A Straight-Faced Thumbs-Up

In a game that was anything but pretty, the Portland Timbers triumphed over Queretaro by a score of 1-0. This result marked their 3rd straight win over a Liga MX team and their 3rd consecutive clean sheet in all competitions.

Recap

Both teams combined to register 0 shots in the first 20 minutes, with the best (and only) half-chances falling Portland’s way. A 5th-minute opportunity qualified as the best one, with Eric Miller’s long throw being flicked-on by Zac McGraw into the center of the box. But Kevin Kelsy missed the scissor-kick attempt. It happens. The breakthrough came in the 36th minute from another set piece. Ariel Lassiter’s corner kick fell to Dario Zuparic at the back post, who bundled it into the center of the box, and Cristhian Paredes was there to bundle it into the net. After a brief stoppage for a VAR check, no offside infraction was found and the goal stood. Portland took the 1-0 lead into halftime, but two questionable yellow cards (one to Kelsy for ???? off the ball right before the go-ahead corner kick was taken and one to Ian Smith for “simulation”) forced Phil Neville’s hand at the break. One other major moment occurred right before halftime. Queretaro left back Jonathan Perlaza (no relation to Jorge) kicked Omir Fernandez’s legs out from underneath him and was rightfully given a yellow card. This upset Perlaza, who slammed the ball into the turf and directed some harsh words towards the referee. That outburst earned Perlaza a second yellow card and an early trip to the locker room in the 1st minute of stoppage time. 

A triple substitution was made at the half. Kelsy, Smith, and David Ayala exited and were replaced by Gage Guerra, Felipe Mora, and Joao Ortiz. The man advantage proved to be relatively inconsequential. Queretaro spent the majority of the first half with 9 players behind the ball, and that continued in half number two. The best chance of the second half fell to Kamal Miller in the 70th minute. Lassiter’s free kick found a wide-open Miller at the near post, but the header was put over the bar. He’s going to want that one back. Portland progressively killed the game off without creating a ton of danger and survived some late half-scares (not dangerous enough to be full scares) to get the three points and become the first MLS team in this year’s Leagues Cup to win both of their Phase One games.

Left on the Table?

A game like this leaves very little to dissect, so I’m just going to talk about the offense. Aside from Miller’s free header in the 70th minute, Portland didn’t create anything too dangerous in the second half despite being up a man. Their emphasis on control precluded any serious attempts to try and score more goals. It seemed like the Timbers only wanted to shoot from within the six-yard box in this game. Just introducing a little more chaos (like taking shots from outside the box) could’ve added a couple more goals and increased their goal differential. 

But it’s also worth recognizing that Portland’s attack were missing their top three creators. Antony is still recovering from that pesky hamstring injury, Da Costa’s absence was precautionary after the shoulder scare, and Santiago Moreno needed some rest and was held out in a mutual decision from the club and the player. Given the skeletal status of the Timbers’ attack, a win is still very good. 

Overcoming the Uncontrollables

Here’s a brief referee section because I’m sure y’all would love to hear about it. One of the “goals” that the Timbers left on the table wasn’t even a chance at all, but a horrific non-penalty call. In the 38th minute, Ian Smith was driving into the box (through heavy contact and shirt-pulling) and went down after getting taken down from behind. The referee blew his whistle and walked up to Smith and handed him a yellow card for simulation. That’s a normal thing that happens. Except it isn’t. I don’t have the stats in front of me, but simulation bookings are exceedingly rare in this league. I know that this is Leagues Cup, but the balance of play before the foul should not have brought simulation into the question. Ditto for Kelsy’s yellow. However, the biggest decision of the match was the red card, and it would’ve taken an idiot to screw that up. 

The Timbers rarely got calls in their favor, and were hacked to bits by a team that didn’t want to win this game. Queretaro was effectively eliminated after their 4-1 loss to Minnesota, so I guess they decided to take as many Timbers with them as they could. The “dark arts” are one thing, but Los Gallos Blancos were openly dirty. When Tigres came to Providence Park two years ago, their mastery of the dark arts was on full display when Evander got sent off after making incidental contact with Nicolas Ibanez’s head. Guido Pizarro (now the head coach of Tigres, that’s pretty cool) immediately alerted the referee and practically talked him into sending Evander off. That’s dark arts. It’s completely unethical, but there’s a difference between verbal trickery and a well-timed flop and blatant shirt-pulling and dirty tackles. The referee didn’t punish Queretaro enough. A familiar story.

Player Ratings

James Pantemis: 8

I’ve always wondered what goalkeepers do when none of the action is taking place in their half of the field. Pantemis stayed alert, made the one save he needed to make, and helped recycle the ball. I think that’s worth an 8.

Eric Miller: 7.5

Eric Miller is not Juan Mosquera, but he played the same position as the Colombian tonight. His defensive work was good; making 4 recoveries and winning 3/4 of his ground duels. However, he was far too content to recycle the ball instead of trying to send it into the box. After going a man up, the Timbers didn’t push hard enough, and Miller’s lack of crossing stood out more than most.

Zac McGraw: 8.5

In his first start since May 6th, McGraw had a very good game. He drew more fouls than he committed (2 to 1), completed 7 out of 9 long balls, and was very active on attacking set pieces. Since he’s still regaining match fitness, it was a good decision to sub him out in the 68th minute. He closed out a clean sheet on Wednesday and set the table for one tonight. Excellent.

Dario Zuparic: 9.5

I’m giving Zuparic the Stathead treatment tonight: 3/3 tackles, 5 clearances, 4 interceptions, 4 recoveries, and 1 goal-creating action. 

It was Zuparic’s first start since July 19th against Minnesota, and it looks like he’s fully recovered from his hip injury. While in the center of the back three, he kept the defensive line flat. And he kept up his excellent defense on the right side after McGraw got subbed off. Another stellar Zuparic performance and a great way to return from injury.

Kamal Miller: 9.9

Miller’s statistical output isn’t as impressive as Zuparic’s, but he was nearly flawless. This would’ve been a 10 if that header went in. Since serving his yellow card suspension against RSL, he’s enjoyed his best form as a Timber. Tonight’s game was another stellar outing for the Canadian.

Ian Smith: 7.3

Smith was the victim of several bad calls but tried his hardest to make something happen on the left side of Portland’s attack. Not a bad showing, but not a great one either. It was the right decision to take him off at halftime. 

David Ayala: 7

Throughout the first 20 minutes of the game, Ayala was off the pace. He was missing passes he usually makes and had a couple of poor first touches. However, he ended the half on a high note. He gets some points for improvement, but it was still the right decision to sub him at halftime due to the Club America game around the corner. 

Cristhian Paredes: 9.5

For the second straight game, Paredes scored from a set piece. Congratulations to him. Other than that, he played the full 90 and continued his strong recent form. I don’t think he was the best player on the pitch, but he deserved that goal and fired the Timbers to victory.

Omir Fernandez: 8

This was a good performance from Fernandez, who got hacked to bits for the second consecutive game. His defensive work was great (2/2 tackles completed) but he wasn’t as productive in the final third as he probably could’ve been. Either way, that’s another two-way performance from the man once dubbed “The Bronx Messi.” I don’t know how he feels about that nickname. 

Ariel Lassiter: 9.3

Lassiter doesn’t have a nickname, but he does have one thing: the absolute respect of his head coach. When Neville was in Miami, he traded Lassiter to Montreal for Kamal Miller. With hindsight in full effect, here’s what Neville said about Lassiter post-game: 

“He’s probably been a part of one of my biggest mistakes in management when I traded him at Inter Miami. I think that one probably cost me my job. And I thought at the time that it was the right thing to do. But then I didn’t realize what he brings to the locker room, the training pitch, and the games. You just cannot put a value on what he brings every single day. He trains every single day, he comes in, he doesn’t moan, he’s the nicest kid ever. He works so hard, he’s an incredible professional. And like I said, I think when I traded him from Miami to Montreal it was one of my biggest mistakes in management, and that’s why I brought him here. I trust him. I can play him anywhere; he delivers. He never moans, he never moans when he’s not playing. And I think that the way he’s contributed in the last few games; against LAFC, he came on early the other night, he’s performed in two positions again today. I think he’s worth his weight in gold.”

Aside from taking all the corner kicks and free kicks (and providing quality service on all of them), Lassiter played as one of the dual 10s and left wing-back during tonight’s game. He exceeded everywhere. But Neville didn’t stop after that last comment. He kept going.

“And when you look at successful teams, everyone looks at the top end of the roster. But you don’t have successful teams without people like Lassiter, Eric Miller, Zac McGraw, Cristhian Paredes, who just go out there every single day. They are the heart and soul of the culture of this team, and I can’t speak highly enough of how highly I rate Ari Lassiter.”

I panned Lassiter pretty thoroughly at the start of the season, and I can admit when I was wrong. Sure, his contributions don’t always show up in the stat sheet, but tonight he was everywhere. Since returning from a broken hand, he’s been one of the more consistent players on the team. Neville is right. You need players like Lassiter to be a successful team in MLS. Tonight, he brought his team to victory from a corner kick and defended it in the second half.

Kevin Kelsy: 6.6

Same old story with Kelsy. He didn’t receive enough service and got called for fouls because he was too big. I don’t agree with the veracity of his yellow card either. That’s two bookings in two games, which puts him on a Leagues Cup yellow card warning. Taking him off at halftime was the right move.

Felipe Mora: 6.8

Mora also didn’t receive enough service, and kept getting pushed around. Like Kelsy, it was a familiar story. But he did a good job of occupying center backs and trying to make things happen in the final third.

Joao Ortiz: 7.4

If you watch Ortiz while the Timbers are on the ball, you’ll notice him constantly scanning the area around him. All that scanning paid off tonight, as he didn’t misplace a single pass (26/26). I’d still like to see more decisiveness in his game, but he was the only Timber to take a shot from outside the box (it got blocked). 

Gage Guerra: 7

I would like to see Guerra get into the box more and be the finisher of the final ball rather than the provider. Although he hasn’t scored since signing his first-team contract, the goals will come as long as he stays in the box. Unfortunately, he’s been playing in a wider role due to the absences in the attack. 

Jimer Fory: 7

I don’t think that Fory was at his best tonight, but he didn’t get booked and helped preserve the clean sheet. A couple poor giveaways in the second half were kept from being catastrophic by his fellow defenders. 

Noah Santos: NOAH SANTOS

The 18-year-old academy player made his first-team debut and put in the effort necessary to make it memorable. Although he didn’t register any key attacking stat, he showed the proper effort off the ball. Congratulations to him.

Coach Rating: 10

Neville rotated heavily but put together a good team with a good gameplan and got the win. Sometimes, it doesn’t require a lot to get it right. Another set piece goal provided a cherry on top. And during the second half, he wore a sunflower on his shirt to honor Timber Jim. (Quick sidenote: apparently the broadcast team was making fun of this sunflower without understanding the true significance of it. Tonight’s PxP voice was Christian Miles, who served as the Timbers’ play-by-play voice in 2013 after John Strong took the NBCSN lead broadcaster job. He really should’ve known better. And he’s a Portland native to boot! Ridiculous.)

Table Time

Goal differential is important, don’t get me wrong, but winning games is the primary focus. The Timbers are the only MLS team (so far) to win two games in this tournament. It’s tight at the top, but wins triumph over all. 

Final Whistle

This was not an enjoyable game to watch, but the Timbers won. So I’ll give it a rating of a straight-faced thumbs up. I don’t think anyone in the stadium truly enjoyed themselves, but the result speaks for itself. 

Wednesday’s game was one of the biggest on the schedule once the Leagues Cup draw was made, and now it’s going to either make or break their knockout stage hopes. Club America’s late equalizer forced a penalty shootout against Minnesota, and Las Aguilas triumphed. Not only was that good for Portland (preventing the Loons from getting a good result) but it also gave the biggest club in Mexico hope. Now, as they travel to Austin for another road game, their opponent is in a similar spot. Neville predicted that the 3rd round of games will be like cup finals. I agree. The Timbers now have a cup final to prepare for. The quest continues.