The Portland Timbers once again pulled a rabbit out of the hat on Saturday night against Real Salt Lake, with Center Back Nat Borchers scoring on his former club after Diego Valeri’s corner kick found him in the 95th minute to escape Utah with a 1-0 victory and all three incredibly valuable points.
The Timbers have to feel fortunate to leave the game with any points, much less three, after being badly outplayed by Real Salt Lake in the first half and spending much of the second absorbing pressure in an attempt to counter. The statistics from the game paint an even uglier picture: Portland lost the possession battle 35/65, were out-shot 15-10, and RSL completed almost 90% of their passes, including 83% in Portland’s third of the field.
Real Salt Lake came out of the gate clearly motivated, as this was a game they badly needed to get back in the thick of the Western Conference playoff race. Portland did not appear ready to match the intensity of their opponents early on, and Real Salt Lake had a number of good chances in the first 30 minutes of the game. For the Timbers, even getting into halftime tied 0-0 was a combination of good luck, poor finishing by Real Salt Lake, and a couple of excellent saves by goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey.
Portland’s second half was better and more organized, with a clearer strategy of absorbing the pressure from Real Salt Lake and then attempting to spring the counter-attack. Portland had a number of odd-man rushes and opportunities in the second half, including one in the 71st minute where Valeri was able to get on the end of a cross from Maximiliano Urruti and force a terrific save by Real Salt Lake goalkeeper and long-time Portland nemesis, Nick Rimando. But it wasn’t until Borchers’ miracle header that the Timbers were able to score on Rimando for the first time in nearly two and a half years.
After the victory over Real Salt Lake, Portland now sits at 39 points and in fourth place in the Western Conference, eight points clear of the dreaded playoff red-line with only 10 games left to play. A win next week at home against the visiting Houston Dynamo would leave the Timbers 10 points clear, and almost guarantee the Timbers’ second-ever trip to the MLS playoffs. All this, despite the Timbers being the only Western Conference team currently in a playoff position to hold a negative overall goal differential.
If it appears to you at times like the Timbers seem to be winning with smoke and mirrors this season, rest assured you are not alone. But the fact of the matter is that Portland is 8-2-3 in their last 14 games and, according to ESPN’s Soccer Power Index, have a 91% chance to make the playoffs in a loaded Western Conference. That the Timbers are in this position despite Fanendo Adi’s ocassionally maddening inconsistency, Valeri still not appearing to be in top form, and Darlington Nagbe sitting on only one goal for the season is, frankly, remarkable.
Portland now has nine games against some of the top teams in MLS to figure out how best to incorporate Lucas Melano (who had moments, but looked jittery in his first MLS start) fully into the offense and for Valeri, Nagbe, Adi, and the rest of the Timbers’ attackers to find their form. Because while last-gasp goals for the Timbers against Colorado, San Jose, and Real Salt Lake have placed Portland in a position to make the playoffs, the overall team form that has got the Timbers to where there are now will not be enough against the likes of a fully-operational Los Angeles Galaxy or Seattle Sounders squad come playoff time.
The Timbers’ defense deserves all the credit in the world for how they’ve played this season and for carrying an incomplete and often inconsistent attack through a grueling MLS schedule. Now it is time for the Timbers’ attackers to return the favor if Portland wants to have any aspirations beyond simply playing roadkill to another Western power when the playoffs begin.
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