35 Comments

I got a pretty good shot of Evander's goal:

https://www.pdxcite.net/soccercityusa/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/lafc041324-1024.jpg

The Timbers are clearly a better team with Mora and Chara out there, but the defensive breakdowns keep coming. The Crépeau red card was a tough double-whammy (the close-in free kick, plus the ejection), but it appears to be the correct call.

I'm just amazed that with all the LAFC two-hand shoves, over the back fouls on Mora, and just grabbing and fouling at-will, they somehow managed to avoid anyone getting a second yellow. I loved it when an LAFC player got a foul that was clearly a second yellow, the ref just gave him a verbal warning.

Expand full comment

That is a fantastic pic, thanks for sharing it!

While it doesn't balance out how one-sided the refereeing was, I will say that near the end of the game, Evander fouled an LAFC player pretty hard - like, a card-worthy foul. And the ref went over to Evander and clearly went towards his pocket and shook his head, like "don't make me send you off, man" and Evander thus got away with not getting a second yellow. So that's one for the Timbers, to LAFC's, well, 276 or whatever. Still not a great day referee-wise, but at least the Timbers got one their way finally, late and relatively meaningless as it was

Expand full comment

I don’t remember that play, was that the elbow to the face that the referee called on Evander? Because on the broadcast they showed the replay and he wasn’t even close to his face and it wasn’t even that hard, he was just holding him off with his arm. No elbow, no fist, just holding him off with his forearm. Complete flop and should’ve been a yellow for simulation. Dunseth on commentary was trying his hardest to make it seem like a bad foul, he was all like “Evander knows exactly what he’s doing here and he’s lucky to avoid a yellow.” Like yeah he knows what he’s doing, he’s holding the defender off, no foul in it at all. It drove me nuts

Expand full comment

Yeah, that's the one, I think. I haven't seen a replay of it, in stadium in real time it looked pretty bad for Evander. Glad to hear that both it wasn't that bad, and that since it was a dive, the ref didn't fall for it.

Expand full comment

Yeah look at the match replay at 63:20. There’s contact but that’s just how you hold a defender off when you’re holding the ball up. Murillo sold it hard. Thank god the ref didn’t call it a second yellow because that wouldn’t have been reviewable. This was also when Evander was just getting rag dolled around, he was getting fouled all over the place. Honestly I was so impressed with his ability to keep a level head, as well as his hold up play as a false 9, he played that quite well and was really good at holding off defenders (when they weren’t flopping around)

Expand full comment

Oh and also: can we talk about the Unipiper? That was an embarrassment. I'm not one to be all dogmatic about how the national anthem should be performed - I honestly don't think it should be played at sporting events at all. I mean, it's not played at any other collective entertainment event. They don't play it before movies/concerts/operas/whatever, so why is it still played at sporting events (and yes, I know its history, I know why it started to be played at sporting events)? But if it is to be played, at least play/sing it competently.

I have nothing against the Unipiper generally, but he was clearly unprepared, and the whole thing just came off as a ridiculous joke.

Expand full comment

The Unipiper just issued an apology that I think you ought to see:

"Soooo, a big thank you to everyone who supported me through one of the most terrifying experiences of my life this weekend. For those who weren't there, I kicked off this Saturday's Timbers game with the national anthem in front of a packed stadium. Because the bagpipes have a total range of a whopping 9 notes, I chose to play on the trumpet, which I grew up playing through both high school and college. The Star Spangled Banner is something I can play in my sleep for the number of times I've performed it. While I had been getting over a recent cold, I wasn't worried though, as we ran through everything at sound check before the game and it sounded really great! However, when it came time for the big moment, something happened I hadn't planned for. With the packed stadium and about 15 cameras in my face, it was every performer's worst nightmare - my nerves had taken over and all of a sudden my lips were a quivering mess. And if there is one thing you don't with a trumpet in your face, it's a quivering mess of lips. I fought my way through the first half of the song, but when it came time for the rockets' red glare, it was game over. Despite my will to play every last note, my mouth refused. I was strapped to a runaway train on a collision course with embarrassment and there was nothing I could do but hold on and pray it would be over quickly. Eventually the train came to a full stop once it plowed squarely into the station, figuratively speaking, and fortunately the incredibly talented interpreter and the crowd were there to fill in my blanks and soften the blow. The positive energy though didn't do much to ease the walk of shame I faced as I made my way back to my seat in the stands. I seriously have never felt such shame in my life. Whether folks felt that way or not, please accept my sincerest apologies for dropping the ball this time. The silver lining to the whole experience was the outpouring of kindness I experienced after the game. In what was a real personal low, the profusion of kind words and support meant the world. Thank you Portland. I wish you could have enjoyed the full experience I had planned. Instead we can cringe at the video together when I share it later. 😂✌ #RCTID"

Posted on his Instagram and Facebook

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5zsPGkr05T/?igsh=c3I2cHNyaWFtZmQ5

https://www.facebook.com/100044511723110/posts/soooo-a-big-thank-you-to-everyone-who-supported-me-through-one-of-the-most-terri/965208611639521/

I’m not a wind player but I am a performing musician and this is all way too relatable. I can 100% sympathize with this, it’s every musicians worst nightmare. Everything going fine in soundcheck and it all falling apart at the performance? Yep, that happens all the time. You just can’t prepare for playing in that environment until you do it. This thing will haunt him for the rest of his life and I feel terrible for him, and I don’t blame him at all. Let’s go easy on the guy. My wish? He gets invited back eventually so he can redeem himself

Expand full comment

Good for him to own it. I can't imagine how hard it would be to perform in front of so many people, so some nerves are understandable. Lets hope he works on it and if the opportunity comes up again he does a lot better.

Expand full comment

I missed the performance so I didn't really understand what the comments were all about, but I truly appreciate JJ posting his apology and backstory as it puts things in perspective and humanizes him and reminds us that live means anything can happen. I am glad to hear folks supported him afterward and that he gets another shot.

My favorite anthem -- I can't remember where I heard it. It might have been an NBA game -- but the guy just played an acoustic guitar. No singing. Just strumming. It was very nice.

Expand full comment

Okay, yeah, that sucks for the guy. I haven't been a performer since high school, which was a loooooooooong time ago, but I totally get that. Especially the "15 cameras in my face" part, which has to be jarring, to put it mildly, no matter how many times you rehearse, because you can't really prepare for that.

Expand full comment

I agree with you as I most often do. I actually don't even like the words in the anthem because they celebrate this country's love for violence and war. I'd much rather they play Lennon's Imagine if they're going to play anything at all.

Expand full comment

100% agree and love the idea of Imagine. I've always thought of This Land Is Your Land, but Imagine fits a lot better.

Expand full comment

The entire display was silly. The anthem is difficult to sing or even play for many instruments due to the range of the melody. Attempting an octave and a fifth on a bugle (in a Darth Vader mask, kilt, on a unicycle) might be fun at a sideshow to fail. Bugles fundamentally don't have the range to do this.

Honestly, after all of the ridiculous anthem theatrics surrounding the Timbers over the last several years, I think the Army should just belt it out. Did Kyra Smith quit too? We have had some unusual anthems all season and I am all for giving lots of people opportunities (the same person 90% of the time with an occasional sub is boring too). She was at the WInterhawks game last night doing the anthem. Maybe the Jr. Hockey gig is a better one.

Expand full comment

All I could think during the Unipiper, and at a few points all season, is "so how did the Timbers piss off Kyra Smith?" I am definitely all for rotating as well, don't need her to do it every week, but we haven't seen her once this season and I have to think she's probably moved on at this point. Which is definitely a loss for the club, because she has a fantastic voice and is a great personality.

Expand full comment

It's good to see the mentality kicking in. LAFC wanted to win really badly, even before the red car, and the Timbers just didn't cave, even though LA missed some good chances. You see teams go down a man and they end up losing by multiple goals. So, this is a win in my book and I think it helps build the character of the team.

It was fun to see the chess match. Phil let Cherundolo make a move and then he countered it, rather than the other way around. For example, it looked like there was an advantage of crossing in, so Cherundolo brought in Kamara for some heading, and then Phil countered with two lines of four and the lone striker and it balanced out pretty well. The long extra time session was a bit nervy.

What a let down in the second half, though. I was really looking forward to seeing how we would deal with a lead for once, and then somehow disaster struck. To help me cope this season, I'm just going to stop getting excited that we actually have a damn good team, and that at some point we are going to be red hot and rolling. Instead, I will expect days of poor refereeing, and mental lapses at crucial times. I will not expect Evander to get a golozzo and an assist every game, or Rodriguez to be double teamed and fouled and still contribute, or Mora to keep scoring, or Antony to look so dazzling. No, I'm going to keep it real and know that disaster is lurking. No way will I be lured into thinking that for sure a team with 22 fouls will get a second yellow on one of their players for persistent fouling, or that a player with four fouls would get a first yellow for persistent infringement even though there is no specific number for persistent infringement, but that generally the ref pantomimes three prior fouls when issuing a yellow. Nor will I think that VAR is actually a thing that can be used to level the playing field for offsides or keeping the game honest and safe when there is a serious foul play such a push to the back of a defender who flies into the keeper and nearly breaks his legs. Oh no, nothing to see there.

Ah shoot. I can't wait for next week!

Expand full comment

Well the Timbers aren’t boring. You gotta watch.

I don’t know why players make that last gasp foul. Keepers and even defenders seem to wipe that guy out so often. Let them score. What do coaches teach? Am I wrong?

Glad to see Evander off to a hot start.

Expand full comment

Yah on the first goal Araujo was way out of position. I'm not sure why. Our defense was turning the ball over a lot in the build up so perhaps he just got caught out, but Miller was left on an island and he is just too darn slow to make up the space. Neville was pissed at Araujo and was reading him the riot act on the sideline during a break in play. On the 2nd goal, it WAS a good shot, but our wall seemed porous. Didn't jump and Paredes turned sideways making himself smaller. Details! Still our defense was better today. The team is coming along.

Expand full comment

RE: Araujo positioning. I think ultimately, you always look at the CBs because they are the last line, and I don't know what the correct strategy is or even what the strategy is, but what I do know is that you have to be on the same page with everyone.

Questions on that play:

You wonder what Araujo is thinking taking Bouanga that high, essentially opening up the whole middle, but why didn't Miller slide over because he surely saw Bogusz slide through in that space. Is this a concept of keeping track of your zone, and Araujo got drawn out and there was a lack of communication? On the highlights the play before the goal the Timbers defended it well. It was basically the same thing but on Miller's side. Miller actually came out and challenged, just like Araujo, but the difference was that on the previous play Miller's guy actually had the ball and he came out, and Chara followed Bogusz, and Araujo slid with the backside guy, Bouanga. It was all defended fairly well. I have a couple of thoughts on what happened on the goal. You could say that Araujo was aggressive and had the ball gone to Bouanga, Araujo would have been right on it and probably made a play, but because the ball didn't go there, he was out of position. But not so fast. I actually think Miller missed the mark and should have slid over to defend. I know he's not the fastest, but he was slow to react and when he did, he was too late to pressure Bogusz. I think there was some midfield lapse in defense on that as well. Ayala is slow to respond to Tillman and because he is such a ball watcher he doesn't know Bogusz is making a run behind him and neither goes with him or positions himself to prevent a pass to Bogusz. Would Paredes have sniffed that out? Who knows, but in the previous play that I mentioned, Chara went with Bogusz. Check it out on the highlights and let me know what you think.

Expand full comment

I think you are spot on. When Araujo steps forward, Miller should have slid over. It was good movement by Bogusz. I thought the defense on the entry pass was good. The assist was actually a heckuva pass through a tiny gap in the D.

Expand full comment

That might have been the worst wall job I’ve seen in years. That ball had no business getting through in that manner. The entire wall seemed unready when the shot came, as well as the keeper being unprepared. Shambolic.

Expand full comment

I disagree, the wall did exactly as they planned and they were prepared, it was just the wrong preparation. Because the ball was right on top of the 18, they decided they shouldn’t jump to prevent the low shot under the wall. It would (and did) take an amazing shot to get it up and down in time. If one player doesn’t jump that’s an individual thing, but no one jumped, so it was clearly a planned thing.

The problem is they should’ve had someone lay down under the wall so the wall could jump. It’s weird, that was all the rage for a few years but I don’t see it anymore, it seems like a good plan. And in terms of the goalkeeper, when the ball is that close, you have to trust the wall. You gotta stand your ground because more often than not, a player will his that free kick far post to catch the keeper cheating. And he can’t see the ball at all either, there is zero chance he’s stopping that shot. So yeah, there was nothing unprepared about it in my view, but just putting a man on the ground would’ve fixed everything

Expand full comment

I hear what you are saying, but Paredes actually did jump and turn sideways in the air like he didn't want to get hit by the ball.

Expand full comment

Yeah, you don’t like to see that, but the ball went over the wall anyways, so even if he didn’t it wouldn’t have made a difference

Expand full comment

If I were in the wall I'd have tried to skin the ball, because no way would I take the full brunt of that blast. It's a lot to ask of a guy to stick your head on a free kick from 10 yards away.

Expand full comment

Thoughts, dumped out in no particular order and without the benefit of heavy processing:

1. hey remember when Evander was disinterested and his body language sucked and he didn't want to be here and he was a bad signing? Oh right none of those things were ever true

2. LAFC's default defensive move is the two handed shove in the back. It went uncalled ALL DAMN DAY until about the 80th minute, and it was super frustrating because, while I rarely think that the refs are the reason games are won or lost, they were a big part of why this game went the way it did

3. Speaking of which: The non-called offside on the play that resulted in the Crepeau red was unbelievable

4. That said: the lack of movement of the defensive wall on the resulting free kick was inexcusable. The defenders all just stood there, no one even bothered to jump. Had even one of them left their feet, Pantemis wouldn't have been hung out to dry.

All in all, this was a better performance from the Timbers from the jump, which was good to see. They came out with a fire I haven't seen in a few weeks, and even after they gave up that first goal, they didn't stop working, didn't stop playing, didn't let their heads drop. This would have been a good win, but it's also a very creditable point.

Expand full comment

Agree with all that except number 1: He came off as petulant and whiney last year (which was likely just frustration boiling over). You could read his body language from the cheap seats.

Expand full comment

Agree with everything, but the offsides. The camera angle was bad. There's no way VAR can over turn the goal w/o a better camera angle. It has to be clear and obvious.

Expand full comment

I have to assume VAR uses more angles then the broadcast did. I was at the game, on the other end of the pitch, so I couldn't see it in real time, but when I got home and watched the apple tv recap a few times, it looked pretty clearly off to me.

Expand full comment

I disagree, to me it looks pretty clearly onsides. Bravo looks to be even with him at the very least. It’s a really tough angle, you have to try and use the lines on the field, though they aren’t the most helpful. To me, this the sort of play that should never be reviewed. We can argue whether it looks on or not, but at the end of the day it isn’t clear and obvious. I do not want VAR to re-referee the game, it’s supposed to fix those obvious errors, and this was not one of them (wasn’t an error at all in my opinion, but that’s neither here nor there). It’s one of those where whatever the call on the field is stands. The assistant had the best view. Even Neville says he doesn’t think it was offsides (although he does say he didn’t think it was a red, which I do not understand, seemed like a DOGSO clear red to me)

Expand full comment

I'm not where I can watch the highlights right now, but as I recall there were two LAFC players in Bravo's range, both close enough IMO to be considered to be affecting play, and one of them was clearly off. Maybe I'm misremembering or have the perspective wrong.

If I do have it wrong, though, I do agree with you in that it absolutely was a red.

Expand full comment

I think they have the same camera angles as the broadcast.

Expand full comment

They only showed one angle on the broadcast, at least on the recap, and there are multiple cameras in the park. Maybe the one they showed had the best angle, but there's a field level camera on that side of the pitch as well as the concourse-level view that was shown. I don't know, it just seemed like they didn't take a lot of time with it, which was frustrating.

Expand full comment

But it's my understanding that a VAR check wasn't done.

Expand full comment

VAR checks all goals (and red cards and penalty calls). They don't need to stop the game for it, since it's typically done during the celebration, but it's getting done.

Expand full comment

I think after brutalizing the galaxy the week before and the fouling against us, it must be a designed strategy to hack players, kill counters because each player gets two free fouls. I found myself waiting for team fouls rule to kick in like in basketball. The ref started giving yellows towards the end but someone had to say something first. Wonder if it will be different in a couple weeks.

Expand full comment