The FC Dallas defense cannot contain Darlington Nagbe. Four of his seven goals in 2013 have been scored against them leading to seven of nine possible points. Saturday night also showcased what Diego Valeri brings to the team, tallying two assists and nearly adding a goal on the night. This victory bumps the Timbers up to third in the west with 38 points and moves Dallas down to eighth with 33. Portland continues a busy week with a home game against Real Salt Lake on Wednesday before travelling north to face Seattle at home Sunday night.
For the first time in what feels like forever the Portland Timbers started a game with intensity. Their outside backs, again featuring 19-year-old Alvas Powell on the right, pushed high upfield to open up play and control possession. It worked, but nobody could break the Salt Lake defense. Each time they attacked and failed Dallas would look to counter immediately. The result was a high-energy, back-and-forth first 25 minutes that forced two saves from Donovan Ricketts.
Ryan Johnson opened up scoring in the 26th minute off a Diego Valeri corner kick. Valeri put the ball perfectly into center of the box and Johnson beat everyone to it. The nearest Dallas defender could only reach RJ’s shoulders.
FC Dallas equalized the game just two minutes later when Mauro Diaz scored his first goal in MLS. Fabian Castillo hit a one-touch through ball to Diaz who streaked through the Portland backline and tapped it past Ricketts.
The Timbers didn’t give up. Instead, they kept possession and let Diego Valeri orchestrate in the middle; exactly like Caleb Porter would want them to. It only took five minutes for Portland to regain lead.
Valeri received the ball from Diego Chara and started to move upfield. Just as the defense began to collapse towards him he played the ball right through Michel and Matt Hedges to find Darlington Nagbe. Nage broke away from Michel and rocketed the ball over Fernandez into the side netting. They play was really quite similar to Diaz and Castillo’s minutes before. Turn and collapse the defense, play a quick pass into the gap to a streaking player, and take the keeper one-on-one.
The second half was far slower than the first. The Timbers looked to hold onto their lead and control the game. Aside from a dangerous FCD free kick at the top of the box and a near goal from Ramon Nunez, it worked well. With no goals in the second 45 Portland would go on to win 2-1 and continue their 2013 unbeaten streak against FC Dallas.
TIMBERS SEEK REVENGE AGAINST REAL SALT LAKE
The Portland Timbers welcome Real Salt Lake to Jeld-Wen field exactly two weeks after being defeated by them in the US Open Cup semifinals. While their last meeting was one of the club’s most important games ever, a win this Wednesday could have an even bigger impact. Three points for either team means a better chance at the Supporters’ Shield.
RSL leads the Western Conference with 41 points, but are separated from eighth by just eight points. If the third place Timbers can get all three points they’ll enter a tie for first and have two games in hand over the leaders. This game becomes even more important to Portland’s playoff hopes when you consider that second place Colorado doesn’t play this week. They have the most games played in the West with 26; that’s one more game than RSL and three more than Portland. A win on Wednesday gives the Timbers an opportunity to move three to five points over Colorado and still have a game in hand. With Colorado rapidly moving up the table any cushion is vital.
Salt Lake is recoiling from a 4-2 defeat at the hands of Robbie Keane and the LA Galaxy. Keane scored three times to defeat the league-leaders and move to within four points of them. The most important thing to come from this match for Portland is the suspension of midfielder Kyle Beckerman. He will be serving suspension due to yellow card accumulation on Wednesday. While this is good news, RSL does get a break as Yordany Alvarez will come off of suspension and likely start as a defensive mid.
Portland is in worse shape regarding missing players. Will Johnson, Futty Danso, Frederic Piquionne, and possibly Jack Jewsbury all remain out. Even though I’d rather have the captain back, I was truly surprised by the play of Ben Zemanski against FC Dallas. He was breaking up plays left and right all match and never slowed down. If he plays at the same level his starting could be a good thing. Rest for Johnson and Jewsbury could aid their chances of recovering in time for Seattle away.
Projected Lineups:
Portland Timbers: Donovan Ricketts; Michael Harrington, Pa Modou Kah, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Alvas Powell; Ben Zemanski, Diego Valeri, Diego Chara; Rodney Wallace, Ryan Johnson, Darlington Nagbe
Real Salt Lake: Jeff Attinella; Chris Wingert, Nat Borchers, Carlos Salcedo, Tony Beltran; Yordany Alvarez; Ned Grabavoy, Luis Gil; Javier Morales; Alvaro Saborio, Joao Plata
