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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?
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?
