? A combinatoin thereof? I'm more comfortable with Valeri falling off/retiring at this point than I am with Diego Chara, so this will be my burning question until it gets resolved.
Anyway, I think this went long because I’m happy. This was a nice surprise in a couple ways. I don’t see a great future for the team Gio fielded tonigt, but I’ll take three unlikely points, and with a chaser, all goddamn day long.
Ok- I'm probably not alone in having no idea of Ketterer's personal politics (being a USL goalkeeper in El Paso hardly provides him the national spotlight), so why allude to it? Now, you who (rightly) decry how politics usually overwhelms and occasionally ruins sports moments have taken away from his great night for the Timbers by inferring he's politically creepy.
ReplyDeleteI think that most of us saw the Timbers last night as in dire straits goalkeeper-wise. A guy comes in on a hurried loan from a T2-level team and does everything asked of him, and more - and we get the win. That's the story that makes the match a surprising joy. Now I gotta investigate if his heart is politically impure?
Analysis-wise, I totally agree with your thoughts on Valeri and Williamson. Oh, and other than a ten minute flurry at the start of the second half, Andy Polo continued his lonely quest to sleepwalk through an entire MLS season.
Ketterer's politics came up here because it's, as the saying goes, out there; for the extremely-online, it's at least *an* elephant in the room. Given that (and another group of people who read these posts), not mentioning would have been weird, hence the comment. Unless Ketterer does something openly creepy like complain about "wokeism" in a post-game, I'll neither mention nor think about his politics again. And I don't mind your reaction to my bringing it up; I don't know the personal politics of the overwhelming majority of players and I prefer it that way.
ReplyDeleteAs for his play, penalty save aside, I found it fine but unremarkable overall; the defense didn't force him to manage much, which is the big thing. He played it safe (as he told the broadcast booth he'd do), which was smart, but I'd expect most professional goalkeepers to come in and do what Ketterer did. Then again, I'm weird on 'keepers; I only notice them when they're great. I only get wrapped up in the romance of lower-division players coming good among the league players.