Normally a team finishing their season opener with a nil-nil draw at home against a team widely thought to be declining is not a cause for great optimism. Not so with the Portland Timbers 0-0 draw Saturday night against Real Salt Lake. Given the rash of injuries Portland faced heading into their home and season opener for the 2015 season, they would probably have been forgiven for struggling against a perennial playoff team who has given the Timbers fits for their entire MLS existence.
Already facing the start of the season without Captain and midfield anchor Wil Johnson as well as leading goal scorer and creative engine Diego Valeri, Portland’s midfield was dealt a further blow in preseason when Ben Zemanski tore his ACL. Zemanski’s injury forced fourth choice center-mid Jack Jewsbury into the starting lineup. Then, Diego Chara, the man expected to provide a measure of consistency in the midfield, couldn’t recover from a leg contusion suffered in a preseason match, forcing second-year midfielder George Fochive to make his MLS debut in less than ideal circumstances.
Despite the draw, Portland will have many positives to take away from their opening match. Despite missing key pieces in the middle, Portland created by far the most chances, and Timbers’ GK Adam Kwarasey, also making his MLS debut, was forced to make only two saves, neither truly testing him. Real Salt Lake’s Nick Rimando on the other hand was tested repeatedly, including some miraculous saves that surely left Timbers attackers wondering if there wasn’t a force field blocking the goal.
It must also have been odd for Portland fans to see almost as many long balls lumped directly from Timbers defenders in the direction of striker Fanendo Adi as they’d seen in the previous two years under Caleb Porter. Portland attempted 32 crosses in the game, and countless more long balls from deep, as the image below shows.
The tactical shift should not come as a surprise. Johnson and Chara have been key in the past two years to starting the combinations of passes that have made Portland one of the more entertaining and prolific attacks in MLS. When their passing combinations reached Diego Valeri further up the field over the last two seasons, it tended to be more a matter of when than if Portland would score.
Without Johnson, Chara, and Valeri, a shift towards more long balls to the striker and up the wings made sense, relieving the pressure on Jewsbury and Fochive, and making the most of Adi’s physical presence up top.
Perhaps the biggest positive Portland can take out of their opening match was the play of George Fochive. Making his MLS debut, Fochive surpassed all expectations. While not nearly as involved in possession and build-up play as Johnson or Chara would be, and rarely getting forward, Fochive was a defensive rock, shutting down RSL playmaker Javier Morales for most of the game. Fochive led all players with five tackles, making the gap between midfield and the back four his own and routinely breaking up RSL build up play before it could become a full-fledged attack.
While Fochive’s play isn’t likely to earn him a starting spot long term, with Chara expected back sooner rather than later, probably even this week, an argument could be made that his presence is exactly what Portland needs. With the clean sheet, Portland extended their run to four consecutive clean sheets going back to the end of the 2014 season, and a club MLS record 394 consecutive minutes without conceding.
It’s no coincidence that Portland’s defense has been improved with a more dedicated defensive player in the midfield. When Ben Zemanski replaced the injured Will Johnson late in 2014, Zemanski became that defensive presence who anchored the midfield, allowing Chara to roam. Fochive played a similar role last weekend. While Johnson and Chara are undoubtedly better all around players than Zemanski and Fochive, neither is as disciplined defensively and their eagerness to get forward can leave the defense vulnerable.
While unlikely to be a regular this season, Fochive certainly made a strong case in his MLS debut that he deserves minutes, and perhaps even a case to start alongside Chara as Will Johnson continues to recover from a broken leg.
Careers are often made when players seize unlikely opportunities. It could very well be that last weekend’s match was exactly that for Fochive. Only time will tell, but the Timbers very clearly have a talented player on their hands. A player who can stifle the RSL midfield is not a player who should be stuck on the bench for long.
