Recap & Reaction - Portland Timbers at LA Galaxy

A track meet in LA ends in a photo finish

The Portland Timbers fell 3-2 to the LA Galaxy on a hot Saturday night in Casron. LA got away to a 2-0 lead courtesy of Gabriel Pec and Riqui Puig, but Portland clawed back one via Jonathan Rodriguez. LA pulled two goals clear once again via Joseph Paintsil, and Santiago Moreno got Portland within one goal with an incredible personal effort. In the end it wasn’t enough, as the Timbers fell to their second loss in the month of July and eighth place in the Western Conference.

Featuring an unchanged XI from their thrashing of RSL last week, Portland came out the more aggressive of the two sides. Sporting their new Clive Kits, inspired by Portland legend Clive Charles, the Timbers looked just as sharp as their fresh threads.

The Galaxy however did not back down from the challenge. Early forays forward from the G Men produced several key interventions from James Pantemis to keep the match level. The result was a rather breathless opening to the match, with action at both ends.

Portland registered their first serious threat on goal with a Santiago Moreno curler that dipped just wide of the post. Santi, along with Eryk Williamson - who earned his third straight start-, impressed in the first half with their passing and movement on and off the ball.

But alas, it would be the hosts that would strike first in the 38th minute. LA’s two new danger men, Joseph Paintsil and one-time Timbers target Gabriel Pec, linked up on a quick break, with Pantisil beating a charging Pantemis to find Pec free in the box. The Brazilian passed the ball into the back of the net, and LA led.

There was a not insignificant shout for offside on Paintsil on the through ball, but VAR decided not to intervene for… reasons. More worryingly, the high line Portland was playing that had served them well early in the game was broken. Playing an aggressive defensive line was a risky move on the road — and it burned the Timbers on the opener.

Evander had a good chance to level things after an industrious run from Santi in the closing minutes of the first half, but he couldn’t steer his off-balance effort on target. Portland’s attack in the first half found good positions, but LA were quick to throw numbers behind the ball in the box and Portland were just a touch slow to get off the final ball.

And so Portland went into the locker room trailing by a goal. They played well in stretches, but never really showed they were able to slow LA’s dangerous attack. The Timbers were therefore punished and had to come out in the second half focused on getting themselves back in the game.

Instead… they found themselves even farther behind. Just three minutes into the second half, Riqui Puig found himself with an acre of space at the top of the box. He fired off a low laser, Pantmis reacted late, and it nestled into the bottom corner to double LA’s advantage.

Now trailing 2-0 in the blink of an eye, Portland had to pull themselves off the mat. In need of a spark, it was two of Portland’s stars who would help wrestle Portland right back into the bout.

On a quick counter-attack in the 52nd minute, Evander found Jonathan Rodriguez on the left wing with space. Jona hit the pass first time on target, and clinically curled a low effort past McCarthy and into the net to cut the deficit in half.

The goal was the kind of decisive play that was missing from Rodriguez, and the Timbers attack as a whole, in the first half. Portland had been finding space on the counter all night, and they were finally able to capitalize on one to generate a big response.

But the response lasted all of just a few minutes, as Paintsil burned Portland’s backline yet again in the 58th minute. He juked his way around Miguel Araujo to receive a pass, and then danced past Dario Zuparic to create space. The Ghanian attacker then fired a great finish past Pantemis to restore LA’s two goal cushion.

As the second half wore on, LA started to turn the screw. Portland looked like they were chasing shadows, and it looked more likely that LA would extend their advantage even further rather than Portland pulling themselves back once more.

And yet, the unlikely happened, courtesy of the foot of Santiago Moreno. In the 73rd minute Moreno collected a loose ball and then drove the entire length of half of the field towards LA’s goal with an imperious run. Santi kept the ball on his foot, created just enough space, and the walloped an absolute rocket into the back of the net.

Out of seemingly nowhere, Santi pulled Portland back once more — in sublime style. It set up a barnstorming finish as the Timbers chased a result.

Despite some brave efforts from the Timbers to launch crosses to the big bodies in the box, it wasn’t enough. Portland’s offense couldn’t break through, the Galaxy did just enough to hold on, and the Timbers fell to a 3-2 defeat.

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If last week was a glimpse that Portland has the capacity to punch with the Western Conference’s best, tonight was a reminder that they aren’t quite there yet. The Timbers lacked that lethal killing edge in the first half, and it let the Galaxy grow back into the game. And once the Carson boys did, they showed that they do indeed have that edge, and punished the Timbers dearly.

It leaves the Timber staring down their biggest weakness once again: conceding goals far too easily. Poor individual defending, moments of disorganized midfield pressure, and facing an offense that rivals their own led to Portland chasing the game for most of the night.

Not that there weren’t bright spots — Santi continued his run of incredible form, Jona found the back of the net again, and Evander tallied another assist. But tonight is what it looks like when Portland’s offense can’t carry a game on its own. Felipe Mora had an off night, and despite assisting Evander went anonymous for stretches. As a result, the game turned into a track meet. And the Timbers were second best.

If Portland truly wants to vault up the ladder and earn the moniker of contenders, then they need to figure out ways to win games like this. And that starts with continuing their incomplete quest to become a complete team.

Scoring Summary:

Portland: Rodriguez (52’), Moreno (73’)

Galaxy: Pec (38’), Puig (48’), Paintsil (58’)

Next Up:

MLS play takes a break as we enter the Leagues Cup. Portland opens their campaign at home against Club Leon on Sunday July 28 at 7:30 p.m. PT.