The Portland Timbers ushered in 2016 the same way they ended 2015, with a 2-1 win over the Columbus Crew. What we saw was largely the same Timbers team we grew accustomed to during last year’s title run, but there were subtle differences. Some may even say improvements.
The Portland Timbers’ Midfield maestros Diego Chara, Darlington Nagbe, and Diego Valeri were the highlights of the match. While listed as a three man flat midfield in a 4-3-3, they functioned as three centrally minded players. Chara held down the fort in the defensive midfield, Nagbe served as the facilitator in the middle, and Valeri was the number 10 providing chances for the attacking three.
While those three ruled the roost in the middle, the contributions of the wingers, particularly Dairon Asprilla and his six shots, cannot be ignored either. The attack was a strong team effort on Sunday, and will need to stay that way for 33 more regular season games.
The defense was also strong, working well enough to block four shots and force nine others off target. Out of the Crew’s 19 shots, only four required Adam Kwarasey’s attention and the one goal wasn’t any player’s fault, just the result of some acrobatics from Federico Higuain. It helped that the aforementioned Chara was a beast in front of them.
We learned a few things about Portland from their first game of the season.
The Timbers are a counterattacking team, but need to better.
We saw it towards the end of last year, we saw it again on Sunday. Portland is at their best when they are attacking in transition. While the first goal was a set piece, the other goal and the chances that came before it were the result of the Timbers outrunning the Crew on counter attacks. The speed of Dairon Asprilla and Lucas Melano is the perfect adjunct to the precise passing of Darlington Nagbe and the flair of Diego Valeri. All of them can set up Fanendo Adi for chances in the six yard box like Sunday’s winner.
The final ball from the outside was still hard to come by. Several key passes were forced into rough spaces that ended up being cut out with ease. The finishing also left something to be desired. Maybe this is just me being greedy, but I feel like the Timbers should score more than twice when the accumulate 20 total shots.
The main point is, we cannot be concerned when we see Portland lose out on possession at a nearly 60-40 clip like we saw against Columbus. The possession disadvantages play right into Caleb Porter’s hand, where he wants to use his stout defense to win the ball, then play it to his quick wingers and midfielders to run with it and set up the giant Nigerian striker for goals.
The maturation of Nagbe, Valeri, and Chara in the midfield is scary.
Last year we saw Darlington Nagbe mature almost overnight. He went from recklessly charging down the pitch to becoming a responsible, thinking man’s midfielder in the course of about two months. Diego Valeri got healthy and began turning heads with great shooting. Diego Chara turned into the defensive midfielder destroyer we all knew he could be. All three of those players were on full display in the opener. Nagbe still tried to force a couple passes into the box, but overall he was at an 88% success rate. Diego Valeri scored on a free kick, which I am shocked he doesn’t do more often. Diego Chara was my man of the match due to being an animal in the defensive midfield with six interceptions and an 85% passing success rate. The wide players like Asprilla and Lucas Melano are not competent passers, so it will be up to the these three men to provide the goal scorers up front with their chances. They will be the catalysts going forward and their success could determine the success of the whole team.
Depth could be a concern.
One thing that concerns me about how the game progressed was how little Caleb Porter was utilizing his substitutes. It took him until the 87th minute to bring Jack Jewsbury on for Valeri. I understand the team was performing well and he may not have wanted to shake things up, but there are plenty of viable late game options on the bench. Jack McInerney could have been brought on for a clearly gassed Fanendo Adi. Ned Grabavoy was there to provide fresh legs in the midfield. So was Ben Zemanski. So, where were these guys? I’m worried that the drop-off from the outstanding starting lineup to the bench could be too steep for Porter to want to take many chances in close matches. That could lead to issues of tired players later in the season or a massive drop off in quality in the not unlikely event of injuries cropping up.
Overall, Portland had a strong opening to the season, something they have been able to get used to since Caleb Porter took over. Early season wins can eliminate the late season pressure that Timbers fans have been far too used to. But, this is only the first match. Carrying over this win into another on the road against San Jose next weekend can truly put to bed the naysayers who doubt Portland’s ability to win games to start the season.
