Rodney Wallace, Diego Valeri, and Will Johnson all scored Sunday night extending Portland’s unbeaten streak to 9 games. The Timbers dominated Chiva from the start, attempting their first shot in the second minute and first corner in the fifth. This was followed a Diego Valeri header saved by Chivas GK Patrick McLain in the 10th minute. Portland sustained this pressure all game preventing Chivas from ever taking control.
Despite the early attack by Portland, their first goal didn’t come until the 34th minute. Donovan Ricketts threw the ball to Diego Valeri halfway up-field who then played it to Ryan Johnson. R.J. one-touch lobbed the ball over three Chivas defenders to Rodney Wallace who was streaking up the left side. Wallace headed the ball down, while sprinting, and half-volleyed the ball right over Patrick McLain into the net.
At halftime there was only one substitution, Chelis replaced Giovani Casillas with Jose Correa to energize the Chivas attack. It worked, to a point, as Chivas recorded four shots between the 45th and 66th minutes, though only one of them was on target. After the 66th minute Chivas slowed allowing Portland take back momentum.
The 70th minute brought Portland their second goal. Ryan Johnson passed out of the corner to Darlington Nagbe who played Wallace at the top of the box. Wallace then turned the corner and slipped a ball right through three Chivas defenders to a wide open Diego Valeri. Valeri calmly tossed the ball into the net. The Goats appealed for offsides, but replay revealed former Timber Steve Purdy kept Valeri clearly onside.
Up by two goals, Portland slowed and focused on possession and controlling the clock. A lot of fans on Twitter dislike Porter’s tendency to “bunker” with the lead however, I really approve of it in this situation. Porter substituted Kalif Alhassan for a tiring Nagbe right after the goal in the 71st minute. Kalif is the perfect super-sub when playing a slower, more controlling style because it allows him to roam and be creative. He can hold the ball and then burst to exploit both tired feet and the clock. This is exactly what he brought in the final 23 minutes.
Portland scored their third and final goal in the second minute of stoppage time. Will Johnson, who was denied by McLain just a minute earlier, curled the ball perfectly into the far, bottom corner. Alhassan held the ball in the left corner and rather than wasting time, he played Will Johnson at the corner of the box. Johnson beat his defender and was wide open up top with only one defender and Patrick McLain to beat. He did so beautifully and the game came to an end. 3-0 Timbers.
Game Notes:
Nearly all the numbers from this game were in Portland’s favor. Compared to Chivas, the Timbers doubled both their number of shots and shots on goal, more than doubled their crosses, tripled their corners, won 13% more duels, had 146 more passes, and had 19.4% more possession. The only stat that Chivas outperformed the Timbers in was total number of fouls: Chivas had 10 where Portland conceded 14. This is drowned out however, by the two yellow cards that the Goats received.
The first and second goals showed why Ryan Johnson is such a good fit in Portland. The first goal followed this path: Ricketts to Valeri to R. Johnson to Wallace. The second went: R. Johnson to Nagbe to Wallace to Valeri. See a pattern here? Valeri, Ryan Johnson, and Wallace combining to get wingers and midfielders past the defense. While Ryan Johnson hasn’t scored for a few weeks, his hold-up play and passing has helped to spring Wallace, Valeri, and Nagbe.
What Portland Did to Win:
Last week I said that the Timbers needed defensive communication, deep midfield control, and fast wing play to win. They came through on each to get three goals and keep clean sheets.
Defensive Communication. Donovan Ricketts has an arm. His throw to Diego Valeri to spur the first goal was beautiful, strong and controlled to spring the counter. Futty Danso wasn’t up-to-par on his defensive headers, but he and Andrew Jean-Baptiste were able to get into the attack. With Chivas playing back a bit AJB was able to roam forward and start attacks from the midfield. He doesn’t move with the grace of Diego Valeri, but it open up space for attack.
Deep Midfield Control. Will Johnson and Diego Chara contributed more to the shutout than either center back. They know where they need to be and when, each player logging time in both boxes. Johnson had two blocks and Chara one interception in the Timbers box. Overall, Chara had the better defensive game and Johnson the better attack and possession.
Fast Wing Play. Rodney Wallace. That is really all I need to say about Portland’s wing play. I predicted Wallace to be man of the match and I think he earned it, this was easily the best game of his Timbers career. Wallace finished beautifully against Patrick McLain, assisted Valeri on the second goal with a beautiful pass, and shored up a tired defense the finish the game. He played everywhere. If Wallace keeps this form up, the Timbers have found their answer at left wing. Plus, he got me a ton of points in fantasy this week.
Timbers Travel to Vancouver
The Portland Timbers travel to Vancouver, B.C. for the second Cascadia Cup match of 2013 this Saturday. Both teams are coming off 3 goal wins; Portland won 3-0 over Chivas USA and Vancouver beat the LA Galaxy 3-1. This match could affect four different streaks. Vancouver is undefeated at home this season while Portland is undefeated on the road in 2013, on a nine match unbeaten streak, and has never lost to Vancouver.
Historically, Portland has crushed Vancouver. The Timbers have won four of the five matches played against the Whitecaps. The sole draw occurred in Portland on May 26th, 2012 with one goal from each club. Ex designated player Kris Boyd scored for Portland in the 67th minute and Darren Mattocks leveled it in the 84th. This game occurred just four days before the Timbers infamous 1-0 loss to Cal FC in the third-round of the U.S. Open Cup.
Halfway through May Portland is on the rise. They have 18 points and occupy second place in the Western Conference. No scorer for Portland has accumulated less than three goals in 2013. Darlington Nagbe, Rodney Wallace, and Diego Valeri each have three goals while Ryan and Will Johnson are tied for the lead with four. Wallace, Valeri, and Will Johnson all scored last week at home versus Chivas USA.
With one less game played, Vancouver is placed seventh in the West with 12 points with no players having scored more than two goals this season. Darren Mattocks, Kenny Miller, Russell Teibert, and Camilo Sanvezzo are tied with two goals. Gershon Koffie, Kekuta Manneh, Daigo Kobayashi, and Corey Hertzog have each scored once. Vancouver has three more scoring players than Portland, but has totaled six fewer goals. Teibert scored a brace last week against LA and will likely start against the Timbers.
The outcome of this game is hard to predict. The Whitecaps’ lineup is equally hard to guess as Chivas, manager martin Rennie likes to change both formation and squad from week to week. Vancouver played Wednesday in the first leg of the 2013 Canadian Championship final and tired legs could factor into their lineup. Even if no lineup changes are made, Timber wings will look to exploit any Whitecap fatigue. The Caps are without midfielders Daigo Kobayashi and Kenny Miller due to injury and center back Johnny Leveron due to MLS Disciplinary Committee decision. The only Timbers to miss this match are those recovering from surgery.
Predictions:
1. Pa Modou Kah’s Debut. Kah may not start given AJB’s solid game last week, but he will be on the bench. While unlikely, I think Porter could the trigger and give Kah the start despite his fitness. After all, Silvestre started right off the plane. Either way he should see a few minutes this weekend.
2. Frederic Piquionne’s First Goal (Or at least assist). I think the Timbers are up 1-0 until at least the 75th minute. Piquionne will likely be subbed on around this time and exploit the Whitecaps’ depleted center backs. It’s only a matter of time before Piquionne registers on the score sheet.
3. Timbers Hold At Least 65% Possession. With Kobayashi and Miller out, Portland has no excuse to split or lose possession. Over the last three games Vancouver has averaged just 37.77% possession. Porterball should be able to exploit this and lead to three points.
4. At Least Two Cards for Vancouver. Games between the Timbers and ‘Caps are chippy. The five games played between the clubs have yielded 17 yellow cards. 12 of these, including the only red card, have been issued to Whitecaps players. Cleats up Timbers, cleats up *clap*clap*.
Projected Lineups:
Portland Timbers: Donovan Ricketts; Michael Harrington, Futty Danso, Andre Jean-Baptiste, Jack Jewsbury; Diego Chara, Diego Valeri, Will Johnson; Darlington Nagbe, Ryan Johnson, Rodney Wallace
Vancouver Whitecaps: Joe Cannon; Alain Rochat, Brad Rusin, Andy O’Brien, Lee young-Pyo; Gershon Koffie, Nigel Reo-Coker; Russell Teibert, Corey Hertzog, Erik Hurtado; Darren Mattocks
(image courtesy of Jaime Valdez/USA Today Sports)
