The Schadenfreude Spectacular

*Cover photo credit to Craig Mitchelldyer/Portland Timbers.*

The Portland Timbers have advanced to the Open Cup Round of 16 with a 3-2 win against the Tacoma Defiance. And they didn’t make it easy. Because why the hell would they!

Recap

Tacoma had the majority of the ball and a few decent chances in the first half, but Zac McGraw’s goal from Ariel Lassiter’s corner kick in the 33rd minute gave the Timbers a 1-0 lead. This half was characterized by poor passes and inconsistent defending from the visitors and good interplay from the hosts.

The introduction of Yu Tsukanome at halftime changed the game for the hosts. The removal of Claudio Bravo also helped. In the span of three minutes (48-50) Georgi Minoungou found room on the right and sent two crosses into the box. They were finished by Osaze De Rosario and Tsukanome, respectively. The Timbers struggled to get back into the game, but two of their own substitutions (Kyle Linhares and Gage Guerra) brought some energy back into the team. It was Guerra who found the equalizer in the 79th minute after rising like a salmon to meet an excellent Ian Smith cross and head it home. But that only tied the game, and extra time would be needed if the score was even after regulation. Minoungou, however, was itching to return home. A tug on Kevin Kelsy’s jersey in the second minute of stoppage time was noticed by the referee, and the Timbers were awarded a penalty. Kelsy stepped up and took advantage of Andrew Thomas’ early movement on the line. 90+3’, 3-2, Timbers win.

Rust? Or Something Else?

My initial thoughts after the whistle blew (besides utter relief) centered around how the Timbers basically got away with one here. That is very surprising for a team facing a NEXTPRO side while fielding an entire lineup of senior players. So why did the Timbers look so off their game?

Let’s take a look at how many minutes each of the “depth” players have played this season. For this exercise, I’m not going to include Kevin Kelsy or Joao Ortiz. Those players can officially be classified as “rotation” options. All of the other players who started this game are not first-choice in their position but do not have the opportunity to earn spot starts unless injuries or suspensions have forced the coaching staff’s hand.

Ian Smith: 294 mins

Eric Miller: 290 mins

Zac McGraw: 242 mins

Ariel Lassiter: 186 mins

Maxime Crepeau: 180 mins

Claudio Bravo: 125 mins

Cristhian Paredes: 117 mins

Omir Fernandez: 35 mins

Dario Zuparic: 0 mins

Not only are these players rusty, they haven’t played with each other. Crepeau and Bravo started last weekend, but the last start from a player on this list that didn’t take place in San Jose was Ian Smith against SKC on April 13th. There are a combined 14 starts from these players this year. Team chemistry often goes unnoticed, and Tacoma had plenty of it. Those players knew where the passes were going, and they moved off-ball to anticipate where the ball would go next. Tonight’s Timbers squad looked like a bunch of players who were meeting each other for the first time. That’s worrisome.

Momentum Swings

Meanwhile, those players continued a pattern that the Timbers have struggled with FOR YEARS. There’s something that happens in their collective minds whenever a goal is scored. This could be a goal that they score themselves or one that they concede. It seems like the ball hitting the back of the net (once again, either net) causes them to lose all composure. Tacoma’s two goals came in 3 minutes. Because of this unfortunate tendency, they can never take advantage of the momentum swing that comes with scoring goals. They can’t even get their heads back on to prevent conceding ANOTHER goal after letting one in!

This isn’t entirely a Neville problem either. The teams in the back half of Giovanni Savarese’s tenure also had this issue. I don’t know if it can be coached out. It’s a pure mentality problem. However, Neville preaches mentality over everything. He has to find a way to solve this problem. This isn’t limited to conceding goals, either. After Kelsy scored the winning goal tonight, the Defiance IMMEDIATELY won a corner kick (that was actually a throw-in) and nearly scored the equalizer from it. The Timbers turn every goal (for and against) into an opportunity for the opposition to create scoring chances. It still befuddles me. And it has to be fixed.

Player Ratings

Maxime Crepeau: 8

I was very harsh on Crepeau this past weekend, and for good reason. But after that San Jose recap was published, I realized a very important thing: Crepeau rises to the occasion in big matches. I can’t really blame him for either of Tacoma’s goals, but I can certainly shower him in praise for saving a point-blank De Rosario header in the 82nd minute (two minutes after Guerra scored, if you’re keeping track). It was unquestionably the save of the game, and it kept the game level. The Timbers likely wouldn’t have advanced if he didn’t make that save. Crepeau is a big-game player. I fully expect him to start every Open Cup game from here on out (provided he’s healthy). This was a good way for him to bounce back from a disappointing weekend. And, per usual, he continued to be let down by his defense. Eye-roll.

Eric Miller: 6.3

Miller’s passing was all over the place, and that was a consequence of him playing the Mosquera role. No, not just a typical right back, he was in the same areas that Mosquera usually occupies.

I can’t say that I’m a big fan of that idea. But it makes sense with Minoungou on the opposite wing. Either way, Miller did not have a good game at right back. But he looked a lot better playing center back alongside Zuparic once McGraw got subbed off. It’s strange that the Timbers have so many center backs and two of their fullbacks can also play there. It’s even stranger that both of those fullbacks look very comfortable in the middle of the backline.

Zac McGraw: 7.2

The Canadian center back scored the opener, which is his first goal since his brace on July 28th against Leon in Leagues Cup. I guess he’s a cup-riser now. Defensively, he played like an individual. But so did many of his teammates.

Dario Zuparic: 6.8

I would like to highlight one major Zuparic contribution: a long diagonal to Smith that set up Portland’s equalizer. I don’t think he’s the only center back on the team that can hit that pass, but he’s certainly the only one that is willing to try it. Either way, I thought this was an average Zuparic game, but the rust was definitely showing. This was his first appearance of the season, and it’s going to be hard for one of Kamal Miller or Finn Surman to be dislodged from the starting lineup.

Claudio Bravo: 6.3

There is one thing that Claudio Bravo excels at: 1v1 defending. But that aspect of his game becomes worthless when his maverick positioning becomes a factor. Bravo rarely kept Minoungou in front of him, and this resulted in Zuparic shifting out wide quite often to cover the space vacated by the Argentinean left back. I’m still tired of it. Out of all the players on the team, he was the most individualistic. As he often is.

Joao Ortiz: 6.5

Ortiz and Paredes clearly never played a game together. I was surprised that he was in the starting lineup considering how many minutes he has played over the past couple of weeks. But he did start and was a much better passer than his midfield partner. I’m not judging his performance too heavily.

Cristhian Paredes: 6.2

Paredes’ defensive contributions: 4/4 tackles won, 1 interception, 5 out of 6 ground duels won. Paredes’ offensive contributions: 27/39 passing, 1 chance created, 2 shots (1 on target), 3 out of 5 long balls. Those don’t look too bad (aside from the passing accuracy, which speaks more to the unfamiliarity of the squad around him), but there was one play in this game that I absolutely despised. In the 65th minute, a Timbers corner kick got cleared down the left wing. Defiance winger Sebastian Gomez was running to keep the ball in play, and Paredes was in a position to chase down the loose ball. He made no effort to try and get to the ball or even try to put a challenge in. The Paraguayan was wearing the captain’s armband, and I was really disappointed by this lack of effort on this play with his team losing 2-1. It left a really bad taste in my mouth, especially because Paredes is the second-longest tenured Timber on the roster. He should know how unacceptable a potential loss to Tacoma would be.

Ariel Lassiter: 6

The most positive aspect of Lassiter’s Timbers tenure has been his set-piece delivery. He earned an assist on McGraw’s goal from one of those corner-kick deliveries. Unfortunately, he hasn’t shown anything in open play yet. It’s been extremely disappointing. I’ve had a theory about the 7 shirt being cursed, and it looks like Lassiter is the next victim.

Omir Fernandez: 6.1

Fernandez wasn’t bad, but he wasn’t exactly good either. He was just kind of “there.” He started at the 10 but didn’t create before moving deeper after the Linhares substitution in a rather confounding shift. This was Fernandez’s third appearance in a Timbers shirt, and the second time that he has moved into the double pivot. Maybe Neville sees Fernandez as an 8, but some observant fans alerted me to the coach’s repeated instructions for the Timbers’ newest player to move wider during the second half after the shift. For a player brought in to be a wide threat, he certainly isn’t getting any meaningful minutes out wide (for now).

Ian Smith: 8.2

Am I upset that both of Tacoma’s goals were created on his flank? Yes, but I’m putting more stock into Minoungou’s ability than Smith’s. The Ivorian does that on a regular basis to normal MLS defenders. Meanwhile, he grew into the match and fired the game-tying assist to a leaping Guerra with a perfect cross. Like I said in the San Jose recap, he has to be Jimer Fory’s chief backup.

Kevin Kelsy: 6.5

Kelsy began the game with a sense of frustration, and I thought he struggled against two teenage center backs (Stuart Hawkins and Kaito Yamada). However, I have to give him credit for his composure with the penalty kick. I thought he wasn’t going to start, and now he has a full 90 this week while the team prepares for SKC.

Daniel Nunez: DEBUT!

I’m not going to judge him too harshly for what I thought was a pretty subpar performance, but he became the youngest-ever player to play for the first team. At 16 years old, he looked like a 16 year old. I thought it was rather confusing for him to be the first player off the bench (especially at halftime), but hey, he made his debut and his team won! Good for him.

Kyle Linhares: 7.5

This is almost entirely an effort grade, but he should’ve started. Like Nunez, Linhares made his first-team debut in this match. I would like to see more minutes for him with the first team. Give him Lassiter’s playing time. I’m not joking.

Sawyer Jura: 7.3

The Boy from Bend’s main contribution to this game was a penalty shout in the 77th minute. I’ll get into that later. But other than that, he provided energy that the Timbers were desperately lacking. I’m looking forward to when he joins the first team next season.

Gage Guerra: 8.8

Ok, this rating is rather corny (he wears the number 88) but he was an immediate difference-maker when he entered the game. I wanted him to start (he didn’t) but he made up for that hypothetical lost time by scoring with his first senior touch. I’ve written about energy already, but Guerra provided the most out of all the substitutes. “It felt amazing. It felt so good,” Guerra said about his equalizer. I’m pretty sure the fans crammed into the bleachers on the far side of the field will second that opinion.

Coach Rating: 6.3

I thoroughly enjoy reading the comments underneath each article, and I’m always open to reader suggestions. Case and point:

Seriously, why wasn’t I doing this already?! It’s a no-brainer.

I don’t think Neville’s gameplan impressed anyone today, and the starting lineup didn’t impress me either. It’s easy to look back on it and say “he got it right” because the team won, but I don’t think that Neville took Tacoma’s strengths into account.

First of all, it was blatantly obvious that Georgi Minoungou would start this game. Not only is Minoungou a first-team Sounders player, he’s arguably the best dribbler in the entire league (based on per-90 stats). He starts on the right, receives the ball, and doesn’t stop dribbling. Although none of those dribbles led to a first half Tacoma goal, it almost did! Claudio Bravo (who played 76 minutes over the weekend) was routinely caught out of position by Tacoma long balls and through balls to Minoungou. The Ivorian was the best player on the pitch tonight, partly because Neville and the coaching staff didn’t account for his presence. When Ian Smith moved to left back to start the second half, Tacoma continued attacking Portland’s left. Both goals were carbon copies of each other. The only thing that differed was the placement of Minoungou’s crosses (one across goal and the other to the penalty spot).

I’m also a little upset about the lack of a start for Kyle Linhares. I know I’ve already mentioned it, but he instantly added all the energy that was lacking from Portland’s front line. The Timbers only started being consistently dangerous in possession once Linhares entered the pitch. I understand keeping Guerra on the bench as a wild-card attacking sub (no, he should’ve started too) but Linhares definitely needed to start today.

The choice to use Ian Smith as a winger wasn’t too bad in hindsight, but he had trouble getting involved in the attack. I’m chalking that up to putting a squad of players on the pitch who haven’t really played together. Either way, the University of Denver product can really cross a ball, can’t he?

But, at the same time, this was the most likely lineup that Neville was going to choose for this game. Starfire’s playing surface is made out of concrete AND the Timbers were going to face a AAA team. In terms of substitutions, the Nunez sub is still the most confusing one. The Timbers were absolutely not out of the woods when Neville handed the 16-year-old a debut. It was a high-risk move in a fixture that had nothing but risk. I’d also like to highlight one of Guerra’s post-game thoughts. Before he entered the pitch, he told reporters that Neville told him, “Go get them. Go do you.”

I feel like I should save my thoughts on that quote for a larger article, especially based on the fact that this was an Open Cup game. But it is something I’m keeping in the back of my mind. It’s also interesting to hear that after a game where Portland’s individuality stood in stark contrast to Tacoma’s collectiveness.

Bracket Time

However, the result was the result. Even if they didn’t deserve it (and I don’t think they did) the Portland Timbers are through to the Round of 16. No matter what, they will be on the road in the next cup match. Whoever wins tonight’s Sacramento-San Jose game will host Portland on either May 20th or 21st.

Final Whistle

I don’t think there are too many major takeaways from this game. I’m very happy that it’s over and that the Timbers avoided making the worst kind of history. For Tacoma, who did play a good game, I think they should hang a banner: “First MLS NEXTPRO team to almost go to extra time against a MLS team.” Say what you want, but I think they’ve earned that.

Entering tonight’s game, I wanted a comfortable victory and no injuries. Only one of those wishes came true. But the manner of tonight’s victory ended up being much more satisfying than I thought it could be.

1,792 people attended tonight’s match. Most of them were Sounders fans, hoping to see their biggest rivals get humiliated in a historic fashion. And it almost happened. But the manner in which it didn’t happen is utterly brilliant.

Let’s begin with McGraw’s goal. The best angle for this goal is only available on the Elon App.

Andrew Thomas receives a slight nudge from Eric Miller and goes down before McGraw can get his head to the ball. After the ball hits the back of the net, he immediately jumps up and swarms the referee while begging for an interference call. The referee decides to keep the call on the field (goal) and Portland takes a 1-0 lead. Thomas, by the way, is Stefan Frei’s heir apparent. I already hate him. He is looking for this contact and goes down opportunistically. A flopping fish will never stop flopping, I guess.

The second point of contention is a potential foul in the box by Sawyer Jura. On replay, it shows Jura clearly making contact with the ball before his leg falls onto Travian Sousa. I wouldn’t call that a penalty by any means because a play on the ball is the primary action and any other contact is incidental.

Finally, those Sounders fans (because there are no actual Tacoma Defiance fans) were treated to Georgi Minoungou pulling Kevin Kelsy’s shirt in the dying moments of second half stoppage time. That, my friends, is a penalty, and it’s always going to get called when the shirt-pull is that obvious and the referee is right in front of the play. But, seriously, how much can you blame Minoungou? He’s simply trying to follow Leo Chu’s tradition of taking off a shirt. Unfortunately, it was the shirt of his opponent. I’d study the rules a little more carefully next time.

Last night’s joyride got Sounders fans as close as possible to their ultimate hate-watch. But it was pulled away from them like Minoungou pulling on Kelsy’s shirt. At the end of the day, the expected result happened, but the roller-coaster that occurred in order to arrive there left the traveling fans cackling while the home fans coped and seethed. Is there a cherry that I can put on top of this schadenfreude cake?

*Here’s the link to Diese’s exact quotes if you’re also on a schadenfreude bender.*

Well, I mean, if you happen to be in a period of great personal turmoil and find yourselves supporting the Seattle Sounders, you probably aren’t happy with the officiating and disagree with all three of the major calls in this game. However, I’m afraid that whining about referees isn’t looked upon fondly in the Emerald City.

Diese certainly isn’t Brian Schmetzer, but he knows how to use his substitutes like the Ocean Man.

This match was fueled by schadenfreude. All 1,792 fans (not counting those in the bleachers who had a wonderful drive back to Portland) showed up hoping to see their biggest rivals humiliated. And they almost did. But losing that game, in that fashion, after recognizing prior to the match that Tacoma’s chances were slim and a win wasn’t likely, is the ultimate UNO reverse card to what was almost a really successful hate-watch. Portland got the job done. They played with the emotions of their supporters. But they managed to find the only way to properly enrage Sounders fans in the process. What a masterpiece.

My major takeaways from this game mostly fall into the “minor concern” department. This was a cup game, and the only thing the Timbers had to do was win. That’s exactly what they did, no matter how stressful that win was. Sacramento or San Jose await. The quest continues.