That sound you hear? It's me, happily and delightedly eating every single one of my pre-match words. I don't even have any serious analysis at this point - I'm just in awe that THAT is what I just saw.
I've always offered to all my friends to come to a Timbers game and enjoy the full North End experience. Well, a bunch of them called me on it, for THIS game. Bit of a headache staking out seven seats in 107, and tempering my companions' expectations based on the season so far, but still, they'd get to see a tifo, hear a lot of "F*** Seattle", and maybe witness a semi-competitive first half. I never promised them Tetris, or bicycle kicks, or goals going in while "Goals, Goals, Goals" was still being sung. Thanks, Timbers. If the whole rest of the season is shit, at least we had that.
It's funny if you watch Dairon on Fogaça's goal. He knew it was a goal before the striker was even in the box.
Huge kudos to Moreno and Fogaça tonight, and Ivačič too. It was amazing to see the Timbers just feeding off the energy the crowd was generating, and on the last three Timbers goals, it's quite remarkable how the Sounders defense just gave up, especially the last two goals.
Too right, Allison... takes just a little belief to turn things right around!
Add Ayala to your kudos - he had a great first half, and looked for the first time plausibly like DC's heir... and a shout out to Paredes for his super jail-break leading to Mosquera's goal - vintage PTFC!
Watching a different angle replay this morning I saw just how much their defender was tugging on him. Two hands full of jersey. Super impressed that he didn't go down for what would have been an easy yellow if not more.
Its absolutely good he didn't go down. Very little bothers me more than not fighting through that contact when you can score a goal. I know the calls happen when you go down, but seeing the fight is a lot more inspiring than trying for the PK.
Ayala was very good. Moreno was great once he moved towards the middle. Couldn’t give this game my full attention but I did my best. Nathan had a hell of a goal, that was amazing. Not really sure what else to say right now, I’m just in a great mood. Now is not the time for rational thinking, it’s all good vibes
So good! But also, respect for actually saying they lost the game and not going with "we saw some good things...". He was actually pissed and I respect that.
My fam and I are big Thorns fans. Last night my daughter and I went to our first real Timbers game. What an experience. My daughter is a huge soccer fan. Loves EPL, LaLiga, champions League. Timbers earned a rabid fan last night. That bike was amazing!!
There were two little kids sitting next to me in the Army. It was their first game and they were super excited and going bonkers by the end. We gave them our scarves on the way out and told them to remember the first time they saw the Timbers beat Seattle.
Agree and I'm not sure it's close. There are times he looks like he's on a whole different level than others on the field. Wouldn't doubt that Europe comes looking for him if he keeps it up. Dudes still so young.
Aside from his other work in back and in attack, he had three great strikes against Seattle. That one he barely missed at the upper 90 shortly after the bike would have been bonkers. So happy to see him detonate that rocket for the fourth goal.
If Bravo gets goal dangerous and one of Ayala or Paredes settles in at CDM (Paredes has already shown that he can do it, of course, it's more a question of how he comes back from injury), we're gonna win the league!
What a difference having some mostly regulars back in the lineup made. While Portland wasn't tearing up the pitch and may have been fortunate not to be down 2 or 3 when Asprilla exploded, they did hang in against the hottest team in the league. After Nathan bullied past Ragen in fairly humiliating style for the big Fishy CB, you could see the surrender in Seattle's eyes. It was beautiful.
Nearly 20 hours later I'm still smiling -- something that has been hard to do since the season started.
Best first half I had seen the Timbers play this year. Was a bit worried in the second. Knew 60 minutes would be the problem time because of fitness of key players. Loved the game plan until then. Had really frustrated the sounders. Finally having healthy players on the bench to bring in. Who knew it could be such a difference maker.
I do find it interesting how fragile a team Seattle is now. Has been going on the last few years. During Sigi time you felt they would always find a goal. They just had so much fire and fight. Now? They get punched in the face and they wilt. They are a great front running team but don’t deal with adversity nearly as well as they used too plus they whine a lot. Are great at one thing but have no plan B. Go to the end line and pull back to the penalty spot. Over and over and over.
There is a lot of consternation on the Sounder at Heart thread for a team that has done so well thus far. Surprised by the sense of vulnerability that was displayed.
There may be a little trouble in Fish City... Did you see Ruidiaz go sit by himself 30 yds away from the bench after he was subbed? Schmetz crabbing at Gio for time-wasting?? And throwing his team under the bus at the post-match presser???
It was a massive mistake to take off Leo Chu instead of Ruidiaz. Chu was arguably their most dangerous player and kept Mosquera honest. Taking him off let Mosquera run free and that killed them. Really bad sub
Played a really good first half and I have to admit I was a little down when we got scored on. Then ...
BAAMM! Equalizer on a ridiculous goal. Dairon had a much better outing even without this whip cream on top.
BAMMMMM really nice run by Nathan, you could see the Flounders shoulders drop.
BLAMMMMOOOOO Dagger poached goal by Niezgoda.
Nothing but EXCLAMATION POINTS by Mosquera.
Played like a team with fire nearly the entire game. Pleased that it resulted in goals being scored AND nothing in the world feels better than gutting fish.
so sweet! seattle go home with your tail between your legs. western conference leader whatever. doesn't mean anything your pretty play. Timbers ate your lunch. goals goals goals. what a game
We were outplayed and lost for 70 minutes of the game but that asprilla goal finally gave this team life. It's like a confidence boost that asprilla injected into all of his teammates. Let's hope this does something to wake this team up going forward.
Asprilla had a great goal but shout out to Nathan. Guy came on and got a goal and was a big part of creating the goal for nieazgoda.
Ayala had a good game for coming back off injury. His positional awareness could use some work but that could just be getting back to game speed after so long out.
Bravo and masquera had a great game. That bravo block in the box to keep Morris off the score sheet. That could honestly be a game saving stop. Seattle goes up 2-0 and we could have been done.
Everyone has said we need a new cb but t2 has a young cb that is being scouted by liga mx teams and some teams in Europe. He could be a good option to bring into Timbers next year on a homegrown contract. Save money and move on from mabiala.
Was a good final 20 minutes. Let's see if it translates to next week when we are going to be playing away from home to Cincinnati.
Hard disagree on the outplayed for 70. We dominated the first 15, played even for the next 15 and then were back foot quite a bit in the final 15 of the first half. Came out in the second half and continued to be up and down ... listless. Got scored on and I was pretty sure we would lose 1-0 at that point, maybe 2. But I am really proud of the team for saying "nope" and digging deep to absolutely dominate for 25 minutes (final 20 plus stoppage) and be productive when it counted.
I agree on this. Overall I thought the Timbers played really well in the first half, and looked to be the better team. Seattle grew into the game and when they scored I was certain things were going to fall apart. Little did I guess HOW things would fall apart! It was fun to be at the game, though I ended up next to the Seattle supporters and they were really loud (up until the last 20 minutes). It was a great way to break the winless streak, and as we know winning solves a lot of problems. Lets hope this kicks off a streak of playing well. Its about time the team played with some passion!
I was in the stadium too. Went home and watched the replay and Twellman was banging on how dominant the Sounders were most of the first half and all of the 2nd half up until our 3rd goal. Even Jake was getting pulled into it with "it is a funny game" type comments when the Timbers took the lead.
Up until Asprilla's bike, they did have the better chances and looked more dangerous, but Twellman struck me as shilling for the top dog, creating a narrative that was not wholly untrue, but pretty weak given that the Timbers were playing one of their better games and had stretches where they were the better team. Maybe that is just part of broadcasting - creating heros and villans, over and underdogs, but I can see where his negativity about Portland for 80ish minutes would have certainly affected someone watching the broadcast. Maybe with some of the absolute dogs of games we have put together in the first 2 months, he just didn't believe the Timbers mentally had it in them, so he was safe to make sweeping statements with the team in 1st place leading the game.
They were better on balance. But they weren’t leagues ahead or anything. Twellman really laid it on thick. It was like he was watching the Vancouver game.
We have absolutely played some terrible games (Vancouver, Atlanta, Galaxy) and have played others where we looked bad for much of it but showed moments of being OK to good (SKC, LAFC) ... St Louis game could go into either of those. Dallas was our best complete game and was a draw. I didn't have high expectations either going into this one given Shittle's successful and our dismal start to the season, but as soon as the fish started playing their way into the first half - the final 15 minutes he was completely on their side and just trashing PTFC by a little into in the 2nd half. Maybe he thought he needed to do this because Zivin was a former Timbers homer, maybe this is just him being prone to hyperbole. I get it that broadcasters can't watch every game, especially of a team that is losing, playing bad in losing and quickly becoming irrelevant (PTFC) - but man he looked dumb in the end when the score line was a beat down.
I agree with everything you've said here--all the legitimate reasons one might be predisposed to be overly negative about the Timbers performance AND Twellman's tendency to be a bit lazy and view the game through a given lens whether it actually fits or not.
> I get it that broadcasters can't watch every game, especially of a team that is losing, playing bad in losing and quickly becoming irrelevant (PTFC)
It is literally their job to watch the last few games for the teams whose games they are gonna call. Jake and Ross always knew what the heck the other teams were doing. Twellman is just lazy.
Agree with everything people said in the replies. However when I say outplayed that doesn't mean they dominated us like previous games we played this year. A lot of it was us shooting ourselves in the foot. Moreno and asprilla had heavy touches, bad first steps, misplaced passes everywhere. Our midfield was good tracking back but struggled closing down passing lanes. It wasn't that Seattle dominated us but they clearly were cleaner on the ball and had a clear identity in how they wanted to play. While we struggled to even figure out how we wanted to move forward.
Let's be honest until asprilla scored we showed the same inept understanding of how we wanted to play. That asprilla goal changed everything and in the last 20 minutes we saw a completely different team out there. An entire team that we have not once seen this year. The switch was flipped and they finally decided to play like lion and not sheep.
I'm still not convinced of gio. When players misplace passes, have poor first touches, miss a shot high or wide, that's on the players talent. That's on them and how I rate them in those situations.
What i rate a coach on is the teams play as a unit. Passing patterns. Team movement's. How are they attacking and defending within a structure. We don't have one at all. Not in the attack or in defense. I disagree with what Taylor twellman says most of the time in his broadcasting but he was right when he said "the Timbers look like a team of individuals at times." Where as most teams I have watched this year look like a unit in how they play. They might not have good players but they still play as a unit. That's on the coach.
I believe in our team. We have good players. We just need better dp's. We need to offload our dp's (niezgoda,
Yimmi) and high tam players (blanco) and get players that can make an impact. The rest is on gio to coach a cohesive unit. Something we really haven't seen much of.
But I will say this. That last 20 minutes was the best we have played in the last 25 games. Since we beat Colorado 3-0 last year.
By no means does this erase all the questions and concerns that have been gathering this year(+), but I do hope that, like a jolt from an AED, this game and the magic of the final 20 minutes get the Timbers back in rhythm with each other so that they can start to work through the underlying issues.
Yea I am so curious to see where they go from here. I really think it's 50/50 Go on a tear now that they have confidence/It was 18 minutes of magic and they will lose their next game 2-0.
You are right that we don't know what the team is going to look like going forward, but I have confidence that they will play better since the key change has been health. Getting Evander, Asprilla, Ayala and Paredes back really helps, and the addition of Boli really bolsters the offensive bench. If the defense can stay healthy and the role players (Mabiala, Miller, Bonilla and Rasmussen) can spell them effectively we do have a chance to make some noise. But we will have to see.
I don't disagree with your overall jib here. One ecstasy producing win at home in a rivalry game does not paper over the problems with the team. My opinion was (and it showed from the opening whistle) that the team knew they needed to turn up the intensity about 3 notches ... they went up 5 for the final 20 min.
This doesn't mean that we are suddenly league favorites or even playoff bound, but I hope it shakes off the cobwebs and gives confidence where it was clearly lacking (or at least inconsistent).
Seattle is a good team in that they are consistent. Their lows are seemingly never as low as the Timbers have, their highs similar highs to ours.
My comments of course were in relation to this single game and the first 70 minutes which I suppose if you had to pick a "winner" it goes to the fish since they were up 1-0 and had a couple of other really good chances they just missed. Maybe it is just language, but when I hear "outplayed for 70" for a soccer game, I assume one way traffic and it wasn't that at all. It was fairly evenly matched with them making errors too, nice defensive plays and some promising midfield play but just not quite able to put it all together for the Timbers. Do I give them the edge in the first 70? Sure, but not a huge difference at all as you said.
The flip switched because of Asprilla goal, but also because guys who have been playing with each other in the past were playing with each other when the blitz happened. There is no style per se, just guys knowing each other.
I was trying to think about why the Sounders didn't look "Sounders-like" to me last night. Having seen something like 50+ Timbers/Sounders games over the last 23 years (here and in S**ttle), the Sounders do have a style of play that is frustrating, and they didn't seem to be playing that way last night.
One thing that came to mind today is the Sounders are notorious for fouling. They do it a lot. They stop promising situations with it. They stop momentum with it. Yes we do it too at times, especially Diego Chara, but it's always been a part of Sounders strategy.
Last night they didn't did do it and I'm not sure why. Here are the number of Sounders fouls for Timbers games going back to 2020:
2023: 6
2022: 15
2022: 12
2021: 13
2021: 14
2020: 10
2020: 17
It may just be me but the Sounders just don't feel like the Sounders last night and I think that's a big part of it.
Speaking of the ref, I thought that yellow on Chara was really soft. It was a foul but not really hard and not stopping a break. I think that was based more on reputation than severity
Chara was also asking the ref at the time why he got a yellow, while a Sounder player who had committed a foul that was at least as bad (if not worse) a minute or so earlier (I think it was Léo Chú) did not get a card.
Chu had had two hard fouls, one of which was a clear hands to face that somehow didn't draw a card. That was one of the worse YCs I've seen issued to Chara.
I hate the fact that in what is theoretically one of the bigger rivalries in MLS, both teams were wearing their alts. If ever a game screamed out for green and gold, it's a Seattle home game.
Honestly, both teams should create one-off retro kits for a particular year and wear those for these games. Both teams wearing 1978 uniforms one year, 1982 the next, etc. But even if that's not feasible, at least wear the traditional team colors and save those rose abominations for Cincinnati or Nashville or whoever.
I believe the thinking was our green and their green would be too similar, but also our green and their dark red would be even more similar. It would’ve made more sense color-wise for Seattle to wear green and us wear pink instead of what actually happened since they contrast a bit more, but I’m also glad that Seattle didn’t get to wear green at our house and not us
This hits on one of my gripes about MLS (and some other leagues are like this too). Every team should be required to have a dark kit, and a light kit. Because you can end up in situations like this, where we were basically forced to wear our alternate kit at home because our home kits clash with both of the Sounders kits.
We've done this too, when our only kits were green and dark red.
Those are Jimi Hendrix tribute kits, which are (whispers) actually not terrible. The yellow trim isn't great but I like them overall. It's their away shirt this year, so maybe it was a case of not having two dark hues as JJ mentioned.
No Christian Roldan (the sour faced little bitch) on the pitch. I have not looked up stats, but he hates the Timbers. I am guessing he is the guy committing 3 or more fouls per game against us. Leo Chu doesn't play enough defense to rack up fouls.
... In part, last night's lower foul total was down to the way Drew Fischer called the match in the first half. That was the quickest half of footy I've seen in MLS with both teams actually pressing the action...
... and, in Half #2 he chose a good bit of 'see-no-evil' reffing towards the Fish, which also helped keep the fouls down.
That also ended up affecting the match... Schmetzer took out Nouhou with Chu to avoid him seeing a YC - which ended up biting them squarely in the butt...
Taylor Twellman had a story and he stuck with it, but it wasn't true. Player for player, Portland finally had talent on the field that could match Seattle. We haven't jelled yet for obvious reasons, so they look like a better executing team. Sure. But you could tell that Bravo, Mosquera, Ayala, and Moreno all have serious game, alongside our veterans. Especially great game from Ayala, considering the load thrown on him.
Monster goal from Fogaça. The most impressive part for me was how he just took the contact headed into the box and didn't get jostled off the ball. And Mosquera's goal was one of like three powerful strikes he took that game that could have gotten in.
My one worry is Evander. So, first of all, has anyone ever seen the dude visibly happy? Smiling? He just seems pensive or moody all the time. Would love to see a little joy. Second, I'm worried that MLS is too fast and physical for him. He's got skills, clearly, but he almost seems like a player who needs more structure and order in the offense than MLS is likely to give him. I'm guessing the Danish league is like synchronized swimming, but MLS is more like monster trucks. We need someone who thrives on chaos...can he? We'll see, and of course it's too soon to tell, but he needs a little more intensity out there and also a little more speed and physicality. Though his corner and set piece kicks are great to see.
Not sure I agree with this. Before the game Rifer, who is far more familiar with these two teams than Twellman, and isn't paid to make people talk, tweeted that shittle is arguably better at 10/11 positions. Yea Bravo is good, but Nouhou is a beast too. And Ayala had his best game ever for the Timbers, but no way you can put him in the same tier as shittles CMs (yet). I love Moreno, but both their wingers are better than him at the moment.
It was the depth - not the first 10 or 11. I guess you could say Portland's 14 or 15 added to the bonfire that was ultimately Seattle's demise - they got log rolled. And really, it took one stick - Asprilla's bike - to ignite it all.
I normally don't like the "how many of our guys would start on that team" game, because it's super reductive, but in this case it's also informative, because the answer is...not many, if any.
Going into the game I was really worried about the depth of the Timbers. With the injuries we are counting on fringe players to step up and make plays (Gutierrez, Nathan, RAsmussen, Bonilla). I can see Seattle having the player edge in the starters, but the bench is really where they have the advantage. It worked out for us, but until we get some more players back I'm going to worry about it.
I guess it depends what you mean by fast and physical. If what you mean by fast is lots of quick passing, then no, of course, he's fast enough. If what you mean by physical is he can dash a bit and go for a tackle, sure. But MLS fast is running like a chicken with your head cut off, lung busting runs for 70 yards all the time fast, straight line, pin your ears back running fast. And MLS physical is monster truck physical: running into people, banging like you're on the low post. I just don't see either in the European game, probably because the game's at a higher level, but whatever. The game here is the game here. Obviously, he isn't a striker or a back, so he doesn't have to be as physical or fast as, say, Asprilla, Moreno, or Mosquera. But he does need to not get bounced off the ball and he does need to demand the ball and not be cute with it. It's just not a tikki-taka league.
Fast or slow, remember that most players need time to get used to the league play and get comfortable in a new environment. I’ll be applying a more critical eye next season. Right now, I see a lot of potential in his game.
Agree. I think he is still trying to find his way. Picking up an injury early didn't help, I don't think we will truly see how he fits in until we are at least 10 consistent starts down the road, and then hopefully he is something to build around with new pieces this winter.
I'm late to the party, but I have to add to this: Ayala had an absurdly outstanding game offensively. I'm actually not sure how to write this because he did a lot of things the Timbers have been lacking this year and it all looked pretty damn amazing.
Thanks JJ Timber for putting together that video so I could organize my thoughts better.
Downside - he had only a decent game defensively. He had a couple blunders early that led to really tough positions for the rest of the defense. You know, the little mistakes that turn into big problems - a couple lunges at the ball that let the Sounders go screaming past him and requiring excellence from other positions.
Upside - FAST first step. He is a lot faster than I thought. He had a couple plays that made Seattle look freaking slow.
Upside - Big Switches - Multiple times he got the ball in relatively cramped quarters and flung it wide to Mosquera - who obviously was happy because he's been getting open into space and been unreachable earlier. He had a couple nice ones to Asprilla, too.
Upside - Vision - His awareness of where the defense is open was really, really good. Some gentle taps, some bigger swings, he found people open. His long ball to Moreno from the middle of the pitch to where Moreno had a clumsy touch in front of the left side of Seattle's goal was beautiful. You know, he had some of the passes that we get excited about from Williamson.
Upside - Available target for fullbacks in our own third - he got available to our fullbacks in our own half, giving them a legit target. One reason we had possession for a reasonable amount against Seattle? Ayala was available to our back 4 and we didn't have to launch it upfield with a prayer. He mostly helped out on the left side, but he had a connection with Mosquera that was nice to see.
Evaluation - I thought he stood out and was the best player on the pitch for much of the game. He settled the team down and let us get into an offense. I was super-impressed and hope that he is able to maintain this leve.
He feels very similar to Bravo in so many ways. He can be over eager to jump into challenges, just like Bravo. His worst moments come from those moments, he needs to learn to be a bit more cool and calculated with his challenges, but otherwise his game is great.
“He had some passes that we get excited about from Williamson”
Yep! I’ve always thought as such, he has excellent vision and the talent to pull those passes off. Passes most other players on our team don’t see and/or play with any regularity
That sound you hear? It's me, happily and delightedly eating every single one of my pre-match words. I don't even have any serious analysis at this point - I'm just in awe that THAT is what I just saw.
Keep it up, Timbers. That was fun.
I've always offered to all my friends to come to a Timbers game and enjoy the full North End experience. Well, a bunch of them called me on it, for THIS game. Bit of a headache staking out seven seats in 107, and tempering my companions' expectations based on the season so far, but still, they'd get to see a tifo, hear a lot of "F*** Seattle", and maybe witness a semi-competitive first half. I never promised them Tetris, or bicycle kicks, or goals going in while "Goals, Goals, Goals" was still being sung. Thanks, Timbers. If the whole rest of the season is shit, at least we had that.
It's funny if you watch Dairon on Fogaça's goal. He knew it was a goal before the striker was even in the box.
Huge kudos to Moreno and Fogaça tonight, and Ivačič too. It was amazing to see the Timbers just feeding off the energy the crowd was generating, and on the last three Timbers goals, it's quite remarkable how the Sounders defense just gave up, especially the last two goals.
Too right, Allison... takes just a little belief to turn things right around!
Add Ayala to your kudos - he had a great first half, and looked for the first time plausibly like DC's heir... and a shout out to Paredes for his super jail-break leading to Mosquera's goal - vintage PTFC!
RE: Paredes break
If that is a boat race, then J. Paulo is a tug boat.
Watching a different angle replay this morning I saw just how much their defender was tugging on him. Two hands full of jersey. Super impressed that he didn't go down for what would have been an easy yellow if not more.
I think it's good that he didn't. I don't see the Timbers getting as much energy from a PK goal.
Its absolutely good he didn't go down. Very little bothers me more than not fighting through that contact when you can score a goal. I know the calls happen when you go down, but seeing the fight is a lot more inspiring than trying for the PK.
I saw that..Dairon had his hands in the air a full 3 seconds before the ball hot the net. Psychic?
ALWAYS BELIEVE. WE’RE THE BEST TEAM IN THE LEAGUE
Ayala was very good. Moreno was great once he moved towards the middle. Couldn’t give this game my full attention but I did my best. Nathan had a hell of a goal, that was amazing. Not really sure what else to say right now, I’m just in a great mood. Now is not the time for rational thinking, it’s all good vibes
Nathan's goal looked like a Sophia Smith goal. Just single handed bossed their CBs.
Yep. Minus that one errant pass I was really impressed with Ayala. Looked like a lot of growth since the last time we saw him on the pitch.
Yep. He was Portland's best player on the pitch in Half #1 - especially the first 30 minutes, where he was everywhere on both offense and defense.
Best - according to MLS he was 21 of 26 for passing, too.
https://youtu.be/EViNWZw2b5k
Check out Ayala’s highlights for yourself!
Want some icing on that cake? Post-game interview with Coach Schmetzer... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJ6BB62J2PY
My smile kept getting bigger and bigger! This win is a gift that keeps on giving!
So good! But also, respect for actually saying they lost the game and not going with "we saw some good things...". He was actually pissed and I respect that.
My fam and I are big Thorns fans. Last night my daughter and I went to our first real Timbers game. What an experience. My daughter is a huge soccer fan. Loves EPL, LaLiga, champions League. Timbers earned a rabid fan last night. That bike was amazing!!
There were two little kids sitting next to me in the Army. It was their first game and they were super excited and going bonkers by the end. We gave them our scarves on the way out and told them to remember the first time they saw the Timbers beat Seattle.
Hot take that's been simmering on my mind for most of the season: Mosquera is our best field player.
Agree and I'm not sure it's close. There are times he looks like he's on a whole different level than others on the field. Wouldn't doubt that Europe comes looking for him if he keeps it up. Dudes still so young.
Hopefully we can keep him in position from now.
Aside from his other work in back and in attack, he had three great strikes against Seattle. That one he barely missed at the upper 90 shortly after the bike would have been bonkers. So happy to see him detonate that rocket for the fourth goal.
I think that’s been pretty universally agreed upon for this year, he’s been by far our best and most consistent player
Well, except for my guy Bravo!
I think the difference for me is that Bravo is quietly good on defense, and Mosquera is loudly good on offense so he just sticks out more.
Yeah, I get what you're saying. One of these days Bravo is going to score!
If Bravo gets goal dangerous and one of Ayala or Paredes settles in at CDM (Paredes has already shown that he can do it, of course, it's more a question of how he comes back from injury), we're gonna win the league!
Well Bravo started the year injured and then was not good his first few games back. Mosquera has been excellent from match 1
What a difference having some mostly regulars back in the lineup made. While Portland wasn't tearing up the pitch and may have been fortunate not to be down 2 or 3 when Asprilla exploded, they did hang in against the hottest team in the league. After Nathan bullied past Ragen in fairly humiliating style for the big Fishy CB, you could see the surrender in Seattle's eyes. It was beautiful.
Nearly 20 hours later I'm still smiling -- something that has been hard to do since the season started.
Best first half I had seen the Timbers play this year. Was a bit worried in the second. Knew 60 minutes would be the problem time because of fitness of key players. Loved the game plan until then. Had really frustrated the sounders. Finally having healthy players on the bench to bring in. Who knew it could be such a difference maker.
I do find it interesting how fragile a team Seattle is now. Has been going on the last few years. During Sigi time you felt they would always find a goal. They just had so much fire and fight. Now? They get punched in the face and they wilt. They are a great front running team but don’t deal with adversity nearly as well as they used too plus they whine a lot. Are great at one thing but have no plan B. Go to the end line and pull back to the penalty spot. Over and over and over.
There is a lot of consternation on the Sounder at Heart thread for a team that has done so well thus far. Surprised by the sense of vulnerability that was displayed.
Couple the Sounders' fragility with a sky-high sense of entitlement, and you have SAH pretty well pegged...
There may be a little trouble in Fish City... Did you see Ruidiaz go sit by himself 30 yds away from the bench after he was subbed? Schmetz crabbing at Gio for time-wasting?? And throwing his team under the bus at the post-match presser???
It was a massive mistake to take off Leo Chu instead of Ruidiaz. Chu was arguably their most dangerous player and kept Mosquera honest. Taking him off let Mosquera run free and that killed them. Really bad sub
Played a really good first half and I have to admit I was a little down when we got scored on. Then ...
BAAMM! Equalizer on a ridiculous goal. Dairon had a much better outing even without this whip cream on top.
BAMMMMM really nice run by Nathan, you could see the Flounders shoulders drop.
BLAMMMMOOOOO Dagger poached goal by Niezgoda.
Nothing but EXCLAMATION POINTS by Mosquera.
Played like a team with fire nearly the entire game. Pleased that it resulted in goals being scored AND nothing in the world feels better than gutting fish.
so sweet! seattle go home with your tail between your legs. western conference leader whatever. doesn't mean anything your pretty play. Timbers ate your lunch. goals goals goals. what a game
you missed a "goals"!
We were outplayed and lost for 70 minutes of the game but that asprilla goal finally gave this team life. It's like a confidence boost that asprilla injected into all of his teammates. Let's hope this does something to wake this team up going forward.
Asprilla had a great goal but shout out to Nathan. Guy came on and got a goal and was a big part of creating the goal for nieazgoda.
Ayala had a good game for coming back off injury. His positional awareness could use some work but that could just be getting back to game speed after so long out.
Bravo and masquera had a great game. That bravo block in the box to keep Morris off the score sheet. That could honestly be a game saving stop. Seattle goes up 2-0 and we could have been done.
Everyone has said we need a new cb but t2 has a young cb that is being scouted by liga mx teams and some teams in Europe. He could be a good option to bring into Timbers next year on a homegrown contract. Save money and move on from mabiala.
Was a good final 20 minutes. Let's see if it translates to next week when we are going to be playing away from home to Cincinnati.
Hard disagree on the outplayed for 70. We dominated the first 15, played even for the next 15 and then were back foot quite a bit in the final 15 of the first half. Came out in the second half and continued to be up and down ... listless. Got scored on and I was pretty sure we would lose 1-0 at that point, maybe 2. But I am really proud of the team for saying "nope" and digging deep to absolutely dominate for 25 minutes (final 20 plus stoppage) and be productive when it counted.
I agree on this. Overall I thought the Timbers played really well in the first half, and looked to be the better team. Seattle grew into the game and when they scored I was certain things were going to fall apart. Little did I guess HOW things would fall apart! It was fun to be at the game, though I ended up next to the Seattle supporters and they were really loud (up until the last 20 minutes). It was a great way to break the winless streak, and as we know winning solves a lot of problems. Lets hope this kicks off a streak of playing well. Its about time the team played with some passion!
I was in the stadium too. Went home and watched the replay and Twellman was banging on how dominant the Sounders were most of the first half and all of the 2nd half up until our 3rd goal. Even Jake was getting pulled into it with "it is a funny game" type comments when the Timbers took the lead.
Up until Asprilla's bike, they did have the better chances and looked more dangerous, but Twellman struck me as shilling for the top dog, creating a narrative that was not wholly untrue, but pretty weak given that the Timbers were playing one of their better games and had stretches where they were the better team. Maybe that is just part of broadcasting - creating heros and villans, over and underdogs, but I can see where his negativity about Portland for 80ish minutes would have certainly affected someone watching the broadcast. Maybe with some of the absolute dogs of games we have put together in the first 2 months, he just didn't believe the Timbers mentally had it in them, so he was safe to make sweeping statements with the team in 1st place leading the game.
They were better on balance. But they weren’t leagues ahead or anything. Twellman really laid it on thick. It was like he was watching the Vancouver game.
We have absolutely played some terrible games (Vancouver, Atlanta, Galaxy) and have played others where we looked bad for much of it but showed moments of being OK to good (SKC, LAFC) ... St Louis game could go into either of those. Dallas was our best complete game and was a draw. I didn't have high expectations either going into this one given Shittle's successful and our dismal start to the season, but as soon as the fish started playing their way into the first half - the final 15 minutes he was completely on their side and just trashing PTFC by a little into in the 2nd half. Maybe he thought he needed to do this because Zivin was a former Timbers homer, maybe this is just him being prone to hyperbole. I get it that broadcasters can't watch every game, especially of a team that is losing, playing bad in losing and quickly becoming irrelevant (PTFC) - but man he looked dumb in the end when the score line was a beat down.
I agree with everything you've said here--all the legitimate reasons one might be predisposed to be overly negative about the Timbers performance AND Twellman's tendency to be a bit lazy and view the game through a given lens whether it actually fits or not.
> I get it that broadcasters can't watch every game, especially of a team that is losing, playing bad in losing and quickly becoming irrelevant (PTFC)
It is literally their job to watch the last few games for the teams whose games they are gonna call. Jake and Ross always knew what the heck the other teams were doing. Twellman is just lazy.
Agree with everything people said in the replies. However when I say outplayed that doesn't mean they dominated us like previous games we played this year. A lot of it was us shooting ourselves in the foot. Moreno and asprilla had heavy touches, bad first steps, misplaced passes everywhere. Our midfield was good tracking back but struggled closing down passing lanes. It wasn't that Seattle dominated us but they clearly were cleaner on the ball and had a clear identity in how they wanted to play. While we struggled to even figure out how we wanted to move forward.
Let's be honest until asprilla scored we showed the same inept understanding of how we wanted to play. That asprilla goal changed everything and in the last 20 minutes we saw a completely different team out there. An entire team that we have not once seen this year. The switch was flipped and they finally decided to play like lion and not sheep.
I'm still not convinced of gio. When players misplace passes, have poor first touches, miss a shot high or wide, that's on the players talent. That's on them and how I rate them in those situations.
What i rate a coach on is the teams play as a unit. Passing patterns. Team movement's. How are they attacking and defending within a structure. We don't have one at all. Not in the attack or in defense. I disagree with what Taylor twellman says most of the time in his broadcasting but he was right when he said "the Timbers look like a team of individuals at times." Where as most teams I have watched this year look like a unit in how they play. They might not have good players but they still play as a unit. That's on the coach.
I believe in our team. We have good players. We just need better dp's. We need to offload our dp's (niezgoda,
Yimmi) and high tam players (blanco) and get players that can make an impact. The rest is on gio to coach a cohesive unit. Something we really haven't seen much of.
But I will say this. That last 20 minutes was the best we have played in the last 25 games. Since we beat Colorado 3-0 last year.
By no means does this erase all the questions and concerns that have been gathering this year(+), but I do hope that, like a jolt from an AED, this game and the magic of the final 20 minutes get the Timbers back in rhythm with each other so that they can start to work through the underlying issues.
Asprilla - "Shock advised, stand clear"
Yea I am so curious to see where they go from here. I really think it's 50/50 Go on a tear now that they have confidence/It was 18 minutes of magic and they will lose their next game 2-0.
You are right that we don't know what the team is going to look like going forward, but I have confidence that they will play better since the key change has been health. Getting Evander, Asprilla, Ayala and Paredes back really helps, and the addition of Boli really bolsters the offensive bench. If the defense can stay healthy and the role players (Mabiala, Miller, Bonilla and Rasmussen) can spell them effectively we do have a chance to make some noise. But we will have to see.
I don't disagree with your overall jib here. One ecstasy producing win at home in a rivalry game does not paper over the problems with the team. My opinion was (and it showed from the opening whistle) that the team knew they needed to turn up the intensity about 3 notches ... they went up 5 for the final 20 min.
This doesn't mean that we are suddenly league favorites or even playoff bound, but I hope it shakes off the cobwebs and gives confidence where it was clearly lacking (or at least inconsistent).
Seattle is a good team in that they are consistent. Their lows are seemingly never as low as the Timbers have, their highs similar highs to ours.
My comments of course were in relation to this single game and the first 70 minutes which I suppose if you had to pick a "winner" it goes to the fish since they were up 1-0 and had a couple of other really good chances they just missed. Maybe it is just language, but when I hear "outplayed for 70" for a soccer game, I assume one way traffic and it wasn't that at all. It was fairly evenly matched with them making errors too, nice defensive plays and some promising midfield play but just not quite able to put it all together for the Timbers. Do I give them the edge in the first 70? Sure, but not a huge difference at all as you said.
The flip switched because of Asprilla goal, but also because guys who have been playing with each other in the past were playing with each other when the blitz happened. There is no style per se, just guys knowing each other.
Winning solves a lot. Feels great. We’ll talk about the bad stuff next week. For now, let’s bask in the glory.
I was trying to think about why the Sounders didn't look "Sounders-like" to me last night. Having seen something like 50+ Timbers/Sounders games over the last 23 years (here and in S**ttle), the Sounders do have a style of play that is frustrating, and they didn't seem to be playing that way last night.
One thing that came to mind today is the Sounders are notorious for fouling. They do it a lot. They stop promising situations with it. They stop momentum with it. Yes we do it too at times, especially Diego Chara, but it's always been a part of Sounders strategy.
Last night they didn't did do it and I'm not sure why. Here are the number of Sounders fouls for Timbers games going back to 2020:
2023: 6
2022: 15
2022: 12
2021: 13
2021: 14
2020: 10
2020: 17
It may just be me but the Sounders just don't feel like the Sounders last night and I think that's a big part of it.
Speaking of the ref, I thought that yellow on Chara was really soft. It was a foul but not really hard and not stopping a break. I think that was based more on reputation than severity
Chara was also asking the ref at the time why he got a yellow, while a Sounder player who had committed a foul that was at least as bad (if not worse) a minute or so earlier (I think it was Léo Chú) did not get a card.
Chu had had two hard fouls, one of which was a clear hands to face that somehow didn't draw a card. That was one of the worse YCs I've seen issued to Chara.
Yep, that was another of the many HARD double-team fouls Mosquera had to survive from Chu, Nouhou and others...
Dressing as RSL didn't help make them look the part either.
[I stole that from BelowAverageJedi in he game thread]
I hate the fact that in what is theoretically one of the bigger rivalries in MLS, both teams were wearing their alts. If ever a game screamed out for green and gold, it's a Seattle home game.
Honestly, both teams should create one-off retro kits for a particular year and wear those for these games. Both teams wearing 1978 uniforms one year, 1982 the next, etc. But even if that's not feasible, at least wear the traditional team colors and save those rose abominations for Cincinnati or Nashville or whoever.
I agree completely! The sight of the Timbers in pink, and the Sounders in red (are they going back to 2001 USL days?) was so wrong.
Why did we wear pink at home for a big rivalry like that? Is it because the Sounders don't really have a light kit this year?
I believe the thinking was our green and their green would be too similar, but also our green and their dark red would be even more similar. It would’ve made more sense color-wise for Seattle to wear green and us wear pink instead of what actually happened since they contrast a bit more, but I’m also glad that Seattle didn’t get to wear green at our house and not us
This hits on one of my gripes about MLS (and some other leagues are like this too). Every team should be required to have a dark kit, and a light kit. Because you can end up in situations like this, where we were basically forced to wear our alternate kit at home because our home kits clash with both of the Sounders kits.
We've done this too, when our only kits were green and dark red.
We wear pink in big games to sell more pink jerseys.
Those are Jimi Hendrix tribute kits, which are (whispers) actually not terrible. The yellow trim isn't great but I like them overall. It's their away shirt this year, so maybe it was a case of not having two dark hues as JJ mentioned.
The Jimi Hendrix tribute was the purple one from two years ago. This is their new Bruce Lee tribute jersey.
Oh right, thanks - I was looking at them both when I typed that comment, and transposed them in my head.
No Christian Roldan (the sour faced little bitch) on the pitch. I have not looked up stats, but he hates the Timbers. I am guessing he is the guy committing 3 or more fouls per game against us. Leo Chu doesn't play enough defense to rack up fouls.
Nice post, Allison.
... In part, last night's lower foul total was down to the way Drew Fischer called the match in the first half. That was the quickest half of footy I've seen in MLS with both teams actually pressing the action...
... and, in Half #2 he chose a good bit of 'see-no-evil' reffing towards the Fish, which also helped keep the fouls down.
That also ended up affecting the match... Schmetzer took out Nouhou with Chu to avoid him seeing a YC - which ended up biting them squarely in the butt...
Taylor Twellman had a story and he stuck with it, but it wasn't true. Player for player, Portland finally had talent on the field that could match Seattle. We haven't jelled yet for obvious reasons, so they look like a better executing team. Sure. But you could tell that Bravo, Mosquera, Ayala, and Moreno all have serious game, alongside our veterans. Especially great game from Ayala, considering the load thrown on him.
Monster goal from Fogaça. The most impressive part for me was how he just took the contact headed into the box and didn't get jostled off the ball. And Mosquera's goal was one of like three powerful strikes he took that game that could have gotten in.
My one worry is Evander. So, first of all, has anyone ever seen the dude visibly happy? Smiling? He just seems pensive or moody all the time. Would love to see a little joy. Second, I'm worried that MLS is too fast and physical for him. He's got skills, clearly, but he almost seems like a player who needs more structure and order in the offense than MLS is likely to give him. I'm guessing the Danish league is like synchronized swimming, but MLS is more like monster trucks. We need someone who thrives on chaos...can he? We'll see, and of course it's too soon to tell, but he needs a little more intensity out there and also a little more speed and physicality. Though his corner and set piece kicks are great to see.
Not sure I agree with this. Before the game Rifer, who is far more familiar with these two teams than Twellman, and isn't paid to make people talk, tweeted that shittle is arguably better at 10/11 positions. Yea Bravo is good, but Nouhou is a beast too. And Ayala had his best game ever for the Timbers, but no way you can put him in the same tier as shittles CMs (yet). I love Moreno, but both their wingers are better than him at the moment.
It was the depth - not the first 10 or 11. I guess you could say Portland's 14 or 15 added to the bonfire that was ultimately Seattle's demise - they got log rolled. And really, it took one stick - Asprilla's bike - to ignite it all.
I normally don't like the "how many of our guys would start on that team" game, because it's super reductive, but in this case it's also informative, because the answer is...not many, if any.
Going into the game I was really worried about the depth of the Timbers. With the injuries we are counting on fringe players to step up and make plays (Gutierrez, Nathan, RAsmussen, Bonilla). I can see Seattle having the player edge in the starters, but the bench is really where they have the advantage. It worked out for us, but until we get some more players back I'm going to worry about it.
Guy played in the europa league. This league isn't too fast or physical for him
I guess it depends what you mean by fast and physical. If what you mean by fast is lots of quick passing, then no, of course, he's fast enough. If what you mean by physical is he can dash a bit and go for a tackle, sure. But MLS fast is running like a chicken with your head cut off, lung busting runs for 70 yards all the time fast, straight line, pin your ears back running fast. And MLS physical is monster truck physical: running into people, banging like you're on the low post. I just don't see either in the European game, probably because the game's at a higher level, but whatever. The game here is the game here. Obviously, he isn't a striker or a back, so he doesn't have to be as physical or fast as, say, Asprilla, Moreno, or Mosquera. But he does need to not get bounced off the ball and he does need to demand the ball and not be cute with it. It's just not a tikki-taka league.
Fast or slow, remember that most players need time to get used to the league play and get comfortable in a new environment. I’ll be applying a more critical eye next season. Right now, I see a lot of potential in his game.
Agree. I think he is still trying to find his way. Picking up an injury early didn't help, I don't think we will truly see how he fits in until we are at least 10 consistent starts down the road, and then hopefully he is something to build around with new pieces this winter.
I'm late to the party, but I have to add to this: Ayala had an absurdly outstanding game offensively. I'm actually not sure how to write this because he did a lot of things the Timbers have been lacking this year and it all looked pretty damn amazing.
Thanks JJ Timber for putting together that video so I could organize my thoughts better.
Downside - he had only a decent game defensively. He had a couple blunders early that led to really tough positions for the rest of the defense. You know, the little mistakes that turn into big problems - a couple lunges at the ball that let the Sounders go screaming past him and requiring excellence from other positions.
Upside - FAST first step. He is a lot faster than I thought. He had a couple plays that made Seattle look freaking slow.
Upside - Big Switches - Multiple times he got the ball in relatively cramped quarters and flung it wide to Mosquera - who obviously was happy because he's been getting open into space and been unreachable earlier. He had a couple nice ones to Asprilla, too.
Upside - Vision - His awareness of where the defense is open was really, really good. Some gentle taps, some bigger swings, he found people open. His long ball to Moreno from the middle of the pitch to where Moreno had a clumsy touch in front of the left side of Seattle's goal was beautiful. You know, he had some of the passes that we get excited about from Williamson.
Upside - Available target for fullbacks in our own third - he got available to our fullbacks in our own half, giving them a legit target. One reason we had possession for a reasonable amount against Seattle? Ayala was available to our back 4 and we didn't have to launch it upfield with a prayer. He mostly helped out on the left side, but he had a connection with Mosquera that was nice to see.
Evaluation - I thought he stood out and was the best player on the pitch for much of the game. He settled the team down and let us get into an offense. I was super-impressed and hope that he is able to maintain this leve.
He feels very similar to Bravo in so many ways. He can be over eager to jump into challenges, just like Bravo. His worst moments come from those moments, he needs to learn to be a bit more cool and calculated with his challenges, but otherwise his game is great.
“He had some passes that we get excited about from Williamson”
Yep! I’ve always thought as such, he has excellent vision and the talent to pull those passes off. Passes most other players on our team don’t see and/or play with any regularity