Clint Dempsey’s 77th Minute Goal Lifts Seattle Past The Portland Timbers 1-0

On Sunday, the cities of Seattle and Portland pitted their respective soccer teams against each other for the 89^th time. Other than the inherent rivalry that accompanies every Portland-Seattle match, this was not a particularly remarkable or memorable game, and Seattle won 1-0 on a goal coming from a fortunate bounce. There were no singular moments of skill, despite both teams having players capable of greatness. There was no last minute goal or real dramatics, other than a few missed opportunities for Portland to draw even. Portland was on the road in one of the more hostile environments in MLS while missing three regular starters including their two all-stars (Diego Valeri was on the bench and technically available, but is nowhere near ready to play a full 90 minutes).  And yet, despite all of this, I still found myself thoroughly disappointed when the final whistle was blown.

Soccer is a fickle game. Unlike most any other sport, one team can dominate for nearly the entire match, and still lose. One single play going for one team or the other is often the difference in a match that lasts 90 minutes, which makes the agony of seeing that one play go against your team especially painful. On Sunday, the Timbers came in to Seattle with a solid game plan and effectively neutralized Seattle’s duo of Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey. But in the 77^th minute, one long throw bounced just right off the artificial turf to Andy Rose and, while Adam Larsen-Kwarasey made the initial save, he couldn’t corral the rebound and Dempsey tapped it in for the only goal of the match. A solid effort from Portland, particularly on the defensive end, earned them no points, all because of one play.

Coach Caleb Porter knew he was shorthanded coming into this match and could not hope to match Seattle talent-wise. Even fully healthy, Seattle’s attacking talent is probably superior to the Timbers. Porter also knew that if Seattle and Portland ended up in a back-and-forth, up-and-down game, Portland would almost certainly not have the firepower to keep up. So he played a conservative style, emphasizing possession and positioning. This strategy worked well through the first 75 minutes of the game, but with Portland’s relatively toothless attack, the moment Seattle broke through in the 77^th minute, the game was essentially over. Fanendo Adi had a couple of decent headed opportunities to even the match, including one that went off the crossbar, but there was no miracle finish in store for the Timbers or their faithful.

It seems odd to say coming out a loss, but defensively this felt like Portland’s best effort of the season. Outside of possibly Los Angeles, the Timbers had not faced a team this season that had the attacking weapons Seattle wields. But Nat Borchers and Liam Ridgewell controlled the middle, Alvas Powell played excellently on the wing, and Diego Chara and Jack Jewsbury were effective in their holding midfield roles. Until the breakthrough, Seattle had a number of half-chances and a decent amount of the possession, but by and large Seattle and their fans were frustrated.

While the Timbers will certainly leave Seattle frustrated, efforts like this should be encouraging to Portland fans. It is efforts like this that will win matches when Valeri, Will Johnson, and Rodney Wallace are fit and keying more creative attacking play than was put forward tonight. Valeri and Coach Porter have publicly stated that next week’s match against Vancouver was his target date for return, which will have a dramatic impact on Portland’s attacking play.

Portland next gets a home date against the best team in the league thus far in fellow Cascadia rival Vancouver Whitecaps. The Timbers then play four out of their next five on the road, including a three-game road trip to Montreal, Houston, and Toronto. The MLS season is now in full swing, and Portland needs to start accumulating points. While efforts like they put forth against Seattle are to be applauded and learned from, efforts that continue to result in lost points will result in another lost season for the Timbers and their Army.