T2 versus Oklahoma City Energy FC
Tonight-8PM EST/7PM CST/5PMPST, Timbers2Online
Portland Timbers 2 (1-2-1, 4pts) close-out a three-game road trip against OKC Energy FC (1-3-0, 3pts) on Saturday. The match will be T2’s third in eight days and the fifth away match to open the season.
Energy FC enter the contest in less than stellar form, having lost three straight matches since opening their season with a win against rivals Tulsa Roughnecks FC. OKC has struggled on both sides of the ball, allowing seven goals and scoring a mere three. The goal discrepancy may be misleading. In their previous two matches, Energy FC held Orange County SC and Fresno FC to a total of four shots on target, stymieing the attack of two offensively prodigious United Soccer League sides.
The absence of forward Jose Angulo has left OKC in need of goals. Angulo had 11 goals in 19 appearances last season. The Colombian has missed all of 2018 with a groin strain. In his absence, Head Coach Steve Cooke has been forced to play makeshift forwards up top.
Inconsistency has been the issue early in the season for T2. The young side followed two strong performance to start the season with two anemic ones. Forwards Augustine Williams and Jeremy Ebobisse have already starting scoring, and Portland does not lack for opportunities. Portland has three players among the top 25 for chance creation, with midfielder Andre Lewis at fifth having created nine chances in four matches. Yet, T2 came up scoreless against Roughnecks FC, the most porous defense in the USL.
Portland’s struggles could be due to tactical choices. Head Coach Cameron Knowles found early success with a 4-4-2, pairing Ebobisse and Williams up top. Against Tulsa, however, Knowles elected to field a 4-3-3, which saw Ebobisse pushed to the left wing, and Williams as a lone striker. This adjustment isolated Ebobisse and limited his access to the ball. The American forward has shown, early this season and last year, his acuity as a central striker and his proclivity for dropping in hole, lacing passes, and creating chances. He had little opportunity on the wing to play to his strengths and T2 attacked overwhelming on the right side through Victor Arboleda. Portland found limited success until late in the match when Williams was subbed off and Ebobisse played as a striker.
T2’s inconsistencies are not limited to the attack. Through four games, Portland is tied for the league lead with two clean sheets but has allowed six goals. Four goals were conceded by T2 against Real Monarchs SLC, three of which came from set pieces and dismal man marking in the box. In the next match Portland’s defense largely limited Tulsa’s opportunities to shots from outside the 18-yard-box, and when Roughnecks FC threatened with real chances goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh came up with timely saves. McIntosh can keep T2 in a match, but only if it’s close.
Stream online at Timbers2.com, 5 p.m. PST.
T2
USL
