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| Deliberately chose a hazy one... |
Oh, and it happened again.
Portland Timbers 2-1 Seattle Sounders
The Match, Very Briefly
‘Twas a sloppy fucker, if you’re looking for a broad impression: whether hit too soft or at the wrong angle, passes strayed and stalled out all over the pitch (I don’t know who counts the passing accuracy; suspect there’s some closely guarded formula for it). The left a lot of 50/50s floating in space and Seattle won most of those during the first half. I don’t remember what all happened before what, but revisiting the game via the highlights reminded me that Seattle piled on the pressure for five minutes or so during or around Kalani Kossi-Rienzi’s go-ahead goal. James Pantemis also made one more tricky save than I remembered (and surely not just those two?), Albert Rusnak had a solid chance to put Seattle back in the lead mere seconds before the first half expired, one of those two tricky saves came in the second half, Nouhou fired a bullet just wide at the 65th minute, etc.
I wanted to pick through Seattle’s side of the result before turning to the Timbers for a couple reasons. There’s some truth to the argument that his game could have gone either way, for one, which makes that necessary place-setting for making the case for why it didn’t. It starts with Kevin Kelsy’s equalizer, which came 5-10 minutes after Seattle’s heaviest pile-on and not entirely against the run of play. The Timbers have profited over the past few games from running the same play through Kristoffer Velde over and over again – i.e., feed him the ball as wide as possible on the left and have him run however many defenders the opposition sends his way. For me, the sooner Velde reaches the decisive moment, the more he gets out of that position – and slinging shots/crosses into the gap between guys defending him and the rest of the defense has become Portland’s most reliable approach to goal lately. Kevin Kelsy deserves at least as much credit, last night and generally, because the man’s crashing around the area like he owns it. Could see him getting 20 goals this season, which would be, y'know, good.
The New Math of the possession stat aside, the quality of play didn’t tick up much over the game. Both teams struggled to get their foot on the ball long enough to run the game, which made making the most of the good bits decisive. Seattle’s good bits came fewer and further apart as the second half wore on – I can’t remember anything after Nouhou’s shot (in fairness, the memory hole yawns wide) – while Portland’s came closer together. When Portland went ahead courtesy of a seeing-eye shot from 20 yards out from Brandon Bye, teed up smartly by (my personal enigma) David Da Costa, Seattle actually fell apart. It took them five interrupted passes to do what they did with one pass in the first half and the vibes turned jittery; the “no, no, no not again” panic bled through the TV screen.
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| From a post titled, "so you fell off the wagon again." |
In his post-game presser, Seattle head coach Brian Schmetzer argued that Seattle didn’t lose last night’s game 2-1, or at least he slipped that in between charging Timbers fans with celebrating in poor taste, "gut the fish," the tifo, etc. That comment falls somewhere between defensive and delusional. Not because Timbers fans are cheerfully dunking on that on Bluesky this morning, but because what the Sounders looked like after giving up that second goal. A kind of unflappability has been Seattle’s superpower for as long as they’ve been in MLS; this is a team that, over its history, does not come apart at the seams game after game after game, never mind panic. Injuries have forced them to look deeper and deeper down the bench for starters, particularly on defense, which have left cool heads in short supply. And maybe knowing that Cristian Roldan, Yeimar and Jackson Ragen will come back into the team gives Schmetzer faith that they’ll turn things around before 2026 slips away, but that doesn’t answer all the misfiring on the attacking end, where Seattle does have most of their starters. I didn’t realize the Sounders had scored just two goals over their past five games going into last night until the broadcast booth flagged it and that leaves me thinking that the question of how Seattle’s season ends may be more of an open question than it usually is. The one true thing for now: the wheels are off the wagon and they’re barreling to
Getting back to the Timbers, and with the Leagues Cup break coming up, I wanted to take a wider view in the talking points than I usually do. In no particular order…
The Vibez
Circumstance (e.g., the red card in the RSL game) and the opposition (e.g., playing an officially shattered Sounders team twice…then again, did Portland do the shattering?) makes it hard to get a clear bead on how much Phil Neville held this roster back from its full potential. Still, and with sincere condolences for what all this must be doing to Phil’s confidence as a coach, the results turned around after he left and that can’t be avoided. Doubts and caveats aside, my greatest source of pride and comfort comes from the fact that the Timbers have turned around each of the last three games after going a goal down; the fact they did it twice against Dallas, aka, the game that feels the most “real” for me, sells me on the state of their collective head space. Moreover, a couple players went missing yesterday – Nouhou absolutely shackled Ariel Lassiter (hold this thought) and Cole Bassett played like his shoes were coated in oil most of the night – which makes it heartening to see the rest of team cover and carry them through.
A Glorious Regency
What happens when Jack Cassidy hands the reins over to Marti Cifuentes? Four games unbeaten and ten points out of twelve feels great, but Portland’s still eighth in the West and can’t afford to miss too many beats if they want to keep up in the Western Conference, never mind climb up the table. For what it’s worth, I do see some slippage above them – looking mainly at RSL and San Jose – and that could clear a lane, maybe two, but Portland burned some margin for error at the start of 2026. I don’t want to make too much of this, not least because 1) Timbers fans now have fresh license to dream, something that would have sounded daft going into the World Cup break, and 2) it’s pure anxious speculation, but this particular Pony Express will get a new rider and soon and, even if was always going to end, the status quo feels...well, nice.
The Goal Differential, aka, a Case for Mild Indigestion
Unless I’m botching the math (check it, by all means; I skeeted that Portland won 2-0 earlier this morning), Portland has scored 22 goals over the past 10 games and allowed 15 – i.e., hardly an ideal number of goals allowed, but The O has it covered with breathing room. About that breathing room: take the goals scored/allowed versus Sporting KC (6-0) and the five goals scored at (HA!) Seattle (5-1) out of the mix and that sinks to 11 goals scored and 14 goals allowed. The timing of the SKC win means you don’t even get to play the “yes, but Phil” card. Those wins count and they feel great, but they are, factually, aberrations and they’re padding the positive side of the ledger a bit. This is why I can’t let go of that red card in the win versus RSL.
I have loose thoughts on some specifics – e.g., I’ve made peace with Velde (see the case in the previous post), Kelsy has rounded into a quality forward, or at least good fit for the sytem, Da Costa forces my mind open every other time he plays, I have nebulous doubts about the defense/defensive midfield, etc. – but I’m going to close out on a narrower talking point:
Don’t Make Me Say It…
I voted to give Ariel Lassiter a run as a starter after the World Cup break and I got my wish. Having got my wish…I don’t know, man. I like Lassiter as a starter over Antony on a least two levels – whether misplaced or not, his confidence isn’t half as shot as Antony’s (and I don't think it's misplaced) and the quality of his dead-ball service – but the balance of the attack runs through Velde (and Da Costa) for a reason and, with a nod to last night, the Timbers’ play up the right side improved after Antony came on last night. Maybe Cassidy made adjustments with Bye that I didn’t catch, but Antony and Bye just functioned better as a pairing and I think some of that’s down to Antony being more comfortable running the channel, while Lassiter’s better wide – but isn’t that where Bye operates? It pain me to say this, not least because it feels like the default solution over each of the past three or four seasons, but…I think Portland needs a new winger, dammit.
If I had to declare the state of the Timbers, I’d offer something along the lines of “all right.” Recent results make a reasonable case for “good” and, again, the vibez feel genuinely good, the playoffs suddenly seem plausible, but…
Precarious isn’t the right word, but there’s something on the tip of my tongue that doesn't taste quite right, even if I can’t name it.
We’ll get answers down the road. In the meantime, however, this channel’s gonna shut off its critical faculties and just enjoy the Leagues Cup.
Circumstance (e.g., the red card in the RSL game) and the opposition (e.g., playing an officially shattered Sounders team twice…then again, did Portland do the shattering?) makes it hard to get a clear bead on how much Phil Neville held this roster back from its full potential. Still, and with sincere condolences for what all this must be doing to Phil’s confidence as a coach, the results turned around after he left and that can’t be avoided. Doubts and caveats aside, my greatest source of pride and comfort comes from the fact that the Timbers have turned around each of the last three games after going a goal down; the fact they did it twice against Dallas, aka, the game that feels the most “real” for me, sells me on the state of their collective head space. Moreover, a couple players went missing yesterday – Nouhou absolutely shackled Ariel Lassiter (hold this thought) and Cole Bassett played like his shoes were coated in oil most of the night – which makes it heartening to see the rest of team cover and carry them through.
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| Gonna miss Jack Cassidy... |
What happens when Jack Cassidy hands the reins over to Marti Cifuentes? Four games unbeaten and ten points out of twelve feels great, but Portland’s still eighth in the West and can’t afford to miss too many beats if they want to keep up in the Western Conference, never mind climb up the table. For what it’s worth, I do see some slippage above them – looking mainly at RSL and San Jose – and that could clear a lane, maybe two, but Portland burned some margin for error at the start of 2026. I don’t want to make too much of this, not least because 1) Timbers fans now have fresh license to dream, something that would have sounded daft going into the World Cup break, and 2) it’s pure anxious speculation, but this particular Pony Express will get a new rider and soon and, even if was always going to end, the status quo feels...well, nice.
The Goal Differential, aka, a Case for Mild Indigestion
Unless I’m botching the math (check it, by all means; I skeeted that Portland won 2-0 earlier this morning), Portland has scored 22 goals over the past 10 games and allowed 15 – i.e., hardly an ideal number of goals allowed, but The O has it covered with breathing room. About that breathing room: take the goals scored/allowed versus Sporting KC (6-0) and the five goals scored at (HA!) Seattle (5-1) out of the mix and that sinks to 11 goals scored and 14 goals allowed. The timing of the SKC win means you don’t even get to play the “yes, but Phil” card. Those wins count and they feel great, but they are, factually, aberrations and they’re padding the positive side of the ledger a bit. This is why I can’t let go of that red card in the win versus RSL.
I have loose thoughts on some specifics – e.g., I’ve made peace with Velde (see the case in the previous post), Kelsy has rounded into a quality forward, or at least good fit for the sytem, Da Costa forces my mind open every other time he plays, I have nebulous doubts about the defense/defensive midfield, etc. – but I’m going to close out on a narrower talking point:
Don’t Make Me Say It…
I voted to give Ariel Lassiter a run as a starter after the World Cup break and I got my wish. Having got my wish…I don’t know, man. I like Lassiter as a starter over Antony on a least two levels – whether misplaced or not, his confidence isn’t half as shot as Antony’s (and I don't think it's misplaced) and the quality of his dead-ball service – but the balance of the attack runs through Velde (and Da Costa) for a reason and, with a nod to last night, the Timbers’ play up the right side improved after Antony came on last night. Maybe Cassidy made adjustments with Bye that I didn’t catch, but Antony and Bye just functioned better as a pairing and I think some of that’s down to Antony being more comfortable running the channel, while Lassiter’s better wide – but isn’t that where Bye operates? It pain me to say this, not least because it feels like the default solution over each of the past three or four seasons, but…I think Portland needs a new winger, dammit.
If I had to declare the state of the Timbers, I’d offer something along the lines of “all right.” Recent results make a reasonable case for “good” and, again, the vibez feel genuinely good, the playoffs suddenly seem plausible, but…
Precarious isn’t the right word, but there’s something on the tip of my tongue that doesn't taste quite right, even if I can’t name it.
We’ll get answers down the road. In the meantime, however, this channel’s gonna shut off its critical faculties and just enjoy the Leagues Cup.
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