Minnesota United FC 2-1 Portland Timbers: Acknowledging Inevitability

I'm a horse-girl. No, seriously.

To lead this post/set of observations with something that doesn’t get mentioned nearly often enough: Minnesota United FC is a good soccer team right now. Trust me, I did a lot of maths!

I bring that up because the Portland Timbers played a better overall game at Minnesota than they have in recent weeks – even if they caught a break here (e.g., start watching this at 1:43) and there (the rest of the highlights, really).

You know where Portland didn’t play on good overall game? At home against a serially self-sabotaging San Jose Earthquakes team at midweek at (fucking) Providence Park. I embraced the win as if straight-up French-kissing that gift horse like we’re getting married as soon as pa-PA gives his blessing, but the Timbers reprised their season-long pattern of frittering away a whole goddamn home with their own unique spin on self-sabotage. Thus, and but for the ‘Quakes capacity to implode, Portland would not have that bright little blip in what has otherwise been a horrific stretch of 10 games. Again, I looked into this and can confirm that the Timbers have been Chicago Fire FC bad over their past 10 games. They have some company in their little corner of Hell, but even that stops at two to three teams.

A Summary
The stats back up my eye test – i.e., Minnesota came just shy of doubling Portland in every attacking stat; also, the Loons as a compelling attacking team, let that sink in for a bit – so, I’m not entirely surprised that the Timbers succumbed under the weight of the challenge. That said, I saw enough positives, whether true or false, for the final 1-2 result to burn a little. For instance, if this matches the actual form/rough function of the lineup pictured here, I like it more than I hate it. For all the bullets it dodged, it kept its basic shape and provided the offense with some bonafide sharp looks – i.e., there’s a reason Minnesota’s Dane St. Clair ended with as many saves than Portland’s Maxime Crepeau – and, Minnesota’s actual goals aside, St. Clair faced tougher shots than Crepeau in my mind.

In the positive column, Portland scored a good, early goal – one that leaned into the main fine-point strength I think they have right now, finding Jonathan Rodriguez’s runs. That could be jumping the gun, absolutely, but the more Rodriguez succeeds, the more space he opens up for Felipe Mora (how hit the crossbar on one those shots that don’t count as “on goal” despite hitting the fucking goal), et al. And please do read that as a shout in support of a two-forward system for future Timbers lineups. For all that, Portland’s night in the better half of the Twin Cities (kidding; don’t have a rooting interest between them) boiled down to grasping after the odd opportunity they sprung off the counter.

And it all that would have paid off but for Minnesota’s meddling…and just greater ability as a fully-functioning soccer team. I counted at least a half dozen occasions where they more or less pulled the Timbers apart. The breakdown was inevitable, basically/arguably, and for reasons not so different from why San Jose lost to Portland after they went up by two goals. And yet, the Timbers pulled off some its best emergency defending of the season against, again, a decently-competent attack. It took them 65 minutes to do it, but Minnesota scored the two goals they needed – if thanks to some high-risk defensive moments of their own (again, see full highlights) – and I feel comfortable saying the better team won.

Oh, yeah. You're tripping hard.

The big question for me? Did I see a better Timbers team in this Starting XI or is this Kool-Aid like the best thing you’ve ever drank? Moving on to…

Five Talking Points
1) Portland’s “Now League-Worst!” Defense and Minnesota’s Second Goal
I’ve watched this five times and I can’t figure out how any/all Timbers players involved could have responded better once the damn broke. Voting starts once this post goes up and doesn’t end until AI erases this blog due to [insufficient readership], but I’m not sure this lumps into the defensive malpractice that has plagued Portland all season. Minnesota’s first goal comes closer, but even then…

2) Ayala, Uber Alles
That’s a Dead Kennedys bit, by the way, nothing more or less. It’s also a way of me saying that I want to see David Ayala start in every possible game going forward until he succumbs to injury, needs a break, or moves on to the better and brighter things I might see in those soon-to-be 22-year-old legs (his birthday’s in July). I don’t know how and with whom Phil Neville builds his central midfield this season, but I see upsides in Ayala that I don’t see in his…more or less immediate rivals like Cristhian Paredes (who doesn’t pass even 1/3 as well; becoming a real issue) and Eryk Williamson (Ayala’s more natural defensively and opens the field better than Williamson). I can still midfield configurations with any of those players, but this team needs an ideal set sooner rather than later. Dammit.

3) Do You Believe in the Depth (or Are You Just a Nihilist?)
I feel like Portland came closer to a better line up at Minnesota than they have all season. It has its issues – e.g., Dairon Asprilla didn’t always look comfortable as the player of last resort on Portland’s right and playing without Diego Chara always feels a little too much like streaking (like that one time, at midnight, past Safeway), etc. – but I 1) like the personnel and conception; and 2) feel better about Portland’s capacity to safely experiment to build its best-possible line-up for 2024.

4) Zuperman
If Zuparic didn’t prove himself to be the most indispensable defender on Portland’s roster, he revealed himself to be the most determined for the 120th time in his career with the Timbers (that’s the number of games he’s played for the team, btw). From today until the day he leaves the Timbers, stops playing or completely faceplants in a series of games, I want to see Zuparic in Portland’s starting line-up.

5) An Ongoing Problem with the Product
Again, Portland sucks at ball-progression and passing generally and it has become the primary thing I can't unsee, particularly when the Timbers play a team that passes well and with confidence like (again) Minnesota (of all teams; seriously, fucking Minnesota?). The way this makes me want to rip my hair out is the primary reason I want Ayala to start starting. And keep on keeping on.

Dammit. That went on longer than I wanted. Till the next one and hope it gave you something to dwell on.