Caleb Porter has more than established himself as a great coach in Major League Soccer. His style, planning, and roster changes have led to a 23 point, 6 win, and 20 goal increase in just one year. Five of those goals came last week when the Timbers played Chivas USA to a 5-0 win in LA and secured the Western Conference’s number one seed. With the regular season now behind them, the Portland Timbers face rival Seattle Sounders in the MLS playoff quarterfinals.
This match was over after 34 minutes thanks to a brace and an assist by Diego Valeri. Portland’s first goal came in the 16th minute when Will Johnson slipped a pass through the Chivas backline and found Jose Adolfo Valencia. Trencito’s shot was blocked, but deflected right to a wide open Valeri who settled and put the ball right past substitute keeper Tim Melia.
Valeri came through a second time in the 29th win a beauty of a chip shot. He picked up the ball from an errant Chivas pass in the attacking third and drove straight at the defense. Valeri changed feet to beat a defender and chipped the ball over two defenders and the keeper from the top of the box. He didn’t even need to watch it hit the net to know it was a goal.
Portland’s third goal again involved Valeri, but this time he played facilitator. Futty sent a long ball over the defense for Valeri, who picked it up and ran straight at the box, cut back on Josue Soto, and passed to an onrushing Rodney Wallace. Wallace only had to direct the pass towards the left post to beat Melia and put the Timbers up 3-0 at the half.
The second half was more of the same for Portland and Chivas. Valeri was subbed off for Alhassan, but none of the pressure let up. Ryan Johnson added a goal in the 72nd off the rebound of a Rodney Wallace shot. Four minutes later captain Will Johnson added the final nail in Chivas USA’s coffin. Johnson stepped up to take a free kick at the top of the Chivas box. Rather than going over the wall for the near post, Johnson sneakily shot around the wall and caught Melia off balance to seal the game.
With the regular season over, Portland begins their first ever MLS postseason tonight in Seattle. They first face off against a Sounder team that earned their way in by defeating the Colorado Rapids 2-0 in the Western Conference Knockout Round Wednesday night. Forget the Cascadia Cup, the Western Conference quarterfinals are going to be true rivalry matches.
Diego Valeri should start again this week. He is still working his way through an adductor strain he picked up a few months back, but the team needs him. After his performance against Chivas he showed that he can play at least 45 minutes at full speed. I think he plays the majority of the match today. Additionally, it sounds like Maximiliano Urruti is getting his fitness back after a leg injury picked up several weeks ago. He probably won’t make the trip to Seattle, but could start next week in Portland. I expect Portland to field the same team as last week with some possible changes on the bench.
Marcus Hahnemann will start in goal for the Sounders today after Michael Gspurning earned a bizarre red card for catching the ball outside his box. Defender DeAndre Yedlin could also sit this game out after being subbed off early due to injury against the Rapids. Obafemi Martins could see some playtime after not featuring on Wednesday, but it appears that he is in a similar situation to Urruti and will probably sit until the second leg next Thursday.
Of the missing Sounders players, Yedlin is the best for Portland. He has two assists and one goal, and has played the most minutes on his team this year. It’s his speed that scares me; not to mention his defense, Yedlin can streak past defenders and cause problems on the wing. Anything that opens up play for Darlington Nagbe and Diego Valeri helps the Timbers.
Portland needs to exploit free kicks tonight. Darlington Nagbe is the second most fouled player in MLS and Oswaldo Alonso is known to lay the fouls on thick. If Will Johnson or Diego Valeri can put away a direct free kick I think Portland takes all three points.
It’s going to be a loud, crowded, and chippy affair at Centurylink Field. A draw is fine; finishing with the most draws in MLS put Portland in first place and would also give them a large advantage in the second leg of this round. But keep in mind that the first tiebreaker in MLS playoffs is total goals, anything scored away from home will be huge for the Timbers. After all, they’re all we really want in the end.
Projected Lineups:
Portland Timbers: Donovan Ricketts; Jack Jewsbury, Futty Danso, Pa Modou Kah, Michael Harrington; Will Johnson, Diego Valeri, Diego Chara; Darlington Nagbe, Jose Adolfo Valencia, Rodney Wallace
Seattle Sounders: Marcus Hahnemann; Marc Burch, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore, Leonardo Gonzalez; Osvaldo Alonso; Brad Evans, Adam Moffat; Clint Dempsey; Lamar Neagle, Eddie Johnson
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