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| Some have it, some get out of the way. |
Inter Miami CF 2-0 Portland Timbers
What Passes for a Match Report
My personal highlights included Cole Bassett nutmegging Rodrigo De Paul in the first half (even if the ensuing play went nowhere) and Joao Ortiz getting off scot-free after absolutely wrecking him in the second, but that doesn’t show up on the scoreboard like Lionel Messi cutting through four defenders like a cosmically centered border collie wrecking an obstacle course. You have to tip your hat to the guy on that one, no matter how grudgingly, but seeing the defenders lose the sunsetting legend score Miami’s first goal on yet another give-and-go and the 1,000,000th trailing run of his career sticks in the craw like a broken chicken bone. At any rate, the fat lady broke into her aria after the second goal. One could make a fair case she started her vocal exercises after the first.
You have to sit through the full highlights to see Portland’s better moments (with MLS doing the clipping, I assume Messi’s wunder-run consumed the snapshot whole). Despite posting decent numbers, the Timbers didn’t put up much resistance. Kevin Kelsy probably fired Portland’s most collectively competent shot on goal (second half header) and Cole Bassett shot a smart one from range in the first half, but their chances of scoring more than one goal felt like something between fantasy and pipe dream. With 13 games in the books and just one (tough) game left to play versus the San Jose Earthquakes (more…tomorrow? Thursday?), the stinging sense that Portland’s not really in the hunt for, well, anything lingers like a fart in an elevator. The answer to the question of what’s going wrong boils down to the enduring cliché [gestures broadly]. The eye test is only really damning on the attack end – take the six goals scored versus Sporting Kansas City out of the sample and Portland averages a sliver above one goal a game – but the defense can’t be great when the Timbers posted its only clean sheet…versus SKC.
I don’t want to call things hopeless – despite having just four wins, the Timbers posted a couple real ones (e.g., the win versus LAFC and the win at San Diego), but I don’t know what to call 12th in the West but a hard fact and, even with San Jose stumbling over the past four match days (two draws, followed by two losses), nothing can keep Portland from going into the (curs’d) World Cup break a fair stretch below the playoff line. So, yeah, pour one out for the loss, hope they go into the break on a high and let’s close this post out with…
A Handful of Strays
1) Too Big, Perhaps?
Has anyone else noticed how wide Portland makes the field when they set up at the top of the attacking third? I understand the general principle of opening space for players to operate, but have also wondered about the extent to which that effectively separates them from one another and hinders combination play. Still working out a better explanation on this, but I sometimes feel like Phil Neville watches too much basketball. It’s like he built the Timbers attack around the idea of breaking the defense by having players beat defenders one-v-one.
2) Hitting the Connection in the Other Direction
Portland’s attack is infamously static – i.e., a lot of dudes waiting to receive the ball from the player currently holding it – but I’ve had another theory I’ve kept to myself for fear of confessing I Know Nothing About Soccer. Too much of the movement Timbers attackers attempt comes back toward the player on the ball, as opposed to pushing against the backline (or just moving generally, but that's for a longer, more complicated study in frustration). I can’t count the number of times I’ve spotted a wide player (not named Brandon Bye) hold in place multiple yards in front of the defense, as opposed to raising his hand to volunteer for a run in behind. Some of that follows from wanting to hold the shape together, of course, but seeing exploitable space go begging raises questions – especially when I’m watching live. The particulars of the mechanics aside, I’d like to see the Timbers attack put more pressure on the last line of the opposition’s defense and to do it more often. Turning now to some positives…
3) Kevin Kelsy Puts in a Shift
The dude busts ass out there and on both sides of the ball. I just want to celebrate that. He leads the team in scoring (five goals, three assists) and he deserves to. We need our bright spots.
4) The Inevitable Midfield Conversation
For me, Cole Bassett has stepped up as Portland’s best signing in some time, or at least its most coherent one. He covers ground, keeps the ball moving, generally makes good decisions and finds the odd next-level pass to boot. Bassett doesn’t provide an apples-to-apples replacement for David Ayala’s distribution by any means – and he’s probably a lesser defensive player – but he provides real value when it comes to playmaking once removed from the attacking third. As such, I’d put him into every starting lineup for which he’s reasonably available and whole. With that, the question becomes who plays around him and where. I appreciate that Jose Caicedo took a knock (or was it has hamstring that crapped out; also, was this missed in the assessment? is it a blessing from the turf?), but I’m back to being stuck on how well what I know of his profile meshes with Bassett’s. And if Bassett’s pulling the strings from that line, where does Phil (or, hopefully, his replacement) play David Da Costa? Why was Joao Ortiz signed? I could go on all night, but it all points to the post’s final question…
5) Who Was Portland’s Last Exciting Player?
This came to me in the context of seeing Real Salt Lake’s wealth of players who have fans and pundits buzzing. That includes the one who got away (Noel Caliskan), but Zavier Gozo, Sergi Solans, Diego Luna and even Aidan Hezarkhani has tongues wagging. Or what about the kid with Dallas, Samuel Sarver, a player with three goals in a fraction of the minutes that Kristoffer Velde has enjoyed across every start for Portland this season (Sarver has 183 minutes to Velde’s 1,137). Those aren’t direct comparisons – i.e., Sarver’s out there to make the most of the limited minutes while Velde’s tasked with carrying an offense through the full 90 – but I’m struggling to think of the last time the Timbers had an attacking player that opposing teams generally worried about. Phil gets a lot of shit for the state of things, but my attention has shifted to Ned Grabavoy more and more lately.
I anticipate posting a player-by-player review after the San Jose result, whichever way that goes, but that’s it for this one…which wasn’t all that short. If you made it through, hats off to you, ya guldurn hero.
What Passes for a Match Report
My personal highlights included Cole Bassett nutmegging Rodrigo De Paul in the first half (even if the ensuing play went nowhere) and Joao Ortiz getting off scot-free after absolutely wrecking him in the second, but that doesn’t show up on the scoreboard like Lionel Messi cutting through four defenders like a cosmically centered border collie wrecking an obstacle course. You have to tip your hat to the guy on that one, no matter how grudgingly, but seeing the defenders lose the sunsetting legend score Miami’s first goal on yet another give-and-go and the 1,000,000th trailing run of his career sticks in the craw like a broken chicken bone. At any rate, the fat lady broke into her aria after the second goal. One could make a fair case she started her vocal exercises after the first.
You have to sit through the full highlights to see Portland’s better moments (with MLS doing the clipping, I assume Messi’s wunder-run consumed the snapshot whole). Despite posting decent numbers, the Timbers didn’t put up much resistance. Kevin Kelsy probably fired Portland’s most collectively competent shot on goal (second half header) and Cole Bassett shot a smart one from range in the first half, but their chances of scoring more than one goal felt like something between fantasy and pipe dream. With 13 games in the books and just one (tough) game left to play versus the San Jose Earthquakes (more…
I don’t want to call things hopeless – despite having just four wins, the Timbers posted a couple real ones (e.g., the win versus LAFC and the win at San Diego), but I don’t know what to call 12th in the West but a hard fact and, even with San Jose stumbling over the past four match days (two draws, followed by two losses), nothing can keep Portland from going into the (curs’d) World Cup break a fair stretch below the playoff line. So, yeah, pour one out for the loss, hope they go into the break on a high and let’s close this post out with…
A Handful of Strays
1) Too Big, Perhaps?
Has anyone else noticed how wide Portland makes the field when they set up at the top of the attacking third? I understand the general principle of opening space for players to operate, but have also wondered about the extent to which that effectively separates them from one another and hinders combination play. Still working out a better explanation on this, but I sometimes feel like Phil Neville watches too much basketball. It’s like he built the Timbers attack around the idea of breaking the defense by having players beat defenders one-v-one.
 |
| The crowd is very much calling out interjections. |
Portland’s attack is infamously static – i.e., a lot of dudes waiting to receive the ball from the player currently holding it – but I’ve had another theory I’ve kept to myself for fear of confessing I Know Nothing About Soccer. Too much of the movement Timbers attackers attempt comes back toward the player on the ball, as opposed to pushing against the backline (or just moving generally, but that's for a longer, more complicated study in frustration). I can’t count the number of times I’ve spotted a wide player (not named Brandon Bye) hold in place multiple yards in front of the defense, as opposed to raising his hand to volunteer for a run in behind. Some of that follows from wanting to hold the shape together, of course, but seeing exploitable space go begging raises questions – especially when I’m watching live. The particulars of the mechanics aside, I’d like to see the Timbers attack put more pressure on the last line of the opposition’s defense and to do it more often. Turning now to some positives…
3) Kevin Kelsy Puts in a Shift
The dude busts ass out there and on both sides of the ball. I just want to celebrate that. He leads the team in scoring (five goals, three assists) and he deserves to. We need our bright spots.
4) The Inevitable Midfield Conversation
For me, Cole Bassett has stepped up as Portland’s best signing in some time, or at least its most coherent one. He covers ground, keeps the ball moving, generally makes good decisions and finds the odd next-level pass to boot. Bassett doesn’t provide an apples-to-apples replacement for David Ayala’s distribution by any means – and he’s probably a lesser defensive player – but he provides real value when it comes to playmaking once removed from the attacking third. As such, I’d put him into every starting lineup for which he’s reasonably available and whole. With that, the question becomes who plays around him and where. I appreciate that Jose Caicedo took a knock (or was it has hamstring that crapped out; also, was this missed in the assessment? is it a blessing from the turf?), but I’m back to being stuck on how well what I know of his profile meshes with Bassett’s. And if Bassett’s pulling the strings from that line, where does Phil (or, hopefully, his replacement) play David Da Costa? Why was Joao Ortiz signed? I could go on all night, but it all points to the post’s final question…
5) Who Was Portland’s Last Exciting Player?
This came to me in the context of seeing Real Salt Lake’s wealth of players who have fans and pundits buzzing. That includes the one who got away (Noel Caliskan), but Zavier Gozo, Sergi Solans, Diego Luna and even Aidan Hezarkhani has tongues wagging. Or what about the kid with Dallas, Samuel Sarver, a player with three goals in a fraction of the minutes that Kristoffer Velde has enjoyed across every start for Portland this season (Sarver has 183 minutes to Velde’s 1,137). Those aren’t direct comparisons – i.e., Sarver’s out there to make the most of the limited minutes while Velde’s tasked with carrying an offense through the full 90 – but I’m struggling to think of the last time the Timbers had an attacking player that opposing teams generally worried about. Phil gets a lot of shit for the state of things, but my attention has shifted to Ned Grabavoy more and more lately.
I anticipate posting a player-by-player review after the San Jose result, whichever way that goes, but that’s it for this one…which wasn’t all that short. If you made it through, hats off to you, ya guldurn hero.
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