The Timbers fell to Orlando City 2-0 on Sunday, dropping their first home game of the 2015 season. Portland picked a hell of a time to put up what is easily their worst performance of 2015 thus far. Not that there is necessarily any “good” time for a performance like this, but coming off a great win last week against Dallas and facing a two game road trip including a drive up the road to hated Seattle, this one particularly stings. Portland had dictated pace and tempo in every game thus far, mixing up attacking styles to keep opponents off-balance and create chances. While Portland did win the possession battle 53-46, the possession mainly came in the second half after Orlando already had a lead and did not amount to more than 1 or 2 decent chances.
Orlando dominated the first half with a possession attack, utilizing Kaká and Brek Shea to create constant pressure on the Portland right half, attacking Alvas Powell. Portland let Orlando right forward Kevin Molino get behind the defense, and then make a perfect cross to Cyle Larin which he chested into the back of the net. Some Timbers fans (including myself) initally thought the play was offsides, but on second view, the ball was ahead of Larin when it was kicked, negating the offsides call. Portland responded early in the second half, particularly for a 10-15 minute stretch when Darion Asprilla came off the bench for Rodney Wallace and provided a spark. Asprilla and Nagbe began stretching the Orlando defense and opening lanes, but only one good chance came about and Portland was unable to capitalize. Portland continued applying pressure until the 85th minute when Orlando substitute Rivas drew a penalty that was converted by Kaká after Kwarasey saved the first attempt, but Chara was cited for encroachment and Kaká was allowed to re-try, which he converted easily. After the second goal, what life Portland had shown left the building and Orlando was allowed to effectively kill off the remainder of the game.
Portland’s effort on both ends left much to be desired. Defensively, while Borchers and Ridgewell were again solid in the middle, Villafaña and, in particular, Powell were constantly challenged on the wings. However, the midfield is where Portland was really let down. Diego Chara had a substandard game, Fochive looked out of his depth for the first time this season, and Jewsbury was largely inconsequential in relief of Fochive at halftime. Portland also seemingly lacked composure, with Powell picking up a foolish yellow card and Chara making dangerous challenges despite having already seen yellow early on in the match.
With Portland’s struggles in the defensive midfield, the Timbers had a hard time gaining and maintaining possession with an attacking purpose while the game was still in doubt. Portland’s attackers also struggled mightily, with Adi and Uruti continuing to struggle working in tandem as opposed to their traditional single-striker roles.
Despite the obvious physical and tactical differences, they constantly seem to be competing for touches, rather than working off of each other to create opportunities. In each of the past three games, Uruti has started up top with Adi – yet I cannot recall a single scoring chance that was created by the two strikers working together in any of these matches. Uruti in particular has not looked nearly as dangerous in having to work with a second striker. He has yet to figure out how to properly utilize the space that Adi can create, and putting himself in dangerous positions that Adi can play to when he beats defenders.
It is becoming clear that the Adi/Uruti pairing is not a long-term solution, and Caleb Porter must find a solution until Diego Valeri returns to stabilize the starting lineup, and attacking . While Asprilla has proven to be more effective coming off the bench as a second-half spark and struggled as a starter early on and Porter seems reluctant to use Gastón Fernández in anything other than a late-game energy role (not that Fernández has done anything this season to warrant a larger role), something must be done to get Portland through the next few games.
Had Portland taken care of business Sunday against Orlando, the Timbers would have had somewhat of a cushion against the upcoming three-game slate that includes two road games and two games against Cascadia rivals Seattle and Vancouver. Instead, all of the good will gained from the victory over FC Dallas was given away with shockingly little resistance. While reinforcements are arriving in the coming weeks that the rest of MLS would enthusiastically take without a second thought, Portland now finds itself at the bottom of the Western Conference standings. If Portland continues to struggle over the next few games before Valeri and Johnson return, the Timbers faithful may find themselves staring at a table that not even the return of two all-stars can turn around.
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