Portland didn’t just win their first playoff match, last Saturday was the first time they had ever even lead a game in Seattle. Ryan Johnson scored early to put the Timbers up and Darlington Nagbe added another in the second half to seal it. Osvaldo Alonso pulled one back late, but there’s still at least 90 minutes to be played in this two-leg series. The two teams meet again tonight at 8:00 PM in Portland, Oregon.
My man of the match this week is Caleb Porter. He knew exactly how to pick apart the Sounders diamond formation by working the wings. With defender DeAndre Yedlin out, Portland worked Seattle’s right side aggressively. Anytime they had the ball it was attack, attack, attack the left until the Sounders collapse and then switch to Jack Jewsbury on the right. This is exactly what brought about the first goal of the night.
Fifteen minutes in Ryan Johnson found the back of the net. Diego Chara switched the play to Jewsbury on the right wing with acres of space. Jewsbury crossed near post and found a wide open Ryan Johnson who headed it home.
The Sounders controlled a lot of possession in the second half, but couldn’t find a way through the Timber defense. Seattle was able to send in a lot of crosses and earned eight corners in the first half. The Great Wall of Gambia held up and weathered the storm of balls to protect Portland’s one goal lead into the half.
Not much changed in the second 45 for either team. Seattle continued to control possession and Portland would counter down the left and switch wide to the right. Six Sounders players are drawn to Rodney Wallace, Ryan Johnson, and Darlington Nagbe on the Timbers left wing. The ball gets passed out to Will Johnson who switches to Alhassan on the right. While this was happening Nagbe made his way across field and connected with Kalif. He took one touch past the defender and beat keeper Marcus Hahnemann for the Timbers second goal of the night.
With Portland up by two in the 67th minute Seattle needed to change something. In the 77th coach Sigi brought on Shalrie Joseph for Adam Moffat. Sounder fans were perplexed by the change as Joseph isn’t known for his attacking prowess. But, it paid off to the tune of one goal in the 90th minute. Brad Evans sent a long throw in to Shalrie Joseph. Joseph perfectly flicked it on to Osvaldo Alonso who volleyed the ball right past Donovan Ricketts.
With the score in the Timbers’ favor at 2-1, the teams move on to the second-leg of the Western Conference semifinals in Portland. Tonight is going to be a wet, wild, and intense game for both the teams and supporters. Caleb Porter’s group has to feel confident being a goal up at home, but with Obafemi Martins and DeAndre Yedlin likely returning to the Sounders’ starting 11 there isn’t any room for slack.
There shouldn’t be many changes for Portland’s lineup tonight, save the possibility of Maxi Urruti making it back into the lineup. Even if he’s fully fit I doubt that Urruti makes the starting lineup. Ryan Johnson, especially after scoring in the opening 15’ last Saturday, should take that spot. What I am curious of is whether or not Valeri starts. If he starts and needs to be subbed out, Portland loses one of their best penalty kick threats. If he subs on at the half, then the Timbers give up a lot of their midfield control to Seattle early. I think he starts regardless. Porter isn’t going to be playing for PKs tonight, he’s going to be looking for goals early and often.
Seattle is going to have some changes, the question is how many. The most likely change is Obafemi Martins starting in place of the suspended Lamar Neagle. If he can’t go then Mauro Rosales could get the start instead. DeAndre Yedlin should return to his standard RB position, assuming he is healthy enough.
Then there’s the battle between Michael Gspurning and Marcus Hahnemann for the starting keeper job. With Gspurning back from red card suspension he could start in goal, but do Seattle fans really want him to? Gspurning is prone to both clean sheets and making some wild mistakes. On the flip side, Hahnemann gives up goals period. This could be the Sounders best shot; giving up the chance at clean sheets and instead looking to outscore the Timbers. It’s scary, but it could work out.
Finally, Seattle could be without starting left back Leonardo Gonzalez. This would hurt the most out of all the game time decisions. If he is held out, Portland could conceivably play the exact same game they did last week, just on the right side instead of the left. This would open up Rodney Wallace to beat the Sounders backline once the ball switches back to the left. In Leo’s place would be Marc Burch, a far more offensive minded player than Gonzalez.
This is it, Portland’s entire season is riding on tonight’s performance. With a one goal lead coming in and a lengthy unbeaten streak at home, the Timbers have a much needed edge. A draw or win and Portland advances, a loss by one and it’s extra time with the possibility of penalties. Seattle must win by two, like Kansas City did last night, to advance outright to the conference finals. My two men to watch tonight are Pa Modou Kah and Futty Danso. The Great Wall of Gambia is going to be tested over and over with balls in the air and they need to clear them all well. A single poor clearance and Seattle could turn their season around.
Projected Lineups:
Portland Timbers: Donovan Ricketts; Jack Jewsbury, Futty Danso, Pa Modou Kah, Michael Harrington; Diego Chara, Diego Valeri, Will Johnson; Darlington Nagbe, Ryan Johnson, Rodney Wallace
Seattle Sounders: Marcus Hahnemann; DeAndre Yedlin, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Marc Burch; Osvaldo Alonso, Brad Evans, Adam Moffat, Clint Dempsey; Obafemi Martins, Eddie Johnson
