What a game! This was the most invested I was into a game all year, I was pulling my hair out when Zuparic and Blanco missed their shots. It was very refreshing. We didn’t just keep up with Monterrey, we were doing very well against them! Again, we looked well coached, which has been the norm all tournament. It’s shocking. We lost a bit of discipline for twenty minutes in the second half there when the game opened up and Monterrey found a lot of opportunities like the one that went off the post, but I think that was more due to the players, not the coach. Players started getting excited and went forward without thinking about the space they were leaving and things got stretched. But it was fun!
Something I never in my entire life thought I’d say... Niezgoda provided a spark off the bench. Feels weird saying that. While it doesn’t change my opinion of him (as the past three games haven’t changed my opinion of Gio), it was really great to see! He was really good! Blanco and Yimmi were not though, especially Blanco. The guy doesn’t provide much, he just sits on the sideline until he gets the ball, and then he bombs it into the box or plays a simple pass. He does pop up into some good spots and has some good plays but overall it’s really rough to see. Same can be said with Loria, he was really bad. I can’t wait for Antony to get here and for Evander to get back so Moreno and Antony can play over him.
Asprilla played his best game of the season I thought. He worked his ass off every minute and actually made a lot of good plays down the sideline. Boli was good as usual, though Mora wasn’t nearly as good off the bench as he was previously. We definitely missed Evander, we needed someone -- anyone -- on the field who could put the ball in the back of the net. Evander is the only guy who can do that. Moreno was phenomenal for the first 15 minutes but then disappeared a bit. But for those 15 minutes... goddamn. He looked better than Evander has, and I’m a fan of Evander. I’d still like to see a 3-5-2 with Moreno in the middle and Evander in a free role next to Boli up top.
Overall a fantastic game, it was so much fun to watch. We’ve played much better in Leagues Cup than we have all year, but I hope it continues for the rest of the season. Because as Gio said, if we play like we did this game vs most MLS teams, we will be hard to stop.
Oh and we got extremely lucky with the Moreno hand ball. That was blatant as hell, I have no clue how that wasn’t called a pk. And fuck the guy who elbowed Chara in the back of the head. Damn that’s another thing I forgot, I thought Chara was amazing, he was my MOTM. Besides getting nutmegged for the goal, he was spotless. Tons of great tackles, good passing, and had some good runs. Love seeing him beat out Father Time once again
Good take, JJ. Blanco looked devastated and I was surprised that he didn't come through. It's not easy to come in as a sub, or you don't have a lot of game time and feel. And sometimes you just miss. He puts himself in good spots, though, and that's more than other guys can say. I think that is one my main criticisms of Loria and Asprilla. They are reactionary or they expect the ball to come to them, rather than work to get in good positions. Or, they only work when they have the ball. Blanco looks like he isn't working, I suppose, when he is hanging out on the touchline. That tells me he is in a place where he can spring a counter. I'm not comparing him to Messi, here, but we all know that Messi walks on defense. Speaking of Messi. The thing that Loria and Asprilla could learn is how even after Messi passes, he keeps moving forward into the box to get into position. You rarely see that with the Timbers.
A couple of takeaways:
Mosquera needs a wake up call on defense. He's falling asleep on the back post. C'mon!
If Monterrey is that good, then the Timbers are just as good with Yimmi starting and Evander.
I prefer Mora to Boli. I just wish one or both or all three (Niezgoda) would get hot already. I think that would happen with better wing play.
I'm dreaming to see Paredes, Moreno and Evander as a midfield trio (I love ya, Diego - just want to see it)
I'm pulling for Gio to pull the right strings so the Timbers can start hammering out some wins, which I think they have in them.
I watched the replay of this match this morning and the Timbers get a lot of credit. This is a Monterrey team that steamrolled the Sounders last week, and that is widely regarded as one of, if not the, best teams in CONCACAF, and the Timbers were up for the challenge. If Boli's finishing is just a bit better, they're two up after 25 min and we're having an entirely different discussion.
But the Timbers being the Timbers, their one complete defensive brainfart moment cost them a goal as usual, and after that Monterrey did a good job of containing the Timbers, even though Portland looked decent. Monterrey were just generally one step quicker over most of the pitch, and, in a common theme for Timbers opponents, looked a lot more organized and purposeful in their movements than did the Timbers.
All that said, though, the Timbers didn't look all that bad! No shame in losing to a team like Monterrey, and they didn't embarrass themselves in the process. Kind of a low bar, but I'll take it.
Now I hope they get a few days off before getting back to work, fully integrating the new guys, and finishing the season as strong as they can.
PTMFFC exceeded my modest expectations. They never seemed out of the fight, and that was great to see. That said, holy shitake they can’t finish. Like, can’t put shots on frame. At all. That, combined with predictable defensive blunders, and they’re just not going to win games. But at least it was entertaining.
And that Monterey player who elbowed Diego at the end — fuck that guy.
It will be interesting to see how the new guys get integrated. For example, Antony. Is he good enough to start over Asprilla? Will Acosta give Paredes a break or will it be for D. Chara?
I thought it was to the Monterrey player in the stadium, but the video looks like it was given to Y. Chara. Then the ref goes to VAR and comes back and gives yellows to D. Chara and L. Romo, final box score shows no red cards at all. Did the ref pull the wrong card? Mistaken identity thinking Y. Chara was D. Chara? So confusing.
There are those among us for whom everything is crap and tend to much more prolifically post on match threads. The funny part is when I am watching games on TV and post on match threads, I do the same thing.
I was at this game and frankly I was impressed with the Timbers. Sure, it wasn't a win but of our 5 best played games this season, I think the losses to Tigres and Monterrey were probably in that group, the win against San Jose top 10.
While it is good to be playing better soccer as we round the turn and head for the final 11 matches of the season, somehow amazingly only 3 points out of the low bar for playoff position, it really is up to the team whether they will keep playing like these last 3 or sink back to the mediocrity they have shown us for the first 2/3rds of the season.
If we some how tear off 20ish points in this final 11 games, I will be again a bit disgusted with being a season ticket holder and having to sit through months of intentionally less than optimal soccer and biding our time until we have to play well enough for playoffs. We have blown it with that approach a few times, but it feels like it is exactly what we are trying to do again.
"If we some how tear off 20ish points in this final 11 games, I will be again a bit disgusted with being a season ticket holder and having to sit through months of intentionally less than optimal soccer and biding our time until we have to play well enough for playoffs."
This is me, 100%. Even if we make the playoffs this season, I want change. Gio's brand of soccer isn't working consistently any more, and while I am not a "trophies or it's a failure" type of person, I want the Timbers to be in the running for trophies more often than not. I want them to play consistent good soccer. I want to be entertained for my entertainment dollar, and for large swaths of the last three seasons, I have not been.
Last night was great; if it's sustainable for the rest of the season, that's also great, but it doesn't make me want to keep Gio around, because he's shown he can't/won't coach teams to play like that for a whole season.
I'm with you on this. I want to see good soccer, and while I don't like to lose games I would rather lose a game where the other team is either better or played a heck of a game. I'm happy the Timbers have played well the past few games, and I'll take the losses to Tigres and Monterray based on how the team played. But it is brutal to watch a team sleepwalk through the first half of the season and play well in the second. The time is right to move on from Gio for me.
I agree - the first part of the season has been really rough to watch traditionally, but I will say that I think it is important to see how a team finishes. It's not always about where you start but where you finish and how you finish. With their slow starts to the season, they leave little room for error down the stretch.
I'd like to think that they are fully loaded and ready to go on a rampage down the stretch, but I just don't think that is realistic, especially if the same guys are playing wings (Loria and Asprilla). I'm sorry, but they are not starting quality. We all know this and I am stating the obvious. (I love ya Asprilla! Just come off the bench). Better wing play and the Timbers are going places.
"It's not always about where you start but where you finish and how you finish."
The problem with that is that if you start badly enough, you will finish earlier than all the other teams. Like the Timbers did last year, and are on track to do this year.
I don't get why so many people are so OK with slow starts (not that you said that, but that seems to be a very common theme among Timbers fans). It's actually fine for a team to play well all season! It's not against the rules!
I'm tired of the Timbers having to dig themselves out of holes all the time - the digging of the hole isn't entertaining to watch, and the scrambling to get out isn't particularly pleasant either.
Is it me or has D. Chara seriously lost a step. He just looks a shell of his former self this season. I am not just talking about this game either but it did highlight his decline.
Highly disagree, I think he’s been awesome this year. The first few games were rough but he seemed to adjust his game to accommodate his limits and I think he’s been really great all season
I think he is still nearly his younger self defensively - he was never perfect, nobody is, but he is just a slight bit off of his peak.
His errors have been more making some bad passes. Thankfully I can't recall one that has resulted in a huge consequence, but I have covered my eyes a couple of times when an errant pass results in a deep counter opportunity.
I think this is overstating things a bit. JJ Timber's got it - he started slow, but he's adapted his game to how his body works now and he's been fine since about May, I think.
That was a great match to take in. The intensity of this Cup is great for the sport. I'm impressed with how well MLS clubs are doing. LAFC vs. Monterrey could be a huge one...
We looked good and played with some fight last night. Liked seeing Moreno push up the middle. Our D is looking better aside from a couple of moments of cranial flatulence. Boli is so close to becoming a monster...
Can we please stop giving up goals right at the brink of half time?
What a game! This was the most invested I was into a game all year, I was pulling my hair out when Zuparic and Blanco missed their shots. It was very refreshing. We didn’t just keep up with Monterrey, we were doing very well against them! Again, we looked well coached, which has been the norm all tournament. It’s shocking. We lost a bit of discipline for twenty minutes in the second half there when the game opened up and Monterrey found a lot of opportunities like the one that went off the post, but I think that was more due to the players, not the coach. Players started getting excited and went forward without thinking about the space they were leaving and things got stretched. But it was fun!
Something I never in my entire life thought I’d say... Niezgoda provided a spark off the bench. Feels weird saying that. While it doesn’t change my opinion of him (as the past three games haven’t changed my opinion of Gio), it was really great to see! He was really good! Blanco and Yimmi were not though, especially Blanco. The guy doesn’t provide much, he just sits on the sideline until he gets the ball, and then he bombs it into the box or plays a simple pass. He does pop up into some good spots and has some good plays but overall it’s really rough to see. Same can be said with Loria, he was really bad. I can’t wait for Antony to get here and for Evander to get back so Moreno and Antony can play over him.
Asprilla played his best game of the season I thought. He worked his ass off every minute and actually made a lot of good plays down the sideline. Boli was good as usual, though Mora wasn’t nearly as good off the bench as he was previously. We definitely missed Evander, we needed someone -- anyone -- on the field who could put the ball in the back of the net. Evander is the only guy who can do that. Moreno was phenomenal for the first 15 minutes but then disappeared a bit. But for those 15 minutes... goddamn. He looked better than Evander has, and I’m a fan of Evander. I’d still like to see a 3-5-2 with Moreno in the middle and Evander in a free role next to Boli up top.
Overall a fantastic game, it was so much fun to watch. We’ve played much better in Leagues Cup than we have all year, but I hope it continues for the rest of the season. Because as Gio said, if we play like we did this game vs most MLS teams, we will be hard to stop.
Oh and we got extremely lucky with the Moreno hand ball. That was blatant as hell, I have no clue how that wasn’t called a pk. And fuck the guy who elbowed Chara in the back of the head. Damn that’s another thing I forgot, I thought Chara was amazing, he was my MOTM. Besides getting nutmegged for the goal, he was spotless. Tons of great tackles, good passing, and had some good runs. Love seeing him beat out Father Time once again
Good take, JJ. Blanco looked devastated and I was surprised that he didn't come through. It's not easy to come in as a sub, or you don't have a lot of game time and feel. And sometimes you just miss. He puts himself in good spots, though, and that's more than other guys can say. I think that is one my main criticisms of Loria and Asprilla. They are reactionary or they expect the ball to come to them, rather than work to get in good positions. Or, they only work when they have the ball. Blanco looks like he isn't working, I suppose, when he is hanging out on the touchline. That tells me he is in a place where he can spring a counter. I'm not comparing him to Messi, here, but we all know that Messi walks on defense. Speaking of Messi. The thing that Loria and Asprilla could learn is how even after Messi passes, he keeps moving forward into the box to get into position. You rarely see that with the Timbers.
A couple of takeaways:
Mosquera needs a wake up call on defense. He's falling asleep on the back post. C'mon!
If Monterrey is that good, then the Timbers are just as good with Yimmi starting and Evander.
I prefer Mora to Boli. I just wish one or both or all three (Niezgoda) would get hot already. I think that would happen with better wing play.
I'm dreaming to see Paredes, Moreno and Evander as a midfield trio (I love ya, Diego - just want to see it)
I'm pulling for Gio to pull the right strings so the Timbers can start hammering out some wins, which I think they have in them.
I watched the replay of this match this morning and the Timbers get a lot of credit. This is a Monterrey team that steamrolled the Sounders last week, and that is widely regarded as one of, if not the, best teams in CONCACAF, and the Timbers were up for the challenge. If Boli's finishing is just a bit better, they're two up after 25 min and we're having an entirely different discussion.
But the Timbers being the Timbers, their one complete defensive brainfart moment cost them a goal as usual, and after that Monterrey did a good job of containing the Timbers, even though Portland looked decent. Monterrey were just generally one step quicker over most of the pitch, and, in a common theme for Timbers opponents, looked a lot more organized and purposeful in their movements than did the Timbers.
All that said, though, the Timbers didn't look all that bad! No shame in losing to a team like Monterrey, and they didn't embarrass themselves in the process. Kind of a low bar, but I'll take it.
Now I hope they get a few days off before getting back to work, fully integrating the new guys, and finishing the season as strong as they can.
PTMFFC exceeded my modest expectations. They never seemed out of the fight, and that was great to see. That said, holy shitake they can’t finish. Like, can’t put shots on frame. At all. That, combined with predictable defensive blunders, and they’re just not going to win games. But at least it was entertaining.
And that Monterey player who elbowed Diego at the end — fuck that guy.
It will be interesting to see how the new guys get integrated. For example, Antony. Is he good enough to start over Asprilla? Will Acosta give Paredes a break or will it be for D. Chara?
"Surprisingly no red cards were brandished."
Oh, a red card was brandished. See 6:35 of the highlights video: https://www.mlssoccer.com/competitions/leagues-cup/2023/matches/mtyvspor-08-04-2023/
I thought it was to the Monterrey player in the stadium, but the video looks like it was given to Y. Chara. Then the ref goes to VAR and comes back and gives yellows to D. Chara and L. Romo, final box score shows no red cards at all. Did the ref pull the wrong card? Mistaken identity thinking Y. Chara was D. Chara? So confusing.
Wow - this thread is certainly a refreshingly positive change from STF's match discussion thread!
There are those among us for whom everything is crap and tend to much more prolifically post on match threads. The funny part is when I am watching games on TV and post on match threads, I do the same thing.
I was at this game and frankly I was impressed with the Timbers. Sure, it wasn't a win but of our 5 best played games this season, I think the losses to Tigres and Monterrey were probably in that group, the win against San Jose top 10.
While it is good to be playing better soccer as we round the turn and head for the final 11 matches of the season, somehow amazingly only 3 points out of the low bar for playoff position, it really is up to the team whether they will keep playing like these last 3 or sink back to the mediocrity they have shown us for the first 2/3rds of the season.
If we some how tear off 20ish points in this final 11 games, I will be again a bit disgusted with being a season ticket holder and having to sit through months of intentionally less than optimal soccer and biding our time until we have to play well enough for playoffs. We have blown it with that approach a few times, but it feels like it is exactly what we are trying to do again.
The Timbers were really feisty and taking it to Monterrey the last quarter of the game.
"If we some how tear off 20ish points in this final 11 games, I will be again a bit disgusted with being a season ticket holder and having to sit through months of intentionally less than optimal soccer and biding our time until we have to play well enough for playoffs."
This is me, 100%. Even if we make the playoffs this season, I want change. Gio's brand of soccer isn't working consistently any more, and while I am not a "trophies or it's a failure" type of person, I want the Timbers to be in the running for trophies more often than not. I want them to play consistent good soccer. I want to be entertained for my entertainment dollar, and for large swaths of the last three seasons, I have not been.
Last night was great; if it's sustainable for the rest of the season, that's also great, but it doesn't make me want to keep Gio around, because he's shown he can't/won't coach teams to play like that for a whole season.
I'm with you on this. I want to see good soccer, and while I don't like to lose games I would rather lose a game where the other team is either better or played a heck of a game. I'm happy the Timbers have played well the past few games, and I'll take the losses to Tigres and Monterray based on how the team played. But it is brutal to watch a team sleepwalk through the first half of the season and play well in the second. The time is right to move on from Gio for me.
I agree - the first part of the season has been really rough to watch traditionally, but I will say that I think it is important to see how a team finishes. It's not always about where you start but where you finish and how you finish. With their slow starts to the season, they leave little room for error down the stretch.
I'd like to think that they are fully loaded and ready to go on a rampage down the stretch, but I just don't think that is realistic, especially if the same guys are playing wings (Loria and Asprilla). I'm sorry, but they are not starting quality. We all know this and I am stating the obvious. (I love ya Asprilla! Just come off the bench). Better wing play and the Timbers are going places.
"It's not always about where you start but where you finish and how you finish."
The problem with that is that if you start badly enough, you will finish earlier than all the other teams. Like the Timbers did last year, and are on track to do this year.
I don't get why so many people are so OK with slow starts (not that you said that, but that seems to be a very common theme among Timbers fans). It's actually fine for a team to play well all season! It's not against the rules!
I'm tired of the Timbers having to dig themselves out of holes all the time - the digging of the hole isn't entertaining to watch, and the scrambling to get out isn't particularly pleasant either.
Kinda surprised nobody commented on the additions of Bryan Acosta and antony
Is it me or has D. Chara seriously lost a step. He just looks a shell of his former self this season. I am not just talking about this game either but it did highlight his decline.
Highly disagree, I think he’s been awesome this year. The first few games were rough but he seemed to adjust his game to accommodate his limits and I think he’s been really great all season
I think if something has dropped off it is his offensive contributions, but certainly, he is as much of a ball winner, defensive stalwart as ever.
I think he is still nearly his younger self defensively - he was never perfect, nobody is, but he is just a slight bit off of his peak.
His errors have been more making some bad passes. Thankfully I can't recall one that has resulted in a huge consequence, but I have covered my eyes a couple of times when an errant pass results in a deep counter opportunity.
I should have read a bit further before posting the same comment above. Sorry!
I think this is overstating things a bit. JJ Timber's got it - he started slow, but he's adapted his game to how his body works now and he's been fine since about May, I think.
That was a great match to take in. The intensity of this Cup is great for the sport. I'm impressed with how well MLS clubs are doing. LAFC vs. Monterrey could be a huge one...
We looked good and played with some fight last night. Liked seeing Moreno push up the middle. Our D is looking better aside from a couple of moments of cranial flatulence. Boli is so close to becoming a monster...
Can we please stop giving up goals right at the brink of half time?