For the second time this season, Columbus Crew SC hosted the Portland Timbers at MAPFRE Stadium. On both occasions did the visiting side come out victorious when all was set and done.
Only in Sunday’s case, there were the immensely heightened stakes associated with MLS Cup being on the line. The Timbers scored two early goals within the first seven minutes of the opening whistle and never looked back, preserving a 2-1 win and capturing their first championship in club history.
The Timbers first goal was bizarre to say the least. Diego Valeri took advantage of a few lax touches from Crew SC goalkeeper Steve Clark and as he was attempting to pass the ball upfield, the Argentinian midfielder got in front of it. The resulting deflection sent the ball cascading into the net and after 27 seconds Portland had scored the fastest goal in MLS Cup history.
Seven minutes later, the lead would be doubled albeit in controversial fashion. Rodney Wallace would head in a ball past Clark that came off a Lucas Melano cross after he received a through ball from Darlington Nagbe who had recovered the ball near the touchline. Replays would later show that the ball clearly went into touch and should have been awarded as a throw-in instead of play being allowed to continue.
Despite falling behind, Crew SC would halve the lead in the 18th minute courtesy of a goalkeeping error on the part of the Timbers’ Adam Larsen Kwarasey. The Ghanaian mishandled a ball that had been headed into the air by Justin Meram. The resulting scramble saw it fall to the feet of Kei Kamara who held it up for a bit, then deftly blasted it low off a turn to his right to get the Black and Gold to within one of tying the game.
Portland Timbers Defensive Third Quality Stymies Crew SC in MLS Cup Final
But Portland’s performance on defense from then on out set the tone for the remainder of the match and is the reason they emerged from this game as MLS Cup Champions. From the 20th minute until the moment the final whistle was blown, Crew SC enjoyed 61.65 percent possession. However, the Timbers were extremely effective in limiting its purposefulness.
During those final 70 minutes of play, the Black and Gold were held to seven shots, none of which were on target, and created just four chances. That coming from a team which was second in the league during the regular season in chances created and were averaging ten per game in their previous four postseason matches.
Clearly, Portland’s ability to absorb pressure and stay compact in their defensive third made it very difficult for Crew SC’s various attacking weapons to get anything going around goal.
Head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter commended the Timbers’ defensive work in nullifying much of what Columbus was trying to create offensively while also being able to remain dangerous in transition.
“They played a very good game, they really did,” Berhalter remarked in his post-game press conference. “Defensively they were very solid, (they mounted) some decent counterattacks. And when you’re up 2-0, it becomes a different game and I think they managed it well.”
Sometimes, it’s not just simply the back four that have to step up on defense, but also that one player in front of the back four. It’s especially true in the 4-3-3 shape that Timbers head coach Caleb Porter essentially rode to a championship after shifting away from a 4-2-3-1 late in the regular season. This puts added pressure on a deep lying midfielder to protect the back line since he can’t rely so much on that double pivot from a second holding mid.
It was here where Diego Chara came in. His work as a number six played a key role in preserving the one-goal cushion. His defensive work rate was exceptional and he really did a phenomenal job at choking the diagonal channels towards goal that Crew SC right winger Ethan Finlay likes to operate around. Just take a look at the following Opta chalkboard.
As you can see, a voluminous number of Chara’s 26 defensive actions (tackles, recoveries, interceptions, clearances and blocks) came on the attacking right side of the field, essentially Finlay’s territory. Overall, he accounted for 16.35 percent of Portland’s 159 Opta events on defense throughout the game. Only Crew SC’s Gaston Sauro had a higher usage rate, but at 16.52 percent it wasn’t by much.
Finlay was highly complementary of Chara’s play after the game.
“(He) was the man of the match for them tonight,” Finlay told Last Word on Sports. “I don’t know about anyone else, but the ground that he covered, his ability to kind of double down when we were out wide, whether it be Justin (Meram), whether it be myself, whether it be Pipa (Higuaín), you have to have a heck of a match to cover (the field in that manner).”
Despite a loss which stings that much worse considering how close the club was to winning it all, it must be said that progress has certainly been made from a year-over-year standpoint. In 2014, Crew SC were bounced pretty handily from the conference semifinals. A year later, they came within a win of their second MLS Cup in team history. Not bad for a team that had missed the playoffs three straight years prior to last.
Such a quick turnaround is a testament to the commitment that investor/operator Anthony Precourt has demonstrated in putting a winning product on the field. The next step is to keep the existing nucleus that got the team this far intact for another run towards championship glory in 2016.
Finlay is confident the initiative is there to make it happen.
“We’re going to try to keep this group together,” he told Andrew King of MLSSoccer.com. “I know the staff is going to have to make some tough decisions, but this isn’t the end for us by any means.”
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