With four games remaining the Portland Timbers trail the Vancouver Whitecaps by one point in the race for the 5th and final playoff spot in the Western Conference. Simply put, the Timbers cannot afford to drop points this late in the season.
So, headed into a key game with probably their two most important players out, many may be writing the Timbers off at this point. They shouldn’t.
Portland Timbers: Key Players Missing in Crunch Time
For the Timbers, this weekend’s matchup with the San Jose Earthquakes, the first of two consecutive against SJ, is all mental. If the Timbers can recover mentally from giving up a 2-0 lead to lose 3-2 against Toronto FC last weekend and the loss of captain and midfield engine Will Johnson to a broken leg, they’ll be fine. If they can do that, they should have no problems against a SJ team with nothing to play for and key players out injured. If they can’t? Well if they can’t the game could get ugly, and with it the Timbers might lose any hope of making the playoffs this year.
Given the fact that Portland will be without Johnson and playmaker Diego Valeri (suspended due to yellow card accumulation), you could forgive one for thinking they’re in deep trouble. However, the Timbers have two of the most capable backups in the league for two of their best players. It’s fair to say that both players replacing Valeri and Johnson would be starters on many teams in MLS.
Ben Zemanski
In fact, Zemanski replacing Johnson in the lineup may actually make the Timbers better in some aspects. While Johnson is clearly an elite level player and Zemanski is not, Zemanski is a more defensive player than Johnson. Johnson possesses defensive tendencies in the midfield, but also likes to get forward and contribute to attacking plays. This adds to Portland’s attacking threat, but has potential to leave the back four vulnerable at times in the event he gets caught up in the attack and out of position.
Here’s Zemanki’s heatmap last weekend against TFC, compared with Johnson’s heatmap in their last match-up with SJ in which the Timbers conceded three goals at home.
Notice much more Zemanski stays back than Johnson, shielding the back four. He shows up in the attacking third a bit, but most of his time is spent in the defensive half of the field.
Not only does Zemanski staying back help protect the back four, it also allows Diego Chara to push high up the field with his defensive pressure. Whereas Johnson’s forays into the attacking part of the field tend to be offensive by nature, Chara’s are more often defensive. He pushes high up the field pressuring opposing midfielders and forcing turnovers which can lead to scoring chances for the Timbers.
Zemanski is not the leader Johnson is on the field but he’s comfortable in Caleb Porter’s system, having played for him at Akron, and his defensive positioning may even provide a boost to the Timbers struggling defense.
La Gata
While most of Gaston Fernandez’s starts have come as an attacking midfielder on the left, and even a few as a striker, it doesn’t take long to see that he has all the abilities to be a quality Number 10 in MLS. Most of his appearances have come with Valeri playing centrally in the playmakers role, but through the course of the game the Timbers attacking midfield three of Fernandez, Valeri, and Nagbe switch positions frequently, giving Fernandez plenty of opportunities to be involved in the attack from a central position.
Lately he’s been making the most of opportunities in CONCACAF Champions League where he’s played the Number 10 role, leading the Timbers to an unbeaten CCL campaign so far. In 2 starts in CCL in the month of September Fernandez had a goal and two assists.
In addition to his playmaking abilities Fernandez excels at being in just the right place to score a goal, and he’s a clinical finisher.
San Jose has proven to be a tough opponent for the Timbers, and while the Timbers have been better on the road than at home this year, that doesn’t mean the game will be easy. That said, the Timbers should have every confidence that Zemanski and Fernandez will be more than adequate replacements for Johnson and Valeri as they face this key game in their push for the playoffs.
