Instant Reaction: Portland Thorns at NJ/NY Gotham FC
The Portland Thorns took on NJ/NY Gotham FC at Red Bull Arena with massive standings implications.
The Portland Thorns (#5) are back from the break and took a trip to Red Bull Arena to take on NJ/NY Gotham FC (#4).
Unfortunately, Olympic champions Soph Smith & Sam Coffey were unavailable.
In a game with huge NWSL table implications, Gotham FC had most of their players back.
Rob Gale would have his first choice of backline and second choice of midfield. However, he opted to start a frontline of Izzy D’Aquila at right wing, Christine Sinclair as the nine, and newly acquired Alexa Spaanstra at left wing. For a team that creates a ton of chances off high-pressure to force turnovers, that frontline does not offer that capability.
In the fifth minute, Izzy D’Aquila gave the ball in their own half to Gotham. Esther received a pass and nearly put the home side ahead.
Minutes later, in the seventh minute, Portland would pay the price. Bruninha would find Ella Stevens to tally her sixth goal of the season, rising over Becky Sauerbrunn for a header to put them up 1-0.
Portland would get a bit more comfortable moving forward, especially through Spaanstra who was their most dangerous player all half even with limited opportunities.
However, Gotham continued to bring it. They came with barrage after barrage of shots. In the first 30 minutes, they already had seven shots while Portland only had two.
Portland looked outmatched all half. Outside of a few Spaanstra ventures forward, they were dreadful. To their credit, the backline’s help defense was superb. This game could have gotten out of hand, but they refused to let that happen. They were outshot by six shots and five shots on goal.
In the second half, it was more of the same. One positive was that The Thorns started pressing higher up the pitch. In the 52nd minute, Hina and Moultrie combined to steal the ball inside Gotham’s box. Olivia Moultrie nearly equalized, but her effort barely went over the bar.
In the 56th minute, Reilyn Turner would make her Portland Thorns debut. Payton Linnehan would also come on. Headed out was Christine Sinclair and Izzy D’Aquila. The frontline of Spaanstra, Turner, and Linnehan is the best and most athletic trio they could have put out there. Rob Gale wanted a result badly.
In the 61st minute, Fleming played a beautiful ball into Turner. That led to chaos between Jess Carter and Ann-Katrin Berger. The last ditch header from Carter went backwards and hit the post!
In the 70th minute, Yazmeen Ryan called game with a screamer from outside the box, putting Gotham up 2-0.
All credit to Moultrie who was dangerous all second half. Rob Gale spoke glowingly in the post-game press conference about her performance down the stretch of the match.
Portland would not be able to get on the scoresheet and left the game empty-handed. They were never truly in this game and the scoreline was not indicative of how lopsided this match was.
They now head home to face Bay FC in a must-win match. ‘
Reaction:
FBref & Theo Lloyd-Hughes - Today’s 2-0 defeat to Gotham was the lowest single-match xG for the Portland Thorns (0.30) since a 2-2 draw away to the old Utah Royals in July 2019 (0.20)
Forcing a 4-3-3 formation when you don’t have all the personnel available does not make any sense - change the formation to fit your availability! Forcing D’Aquila to play winger time and time again to accommodate others is a losing proposition. If Soph Smith isn’t available, allow D’Aquila to play in the middle. Having Spaanstra as the only outlet on counters is asking for disaster.
The Portland Thorns’ attack was slow and sloppy. They look unprepared to play this match. The amount of unforced turnovers was appalling. They struggled to have any meaningful spells of possession and struggled mightily to create chances. The midfield was nowhere to be found.
The play was so much better in the second half. This summer window has shown Rob Gale’s vision for the team. He wants his frontline to be smart, athletic, fast, and relentless. Linnehan, Spaanstra, and Turner will be a big part of his future vision for the club. They brought immediate life into the game. Jessie Fleming started to play dangerous passes into the box and Liv Moultrie started to finally get some chances to be a playmaker.
Whether or not it was intentional, the Portland Thorns essentially gave the game to Gotham. Not to take anything away from the home side who deserved all three points, but Portland’s frontline in the first half does not give any backlines trouble. Not giving yourself a chance with the starting XI is brutal. Yes, there are availability issues, but we’ve seen this lineup on several occasions this season.
If it wasn’t clear, there are two championship contenders in Orlando Pride & Kansas City Current with Washington Spirit and Gotham right behind them. Portland is in a tier below and this game reinforced that.
With Soph Smith and Sam Coffey returning next week at home against Bay FC. The Portland Thorns will need to go on a late season run to have any hope of hosting a playoff match.
I was floored when Turner didn't start. The TV announcers said Rob didn't think she had been with the team long enough. I might be very wrong, but to that I would think that center forward is not particularly the rocket science position. Midfield, yes. Defense certainly.
I'm new to Stumptown Footy, but I'll have to risk any flack I'll get when I say that, as good as she was in the past, Christine Sinclair should never be a starter at this point. She is just not quick enough to run a press, as the Thorns have done for the past 3 or 4 years.
Today's midfield looked especially directionless. I was hoping that, without Coffey, Fleming would be the master of that line.
I don't recall ever seeing the Thorns in a 4-4-2. Would it have mattered with the same starting personnel?
STF reporters...it would be lovely if y'all could start asking the club/coach some hard questions when you have the chance. Y'all are the only voice the fans have (and kinda the only accountability for the club), and there are lots of questions surrounding this club right now...
And, of course, thank you!