It wasn’t the three points that the fans wanted (or that coach Caleb Porter felt his team deserved) however Timbers had no problems with a vaunted Real Salt Lake attack and that alone is reason for a modest celebration.
The Timbers hope Diego Chara can go Sunday (calf contusion)
54 is a pretty respectable count when compared to nearly every team in the league with two exceptions: Seattle (who scored 65 goals in 2014) and, Sunday’s opponent, the LA Galaxy (69).
“Don’t let the win fool you: the Galaxy looked a bit rusty on Friday.”
The team needed a horribly botched clearance by Chicago to create their first goal (honestly if players get tagged for “own goals”, why not “own assists”? Just a thought.)
Robbie Keane eventually got his goal to make it a respectable 2-0, but his frustration had boiled over with a goal celebration that was .. well, more assault laden than celebratory.
In short, blame what you want (the near strike, early season rust, the Landonlessness), what we saw on the field was hardly the dominating win a team of their caliber should have enjoyed over a minnow like Chicago.
Despite being on a holding pattern the Galaxy are on as the team segues from Landon Donovan to the Steven Gerrard era (coming this summer!), LA remains an excellent benchmark to judge the progress of the Portland defense.
For the Galaxy it starts on the wings and it’s all about utilizing space and movement. Robbie Rogers may have emerged as one of the top overlapping fullbacks in the league, however the width that he provides just wasn’t very apparent on Friday as Rogers and Dan Gargan combined for 0 successful crosses. The sides blocked, the Galaxy went up the middle.
All of which plays to the Timbers new found strength: central defense.
Twelve months ago such a notion might have seemed preposterous. Now? Not so much.
Liam Ridgewell and Nat Borchers were sharp against RSL and their body language belied an implicit understanding and trust between the two players. If anything surprised them, it was Adam Kwarsey, he of the sweeper-keeper mold, who would motion other players off the ball as he came out of his box.
If that’s the only adjustment the players need to make, the Timbers will gladly take it.
The center of the midfield will be where the battle will be won or lost. On paper, that would be a contest the Timbers could at least hold their own. In reality, the Timbers are, potentially, without their top three d-mids as Will Johnson and Ben Zemanski are definitely out, and Diego Chara may be as well. Note: Chara fully participated in practice this week.
With their central midfield depth tested, the Timbers turned to their depth and, against RSL, it worked as Prost’s own Niall McCusker had high marks for Jack Jewsbury and George Focive against RSL.
It all makes for an interesting chess match to be played at Providence Park on Sunday between Porter and Galaxy coach Bruce Arena. Each coach will make adjustments to their side but in the end, how well the Timbers can suppress the Galaxy stars will be the difference in Sunday’s contest.
