Portland Thorns 2, Angel City 2: Recap
A valuable point in LA.
The Portland Thorns put an end to their losing streak with assistant coach Sarah Lowndon in the dugout and without Sophia Smith and Hina Sugita in the squad.
It was the first clash of the year between these two teams and Portland couldn’t count on Hina Sugita and Sophia Smith due to injury.
Assistant coach Sarah Lowdon took the place as head coach in the dugout since Rob Gale was absent due to illness. The acting coach presented a different formation with a three-back system (Hubly - Sauerbrunn - Obaze) and Reyna Reyes and Marie Müller a little higher accompanying Sam Coffey, Olivia Moultrie and Jessie Fleming in the midfield. Morgan Weaver and Christine Sinclair paired up in the attacking line.
Although the home team had an early chance after that screenshot, Portland controlled the ball for some minutes until minute 10 when Alyssa Thompson opened the tab for the home team. The young forward shot and although she had a tight angle, the ball went in kissing the near post.
It feels good to find the back of the net
It is no secret that everybody missed Morgan Weaver and kept eagerly waiting for her return. She just came back and the entire fan base was waiting to see her scoring again… well, that and her amazing cellys.
The player didn’t make them wait long. In her first start, the forward found the equalizer only four minutes into the second half. Props to Marie Müller for intercepting that ball in the middle of the park and to Christine Sinclair, who always has had great chemistry with Weaver and participated in that play.
It was a very good triangulation between those three players as you can see in the capture below:
Fans are always complaining when they see Sinclair in the starting XI but in case they haven’t noticed, it is important to highlight that she was involved in both goals scored tonight.
In the capture below, you can see her carrying the ball to pass it to Kelli Hubly who ends up crossing it to Moultrie who scores seconds later.
The Canadian had two second assists (the last action of a player from the goalscoring team, prior to an assist by a teammate) against Angel City which pretty much validates her presence from the beginning of this match.
Mackenzie Arnold
We have to be honest and say that the Thorns had a fair chance to win for the first time in B.M.O. Stadium. It is important to highlight that Mackenzie Arnold has had good performances since she started to feature for Portland. However, last night wasn’t her night.
If we talk about the first goal of the game, Arnold was guarding the near post and it was her duty to not give any space there. It is true that Alyssa Thompson is feeling it in this part of the season but Arnold had the chance to do more in that goal for sure.
And in AC’s equalizer, the ball gets past Isabella Obaze but then Arnold doesn’t get ahold of that ball although she could’ve caught it and that gave the chance to Claire Emslie to come in like a hurricane at the far post and score with a header.
Of course, any player can have an off night but Portland is in a dire situation where they need to secure their playoff spot. The Matilda’s ‘keeper is a seasoned player who has participated in major international tournaments and a lot more is expected from her.
Looking ahead
Every point counts by this point. Right now Portland is in the seventh position only three points ahead of Racing Louisville, the last team in a playoff position.
Their next game is for the Concacaf tournament against the weakest team in the groups, Santa Fe. Therefore, they will certainly have time to rest a little and see what worked and what did not in this game. For sure one thing is certain: this team can score and get points without Sophia Smith on the field, and they can successfully play without her. She should be the cherry on top — not the whole dessert.
Sincy is retiring!
I know that we all have gripes about the way she's been fielded this season, but I'm happy we'll have a chance to celebrate her legendary career.
And hey Bhathals - let's get a statue of her at PP!
https://x.com/tayvincent6/status/1839697413705212182
I'm not a fan of 3/5 backs in general, but for whatever reason, a team that looked completely clueless for the better part of three months suddenly looked confident in possession for much of the match last night. I'd highlight a few key areas:
- Muller: She's so damn good when she gets to roam wherever she wants and playing as a wingback really freed her to do so. Unbelievable motor.
- The added width seemed to pull ACFC midfielders wide and give Coffey, Fleming, and Moultrie a little more room to operate. Moultrie played one of her best games as a Thorn- I've been very critical of her work rate as of late, but it was MUCH better last night. She's a player who needs to be engaged to be even remotely effective and playing her as a true ten (whoda thunk!) seemed to really activate her.
- Obaze and Becky's ball skills are so noticeable in a three back, but they also accentuate Hubly's lack thereof. Find a third ballplaying CB and things probably start to improve. I know she got the assist, but she's now *directly* cost this team two goals (and probably 3-4 points) with absolutely mind-numbing individual errors.
- Weaver is realllly important. Made Sinc's propensity to drop in much more effective when the threat is there in behind. Everything kinda went to shit as soon as she was taken off and they lost the outlet. Good reminder of both how much Gale has killed the team by playing without any pace up front and how much we've missed both Soph and Weaver- There are plenty of other issues, but you simply cannot get away with the lack of frontline pace the Thorns have played with for a majority of the season.
- I'd also like to highlight Reyna, who is getting better and better every game. She's not without her flaws, but she's turned into an absolutely ELITE 1v1 defender.