Portland Timbers 3-2 Minnesota United FC: Some Wild, Wholly Appropriate Shit

Behold, the "fairy tales gone bad" universe.

First, I don’t think I’ve ever seen an xG of 5.0 and, having watched this one live, I need to see MLS’s math on that. That doesn’t mean the Portland Timbers didn’t earn last night’s glorious, dramatic, come-from-behind, instant-classic 3-2 win over Minnesota United FC; that just points to how perilously close they came to fucking up the fairy-tale ending Timbers fans demanded.

The “fairy tale” piece of that relates less to the win than giving a proper send-off to long-time fan-favorite Dairon Asprilla, who played his last game in Portland Timbers green last night. I figure I’m irrelevant enough at this point to confess that I still don’t get Asprilla-mania. I do, however, accept that a genuinely stunning number of fans love him to pieces and I appreciate that love, perhaps more than the man himself. He’ll probably never make it to the Timbers’ Ring of Honor, but it somehow feels like he should; he transmuted from player to local lore over time, and in a way I doubt anyone could locate during the ten seasons he wore Timbers green (or, just as often, those rose-colored kits they wouldn’t stop wearing last season). If there’s a secret password to true Timbers fandom, I’m guessing Dairon Asprilla is part of the formula.

The fact it took some time for Portland to get going and back into last night’s game felt like a fitting tribute to The Man of the Hour (who took 5-6 seasons to bloom) – though, honestly, the first half was less about the Timbers playing like shit than going down by two goals, one of them fortunate, the other the bastard-child of a dumb mistake. For as much as they struggled to find the net and paths thereto, Portland created a couple good looks early and had players (with Felipe Mora carrying the banner) making the most out of half-chances. That doesn’t mean waving away what might have been had Minnesota not had a third goal pulled back for offside toward the end of the first half (gotta be in here, right?). That’s more about acknowledging that the general vibe wasn’t nearly as dire as it felt up to the penalty kick – earned by Mora, scored by Evander – that shoved Portland’s big toe back into the game; in keeping with that exotic xG, they had an entire foot in for most of the game.

A damned sturdy Clint Irwin made the first of his eight saves(!) immediately before the penalty kick he couldn’t keep out and, as the second half progressed, talk of wave-after-wave or pressure from the Timbers slips into the broadcast. With Minnesota barely able to get out of their own half by somewhere around the 60th minute, they game turned into a test of how much pressure the Loons could bear before they cracked and, finally, broke.

I posted some theories about how this game would play out last Thursday (or was it Friday?) and (surprise, surprise) a big part of that turned whether Portland could overwhelm an already depleted Minnesota midfield – one that got more depleted still when Wil Trapp checked out during warm-ups. While I’d love to toot my own horn on this, the Loons basically sacrificed midfield efficacy on the altar of creating a thicket between Portland and the goal; they didn’t really contest it, in other words. The Timbers still managed crazy (for them) possession numbers, but the only time the hollowed out midfield played a clear role came when the effective and occasionally electric Santiago Moreno got behind it (great ball by Evander, btw) to zig-zag at Minnesota’s back five to score the Timbers’ equalizer…

…which set the stage nicely for the capper.

It's just self-care, really.

Broadly speaking, I don’t do faith and, because I’m not a gambling addict, the thought of anything being “due” rarely crosses my mind. And yet, no part of me thought Portland was doomed to getting zero points or even just one last night. I went into the game believing Minnesota would be vulnerable, if to some approaches (transition) more than others (crosses), and nothing that happened as I watched led me to think otherwise. Portland had one job: keep plugging away and keep probing for weaknesses. And this is where the story circles back to Asprilla.

Phil Neville didn’t start him and, sure, between the fact Asprilla hasn’t started most of the season and a reasonable request to return him to Colombia intact, I get that call. That doesn’t mean I didn’t mouth the odd “seriously” as the time ticked toward the final whistle without him getting on the field. When Neville put him on at right back to replace Juan David Mosquera it felt…for lack of a better word, like denying Asprilla his best possible chance to commend his farewell to the ages with a final, well-earned contribution, regardless of the form. Was that irrational, particularly given the way Neville plays Mosquera – i.e., high AF and with a Wyoming’s worth of real estate behind him? Absolutely. And then came the crowd going wild every time Asprilla got on the ball.

Despite the fact it’s the main thing that keeps people coming to live games week in and week out, special moments are genuinely rare in spectator sports. I think I speak for literally every Timbers fan when I say that I would have gladly pocketed what looked like the late winner when Antony nodded in an already goal-bound Jonathan Rodriguez chip. Referee Tim Ford called that back for a handball (rightly; there’s this fucking bizarre conversation in the broadcast about whether or not Rodriguez’s handball was intentional…what?) and the clock kept ticking toward, why not just say it, disappointment.

It’s worth lingering on that because, of the five games between last night’s opening whistle and Leagues Cup, playing a slumping, depleted Minnesota team at Providence Park felt like Portland’s surest shot at three points. I couldn’t get a read on the call live and in real time, but the goal came back and the clock kept ticking toward the final whistle…but what did that really do besides tee up one of those rare special moments?

First, the Army was roaring. I sit in 210 (when I go) and you could actually feel the belief that three points were coming build in real time as the second half played out. Celebrating Asprilla’s every touch on the ball inspired it, but the VAR call-back on the Rodriguez/Antony attempt kicked it a couple gears closer to frothing. Throats yelled themselves hoarse and the claps thundered from the restart to Asprilla’s assist on Rodriguez’s game winner. I had to watch it again (fourth time now) to fully appreciate how far determination carried it. If you saw it, whether live or on TV, you witnessed one of the big moments in Portland Timbers history: a fan favorite stepping off the field, the last time he’ll do it, with his name on the stats page and three points to his team.

I have a bunch of notes/praise after this one, but, because it’s late and I’m old, fast as I can…

1) Is It Finally Clicking?
Was it improvement or a decimated Minnesota defense/midfield? Both Evander and Moreno played great games last night – and, fwiw, it took watching most of the game a second time to appreciate the patience and elegance of what Evander did (that’s as opposed to resenting him for dicking around too much) – but they looked actually good and dangerous. I’m looking forward to see if/how that translates against the next four games between now and Leagues Cup.

2) The Best Thing About Last Night
Portland’s defense, whether in midfield or deeper, winning 50/50s and stepping into dozens of passes into Sang bin Jeong, Bongokuhle Hlongwane and others. The goals happened, Portland’s defense…isn’t great, etc., but this still counts as my favorite defensive performance for the Timbers this season. Minnesota was limited, for sure, but I generally prefer acting over reacting when it comes to defense.

3) Phil Neville’s Secret Power?
How many successful, or even semi-successful, post-halftime adjustments as Neville made this season? I’m going to investigate tomorrow, but it feels like a healthy number off the top of my head. Will update and post the results of the research to reddit tomorrow, but, yeah, what if this is his ace in the hole?

That’s I for this one. I don’t have time to preview the visit to Dallas, but have to believe the Timbers have a good shot at three points down there, and an arguably better shot at one point(?). The same goes for when Nashville comes to Portland three days later, if with what I see as a little more risk to the overall project of collecting points.

To wrap up on Asprilla, I did try to make him the star of this post and that really does seem right. And, for what it’s worth, I’d put him on the Ring of Honor (or whatever it’s actually called). Like I said, the man feels like lore.