- That particular group of starters hadn't ever played as a cohesive 11 before
- the kids REALLY wanted it
The starters honestly looked like they'd never met. I know they've played as sort of a group before, but it really didn't look like it. It wasn't until the kids started coming in that the side played with any urgency whatsoever.
Overall, not much to take away from this game but "phew". First time the Timbers have advanced past the opening round of USOC since 2019, as well.
I hope we all can just collectively never speak about this game again. What an agonizing experience. Nothing to take away. We advanced, hooray, let’s move on.
Absolutely hated the color commentator who was obviously a biased Seattle supporter and was on their side for every call. Our first goal was not a foul on the keeper give me a freaking break. Timbers socials put out a video of it from behind the goal and Thomas goes down so easily after running into a stationary player. All his fault
hmmm, I really liked the color commentator in this game. I thought he had a lot better insights than most. And it really did look like a foul on their keeper from a distance. It looked blatant. I thought we got super lucky, but I haven't seen the other video. The commentators didn't have the advantage of being right behind the goal. I didn't detect any bias. He called it like he saw it; Tacoma was the better team for much of the game.
I didn't listen to the game with sound (I rarely do, most announcers are dimwits), so I don't know, but they were CBS Sports Network broadcasters, right? So not really local in any meaningful way? Not trying to defend one way or the other, just don't really know.
But yeah, listening without announcers is the way.
I actually thought the starters played hard and wanted to be there. To me they looked like they were playing to get back in the starting lineup. But... they just weren't any good. Smith showed nothing until the assist, the new guy Fernandez was a ghost in midfield, Ortiz seemed lost, Kelsey couldn't hold up the ball to save his life, Lassiter? NADA (except he does hit a great corner kick). So just because players are first level MLS doesn't mean they are higher quality. Especially when comparing to the always very good Sounders development system.
Way to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat. Guerra is a goal guzzler. The equalizer was supremely executed from the cross to the header. And it's not like this guy never scores goals. I was glad to see Paredes launching some big switches towards to the end to keep the pressure on. Plus, he played some good defense, too. I thought the T2 guys looked great, and the midfield took off when one of those guys or two were added to the mix. If we are facing an MLS team next round, I'd imagine that would be the end of the road for them?
I would like to think that Phil will stick with the kids in this comp, particularly with Leagues Cup looming. There's no shortage of games for the first team, so why not let the kids and the bench guys ride the USOC as far as they can? But Phil gonna Phil, so who knows.
Personally I’d rather compete for the open cup than Leagues Cup. It’s a much more realistic shot at getting a trophy (not a ton of strong teams in this competition) and has more historical relevance whereas leagues cup is a cash grab that will probably go through another five formats in the left seven years. And I enjoy leagues cup a ton but let’s call it what it is. Let’s get an open cup, why the hell not
yeah, the Leagues Cup is dumb and I hate it. But I also see the value in letting the kids play in the USOC; they're clearly not gonna get a lot of MLS minutes, and if they earn themselves a win like they arguably did last night, let 'em go another game.
The two things I could tell from this game:
- That particular group of starters hadn't ever played as a cohesive 11 before
- the kids REALLY wanted it
The starters honestly looked like they'd never met. I know they've played as sort of a group before, but it really didn't look like it. It wasn't until the kids started coming in that the side played with any urgency whatsoever.
Overall, not much to take away from this game but "phew". First time the Timbers have advanced past the opening round of USOC since 2019, as well.
I hope we all can just collectively never speak about this game again. What an agonizing experience. Nothing to take away. We advanced, hooray, let’s move on.
Absolutely hated the color commentator who was obviously a biased Seattle supporter and was on their side for every call. Our first goal was not a foul on the keeper give me a freaking break. Timbers socials put out a video of it from behind the goal and Thomas goes down so easily after running into a stationary player. All his fault
hmmm, I really liked the color commentator in this game. I thought he had a lot better insights than most. And it really did look like a foul on their keeper from a distance. It looked blatant. I thought we got super lucky, but I haven't seen the other video. The commentators didn't have the advantage of being right behind the goal. I didn't detect any bias. He called it like he saw it; Tacoma was the better team for much of the game.
I didn't listen to the game with sound (I rarely do, most announcers are dimwits), so I don't know, but they were CBS Sports Network broadcasters, right? So not really local in any meaningful way? Not trying to defend one way or the other, just don't really know.
But yeah, listening without announcers is the way.
I actually thought the starters played hard and wanted to be there. To me they looked like they were playing to get back in the starting lineup. But... they just weren't any good. Smith showed nothing until the assist, the new guy Fernandez was a ghost in midfield, Ortiz seemed lost, Kelsey couldn't hold up the ball to save his life, Lassiter? NADA (except he does hit a great corner kick). So just because players are first level MLS doesn't mean they are higher quality. Especially when comparing to the always very good Sounders development system.
Way to snatch victory out of the jaws of defeat. Guerra is a goal guzzler. The equalizer was supremely executed from the cross to the header. And it's not like this guy never scores goals. I was glad to see Paredes launching some big switches towards to the end to keep the pressure on. Plus, he played some good defense, too. I thought the T2 guys looked great, and the midfield took off when one of those guys or two were added to the mix. If we are facing an MLS team next round, I'd imagine that would be the end of the road for them?
I would like to think that Phil will stick with the kids in this comp, particularly with Leagues Cup looming. There's no shortage of games for the first team, so why not let the kids and the bench guys ride the USOC as far as they can? But Phil gonna Phil, so who knows.
Personally I’d rather compete for the open cup than Leagues Cup. It’s a much more realistic shot at getting a trophy (not a ton of strong teams in this competition) and has more historical relevance whereas leagues cup is a cash grab that will probably go through another five formats in the left seven years. And I enjoy leagues cup a ton but let’s call it what it is. Let’s get an open cup, why the hell not
yeah, the Leagues Cup is dumb and I hate it. But I also see the value in letting the kids play in the USOC; they're clearly not gonna get a lot of MLS minutes, and if they earn themselves a win like they arguably did last night, let 'em go another game.
TIL that Pa-Modou Kah is the coach of Phoenix Rising FC. I now have a new favorite USL team. Love that dude.
Also it's nice that this is the year that "MLS team knocked out of USOC!" doesn't refer to the Timbers - thanks NYCFC!