The Portland Timbers scoring issue comes down to one factor: Fanendo Adi is scoring all the goals and nobody is helping him out. As awesome as the striker is, he cannot be the only player contributing to the scoresheet.
The Timbers are in the midst of their longest losing streak in nearly four years. Their three straight 2-1 losses can be attributed to any number of causes. Poor defending has led to some soft goals. Poor discipline has led to them not holding on to one goal leads. But, most importantly, poor finishing has led to them not scoring more than a goal per game when, by every other measure of success, they should be scoring more.
Sunday night’s defeat to New York City at Providence Park perfectly encapsulates this issue. They took 24 total shots on the day with eight of them hitting the target. Only one of them went in, and it was from Adi, the only productive goal scorer that Portland currently has. After he was subbed off in the 58th minute, the Timbers offensive approach changed dramatically. They no longer had a Nigerian giant in the penalty area to draw defenders and serve as a target man for crosses into the box. With all due respect to his replacement, Jack McInerney just isn’t the destructive force that Adi is. As a result, the Timbers went from having 21 shots over the first hour to having three after Adi left with a bum leg.
Adi has been doing everything by himself, so far. Indeed, of Portland’s 17 goals, Adi has eight of them. That’s 47% of every goal the Timbers have scored so far. Only two players in MLS have a greater percentage of their team’s goals: Sebastian Giovinco, who is too good for MLS, and Kennedy Igboananike, ho plays for Chicago, an awful team.
Somebody needs to step up and start providing some secondary scoring if Portland wants to turn things around and make the playoffs. Especially if Adi’s hamstring keeps him on the sidelines for an extended period of time.
So, who can possibly step up to provide some assistance for the Timbers’ leading goal scorer?
Jack McInerney
If Adi’s MRI results go sour, Jack Mac is the natural replacement for him. He already has three goals on the year and can certainly grab more. He actually leads the Timbers in goals per 90 minutes with 0.80, slightly over Adi’s 0.79. So, maybe more playing time can lead to more goals from the secondary forward.
If Adi will not miss time, perhaps a tactical shakeup can allow McInerney to see the pitch more often. A switch to a 4-4-2 diamond formation is quite possible. It could look something like this:
This accounts for the lengthy injury spells of players like Diego Chara, Darren Mattocks, and Alvas Powell. It would be less focused on wide play (which has been pretty weak anyway), but would still have the giant body of Adi in the penalty area with McInerney there to pick up the trash.
Diego Valeri
Valeri is tied for second in goals for the Timbers, but he isn’t scoring at nearly the rate of the two forwards. His passing creativity is fantastic, but he needs to start bringing back the clever shooting that we got used to seeing in his first two years with the club when he scored 21 goals. So, we know he’s capable, he just needs to show that form again.
Darlington Nagbe
Nagbe has never really been a true goal scorer, but he has done well to work himself into dangerous positions. Just on Sunday, he probably had the best scoring chance other than the lone goal itself. He received a pass from Valeri, cut inside into a perfect shooting position, and launched one that Josh Saunders barely got his hands to, If he can get himself into those spots more often and start banging those shots home, he might be able to provide valuable assistance.
Other options exist, too. The wings can start contributing. Lucas Melano, who was a huge force in the playoffs last year, can stop looking lazy and unmotivated like he did on Sunday. Dairon Asprilla, when he gets back, can start acting like the replacement for Rodney Wallace we all know he can be. Maybe even the backup midfielders like Ned Grabavoy and Ben Zemanski can show up on the scoresheet.
The bottom line is Fanendo Adi is great, but he can’t be the only one scoring. Somebody, anybody, needs to get going and put in some goals for the Timbers if they want to storm back and return to the playoffs.
Main Photo: Sean M. Haffey, Getty Images
