Alright I don’t care, I’m gonna be uber-positive. I’m extremely happy with this result. And my hottest take? This, in my opinion, was our most impressive defensive performance of the year. Yes, our defense was nowhere to be seen on their first goal, but that was a case of Evander not tracking his runner and slow reactions from Miller and Williamson to do anything about it. But I thought that was going to happen a LOT more than it did. Columbus is so good with the ball it isn’t even fair, and in the past we’ve gotten pulled apart so earlier. And yeah, they got behind our outside backs way more than I’d like, but the reality is we didn’t give up that many good chances, and they only scored one goal that wasn’t a wonder strike. On the road against the best offensive team in the league and only conceding one non-wonder goal is a pretty positive outcome.
This game played out exactly how I expected, it was always going to be a shooting gallery, and I thought our first half defense was brilliant. We were very compact and our defensive rotations were really good, which I was thrilled with because they usually suck. We were never going to see much of the ball, so we were defensively stout. Now past the 60th minute or so we got tired and didn’t look nearly as compact, but again, I’m just happy about the result. Kamal and Araujo are turning into a really solid defensive pair, I’m starting to really like Araujo. He made some good defensive plays but also had 3-4 really lovely long balls that opened up the game. As we’ve discussed, that’s key for this system that Neville wants to play. Mosquera also really impressed me, this was his best performance from a defensive and tactical discipline perspective in a long time.
Listen, when I say “most impressive,” I don’t necessarily mean “good.” There’s still lots and lots of improvements to be made. But what I’m seeing is an improvement every single game. The team is playing more together. The mentality seems to be improving. Phil is starting to get better performances out of players. Personally I’ve always seen Evander as a 10, even if he played a lot as an 8 and even played better there at points, and he’s really thriving now in that free role. He looks bought in, his defensive work rate is higher despite being in a “higher” position (except their goal lol), and it just seems like he’s gonna make something happen whenever he gets the ball. His role in our second goal was awesome, I LOVE the dummy that took out two Crew players (that was hilarious) and his patience to not hit the shot and pass it to Moreno was spectacular. Him and Mora are really cooking. Four straight games with a goal for Mora, and 6 goal contributions in 4 games for Evander, I mean good lord they are on a roll, and I don’t see it stopping.
Remember under Gio, in most of our away games we looked hopeless. We looked tired and disinterested. We looked like we had no plan and didn’t play as a team. Under Neville that has completely changed, our mentality is much better, and we’re playing together with a game plan and the game feels even. It’s a weird thing to say but previous it so often felt like we were playing with a man down during away games, at least to me.
These improvements take time, Phil is clearly still finding his best XI, and the team isn’t making it easy for him. Moreno had an awesome game, his best of the season, so now it’ll be a battle between him and Antony for the starter on the wing, and I’m happy with either. Phil has worked out the back line, it has been changed around so much but we’ve landed on Araujo and Miller. That process is currently happening in the midfield, and I expect to keep seeing rotations until one player steps up and grabs that position for themselves. Williamson was fine, again I don’t see any defensive frailties with him and Evander on the field at the same time, I don’t think it’s as much of a problem. Chara was awesome, which you just love to see after some shaky performances. Speaking of shaky, Pantemis worried me a lot. He didn’t look great, though did make some really nice saves. Crepeau definitely the starter though.
Bravo is my MOTM, mostly for that goal line save, taking that shot on the chest. My god that hurt me just looking at it. No fear whatsoever, he is a rockstar. Also I loved those two plays where he chested and headed the ball back to Pantemis, it was gutsy and really good. Call me crazy but I’m happy with how the team is progressing, if it keeps going there could be a really bright future
"Yes, Portland took and lost the lead twice, but you could argue that that is more of a credit to Columbus as a team rather than Portland’s defensive frailties."
Hard disagree on the first Columbus goal. That goal was literally all about Portland's defensive frailty. The pass into the box was into acres of space that shouldn't have been there, and there was nobody anywhere near Cucho to even try to close him down. Two very major mistakes leading to a goal that a halfway competent defense would have shut down at the entry pass.
The second Columbus goal? Yeah, that was unstoppable, nothing to be done about that at all. But the first goal was Portland Timbers 2024 defending through and through, and until that gets better, this team won't.
I appreciate the optimism in these several posts. I am fatigued by the “I didn't like the coach hire” premise, and thus, I will spend the rest of the season whining to support my viewpoint (confirmation bias). Maybe people can let that go — and enjoy the ride?! Or not.
So by and large, I would say out 'defensive fragility' at this point is less about our back line (even with Crepeau out) and more about brain farts on loose balls, caused by offensive players not picking up late second runs, rebounds, closing down the ball on long shots, etc. And I'm a little worried that's not really fixable, as it has to come from training and discipline from an early age. Contrast that to Bravo, who keeps us in the game by just remembering to guard the post every damn time. How many times in his career as a Timber has he been in position and made that block? So many times. Love the guy. And it's clearly 100% about training and discipline. He just knows to slide into that spot without thinking about it.
If you haven’t been watching the Matchday Recaps the Timbers put out after every match, you’re doing yourself a disservice. They’re well produced and you get a decent bit of behind the scenes video with snippets of Phil’s speeches at pregame, halftime, and/or postgame. It’s really good stuff.
The bit we get in the locker room is Phil telling the team that they’re going to suffer, and to “embrace the suffer.” He’s trying to instill the fight, and I like it. I like that he seems to be adjusting the tactics for each game depending on the opponent. There’s no reason to try and out-possess Columbus, and pressing them can be a death sentence because they’re just so damn good playing out of it, and then they break. In general I think he set the team up well, and I hope we keep seeing these adjustments.
And of note, Monterrey went to Columbus and lost. Getting a result there was really solid
In spite of the draw, I thought this was another promising performance. The Timbers played really well and in a place that is problematic for most teams. When the players are playing with focus and intensity, they are a dangerous offensive team. Unfortunately this will not be a great defensive team until they get better players. But for the most part the defense did well.
If the Timbers can play at this level for the rest of the season I think they are going to be fine. Its a matter for the coaches to keep them playing at a high level, and then the FO is going to have to find better CBs and another backup FB. I think the mix of CBs just aren't well suited for each other. K Miller and McGraw are too slow to play together. For some reason Zuparic is out of the mix, and Araujo ends up out of position too often.
Offensively this is a good group. If Mora can sustain his play he can be a difference maker for this team. I'm hoping Jonathan can settle in and take back the striker position to allow the team to manage Mora 's minutes. Antony, Moreno and Asprilla should be solid wingers and Evander is playing a lot better this year. Not quite MVP level, but is showing the potential he has.
2 straight ties, but promising play. Time to get some wins to move up the table!
Kamal Miller's slide to block Cucho's shot in that wild sequence, and of course, Bravo clearing off the second shot off the line.
Pantemis tipping out the corner kick (I don't know if Crepeau gets that) and some other fine blocks.
The backline perfectly aligned on the offsides call that disallowed a goal. Someone's been working with the backline!
Moreno's finish - very nice (with the left!, no less)
Pantemis creating a force field around the goal - balls going off posts but not going in
General Thoughts:
It's nice to see that when guys are given opportunities they step up. Williamson did certainly on the first goal. Moreno played a really good game both offensively and defensively.
Getting a draw at Columbus at face value isn't awful, but adding in context gives the full story. Columbus are tired from Concacaf and are playing well in it. The Timbers meanwhile, while better than most of Gio's years, are still winless in 6.
In yet another example of 'shows what I know', it sounds like Ivacic's signing with New England. Guess he didn't burn every single bridge within MLS after all. Good luck, Caleb.
The Timbers have already made good progress under Uncle Phil. Evander looks reborn even though he wasn't actually dead. What I'm most impressed by is his work with the young players like Moreno. Too often in the past the looked like chickens with their heads cut off. Now they understand their roles and carry them out.
Alright I don’t care, I’m gonna be uber-positive. I’m extremely happy with this result. And my hottest take? This, in my opinion, was our most impressive defensive performance of the year. Yes, our defense was nowhere to be seen on their first goal, but that was a case of Evander not tracking his runner and slow reactions from Miller and Williamson to do anything about it. But I thought that was going to happen a LOT more than it did. Columbus is so good with the ball it isn’t even fair, and in the past we’ve gotten pulled apart so earlier. And yeah, they got behind our outside backs way more than I’d like, but the reality is we didn’t give up that many good chances, and they only scored one goal that wasn’t a wonder strike. On the road against the best offensive team in the league and only conceding one non-wonder goal is a pretty positive outcome.
This game played out exactly how I expected, it was always going to be a shooting gallery, and I thought our first half defense was brilliant. We were very compact and our defensive rotations were really good, which I was thrilled with because they usually suck. We were never going to see much of the ball, so we were defensively stout. Now past the 60th minute or so we got tired and didn’t look nearly as compact, but again, I’m just happy about the result. Kamal and Araujo are turning into a really solid defensive pair, I’m starting to really like Araujo. He made some good defensive plays but also had 3-4 really lovely long balls that opened up the game. As we’ve discussed, that’s key for this system that Neville wants to play. Mosquera also really impressed me, this was his best performance from a defensive and tactical discipline perspective in a long time.
Listen, when I say “most impressive,” I don’t necessarily mean “good.” There’s still lots and lots of improvements to be made. But what I’m seeing is an improvement every single game. The team is playing more together. The mentality seems to be improving. Phil is starting to get better performances out of players. Personally I’ve always seen Evander as a 10, even if he played a lot as an 8 and even played better there at points, and he’s really thriving now in that free role. He looks bought in, his defensive work rate is higher despite being in a “higher” position (except their goal lol), and it just seems like he’s gonna make something happen whenever he gets the ball. His role in our second goal was awesome, I LOVE the dummy that took out two Crew players (that was hilarious) and his patience to not hit the shot and pass it to Moreno was spectacular. Him and Mora are really cooking. Four straight games with a goal for Mora, and 6 goal contributions in 4 games for Evander, I mean good lord they are on a roll, and I don’t see it stopping.
Remember under Gio, in most of our away games we looked hopeless. We looked tired and disinterested. We looked like we had no plan and didn’t play as a team. Under Neville that has completely changed, our mentality is much better, and we’re playing together with a game plan and the game feels even. It’s a weird thing to say but previous it so often felt like we were playing with a man down during away games, at least to me.
These improvements take time, Phil is clearly still finding his best XI, and the team isn’t making it easy for him. Moreno had an awesome game, his best of the season, so now it’ll be a battle between him and Antony for the starter on the wing, and I’m happy with either. Phil has worked out the back line, it has been changed around so much but we’ve landed on Araujo and Miller. That process is currently happening in the midfield, and I expect to keep seeing rotations until one player steps up and grabs that position for themselves. Williamson was fine, again I don’t see any defensive frailties with him and Evander on the field at the same time, I don’t think it’s as much of a problem. Chara was awesome, which you just love to see after some shaky performances. Speaking of shaky, Pantemis worried me a lot. He didn’t look great, though did make some really nice saves. Crepeau definitely the starter though.
Bravo is my MOTM, mostly for that goal line save, taking that shot on the chest. My god that hurt me just looking at it. No fear whatsoever, he is a rockstar. Also I loved those two plays where he chested and headed the ball back to Pantemis, it was gutsy and really good. Call me crazy but I’m happy with how the team is progressing, if it keeps going there could be a really bright future
"Yes, Portland took and lost the lead twice, but you could argue that that is more of a credit to Columbus as a team rather than Portland’s defensive frailties."
Hard disagree on the first Columbus goal. That goal was literally all about Portland's defensive frailty. The pass into the box was into acres of space that shouldn't have been there, and there was nobody anywhere near Cucho to even try to close him down. Two very major mistakes leading to a goal that a halfway competent defense would have shut down at the entry pass.
The second Columbus goal? Yeah, that was unstoppable, nothing to be done about that at all. But the first goal was Portland Timbers 2024 defending through and through, and until that gets better, this team won't.
I appreciate the optimism in these several posts. I am fatigued by the “I didn't like the coach hire” premise, and thus, I will spend the rest of the season whining to support my viewpoint (confirmation bias). Maybe people can let that go — and enjoy the ride?! Or not.
So by and large, I would say out 'defensive fragility' at this point is less about our back line (even with Crepeau out) and more about brain farts on loose balls, caused by offensive players not picking up late second runs, rebounds, closing down the ball on long shots, etc. And I'm a little worried that's not really fixable, as it has to come from training and discipline from an early age. Contrast that to Bravo, who keeps us in the game by just remembering to guard the post every damn time. How many times in his career as a Timber has he been in position and made that block? So many times. Love the guy. And it's clearly 100% about training and discipline. He just knows to slide into that spot without thinking about it.
If you haven’t been watching the Matchday Recaps the Timbers put out after every match, you’re doing yourself a disservice. They’re well produced and you get a decent bit of behind the scenes video with snippets of Phil’s speeches at pregame, halftime, and/or postgame. It’s really good stuff.
https://youtu.be/D1_PemA0b40?si=aR4mIUJEQl1kH7H3
The bit we get in the locker room is Phil telling the team that they’re going to suffer, and to “embrace the suffer.” He’s trying to instill the fight, and I like it. I like that he seems to be adjusting the tactics for each game depending on the opponent. There’s no reason to try and out-possess Columbus, and pressing them can be a death sentence because they’re just so damn good playing out of it, and then they break. In general I think he set the team up well, and I hope we keep seeing these adjustments.
And of note, Monterrey went to Columbus and lost. Getting a result there was really solid
In spite of the draw, I thought this was another promising performance. The Timbers played really well and in a place that is problematic for most teams. When the players are playing with focus and intensity, they are a dangerous offensive team. Unfortunately this will not be a great defensive team until they get better players. But for the most part the defense did well.
If the Timbers can play at this level for the rest of the season I think they are going to be fine. Its a matter for the coaches to keep them playing at a high level, and then the FO is going to have to find better CBs and another backup FB. I think the mix of CBs just aren't well suited for each other. K Miller and McGraw are too slow to play together. For some reason Zuparic is out of the mix, and Araujo ends up out of position too often.
Offensively this is a good group. If Mora can sustain his play he can be a difference maker for this team. I'm hoping Jonathan can settle in and take back the striker position to allow the team to manage Mora 's minutes. Antony, Moreno and Asprilla should be solid wingers and Evander is playing a lot better this year. Not quite MVP level, but is showing the potential he has.
2 straight ties, but promising play. Time to get some wins to move up the table!
Great moments:
Kamal Miller's slide to block Cucho's shot in that wild sequence, and of course, Bravo clearing off the second shot off the line.
Pantemis tipping out the corner kick (I don't know if Crepeau gets that) and some other fine blocks.
The backline perfectly aligned on the offsides call that disallowed a goal. Someone's been working with the backline!
Moreno's finish - very nice (with the left!, no less)
Pantemis creating a force field around the goal - balls going off posts but not going in
General Thoughts:
It's nice to see that when guys are given opportunities they step up. Williamson did certainly on the first goal. Moreno played a really good game both offensively and defensively.
This next week is going to be huge!
Getting a draw at Columbus at face value isn't awful, but adding in context gives the full story. Columbus are tired from Concacaf and are playing well in it. The Timbers meanwhile, while better than most of Gio's years, are still winless in 6.
What is the Zup situation?
In yet another example of 'shows what I know', it sounds like Ivacic's signing with New England. Guess he didn't burn every single bridge within MLS after all. Good luck, Caleb.
https://theathletic.com/5436540/2024/04/22/mls-transfer-deadline-galaxy-puig/
The Timbers have already made good progress under Uncle Phil. Evander looks reborn even though he wasn't actually dead. What I'm most impressed by is his work with the young players like Moreno. Too often in the past the looked like chickens with their heads cut off. Now they understand their roles and carry them out.