If you had told me before this game that, without Evander, this team's offense would flow as freely as it did and move as quickly as it did, I would have thought you were smoking something potent. I need to go back and rewatch it, because for most of the second half in particular I was busy sweating and being uncomfortable in a windless Providence Park (I can't imagine playing in those conditions), but that first half was one of the best-executed halves I think the team has played all season, even before the red card put them on something resembling cruise control.
If I were to criticize anything - and "criticize" is a very, very strong word for what was a pretty controlled, no-worries performance - it would be that, in a very tight league where goal difference often matters for playoff seeding, I would have loved the Timbers to have gotten another goal or two in the second half. But I'm also not actively unhappy they didn't - I'm disappointed they conceded one, because I would have loved Pantemis to get the clean sheet, but overall that was a very comfortable 90 minutes on a very uncomfortable night.
Nashville came out and took the fight to PTFC tonite... It proved a key factor in their demise.
They pushed so many guys forward on attack there was nobody left to mind the store. And when our guys started stepping out of the pressure, they saw free runners aplenty, and LOTS of open space.
I was a little worried about this game - no Evander - and I wondered who would come through. No worries: our DPs and Moreno provided. It was nice to see Williamson have an impact as well. I hope Ayala is all right, and I liked the flexibility to take him off and Williamson dropping back, although, it would be interesting for me to see Moreno as the 8 and keep Williamson at the 10. Antony made a couple of bone head passes and lost some dribbles, but he also provided a couple of really good chances. That guy just needs to play, and I think you'll see a lot of chance creation. His lost dribbles I think he takes a big touch because he must think the guy is going to keep backing off him, and they aren't, so he has to adjust and go with a shorter touch. Rodriguez's two goals were bangers. The first one he made look so easy, and the second he had to work a little bit. It was a great shot and not easy, compounded by the fact that Timbers players sometimes get in his way when he cuts in. Moreno nearly ran into the flight of the ball. So great to see a dominating win and more important, get the three points and keep climbing. Can't wait for next Saturday.
It was nice to see Williamson more engaged and having success. On the first goal he made a nice run right up the middle between the CB's that held them long enough for Jona to get the pass to Mora around the edge for the shot and the finish on his own goal was nice. We have a good offensive group, both starters and depth. I think our defensive group is underachieving big time and I think there is some sort of systemic disconnect between strategy, coaching and execution. So weird how they mentally just turn off at times and a team with our back line size should not give up so many set piece goals...
Rodriguez is a very good player who misses easy goals for some reason. He certainly was fouled in the box and should have had a PK. He was robbed of his chance to make Timbers history. I was way down on Mosquera for most of this season but he is playing much better since the charity game for some reason. It was good to see Williamson give a damn and Moreno stepping up recently. Also good to see Mora's scoring drought end. All in all and very enjoyable game to watch.
I don't think it can be understated, just how impactful Mosquera and Moreno were down that right flank. Both players were proactive, attacked the ball on defense, and contributed greatly to the attack in transition. For two young guys that have had some pretty dramatic ups and downs this year, this performance has to be praised.
"Rodriguez is a very good player who misses easy goals for some reason."
Dude has 11 goals in 18 games as a Timber. I'm not sure I'm willing to pick that many nits on the ones he misses at this point in his young Timbers career...hahaha.
I mean, what more do people want? He had one off game. He takes a bazillion shots a game, and in any given game, between goals and assists, he contributes nearly one goal per game. He's gonna miss shots, that's a given. That's how being an attacking player works. Can we please stop with the "he misses a lot" narrative? because you know what else he does? He scores a lot. That's good! Let's focus on that!
While yes he does “miss” a lot he is also in position a lot to have those “misses” and still score a ton which means he “makes” a lot too. I think it is a great sign we recognize how much he missed because it means he is constantly in a dangerous place getting the ball. And the fact he scores and assisted on so many goals is great repeatable skill.
It's just a frustrating feature of this fanbase (not just here, I hear it a lot in the stadium as well) that people focus so much on how much he misses that they almost seem relieved when he scores, as if the misses are the biggest part of his game and the goals are the exception. Dude is a goal scoring machine and a big part of the reason the Timbers are where they are right now, and it's just frustrating that the narrative around him is "he misses so many shots!" and not "he scores a ton of goals!"
I'm as critical of this team and its players as almost anyone, and even I can't really bring myself to criticize Jonathan for missing shots - I just get bummed that his misses don't go in, because I know there's gonna be 5 more coming soon, and at least 1-2 are gonna result in a goal, or turn into a rebound that someone else will finish.
It's been a long, long time since this team has had a pure goal scorer like this (if ever?), and I'm celebrating every minute of it, because someone this goal-hungry does not come along all that often.
You know what is amazing though? He is an unselfish goal scorer. That willingness to make the extra pass. I love that he loves to shoot. But the guy also loves to make the right play and that should be exciting for us and terrifying for our opponents.
Well that's a feature of this city, not just the fanbase. We are hypercritical and rarely celebrate the small wins waiting for the big one to elevate us above our "big brothers" on the west coast, and 1977 and 2015 excluded, it never comes.
It used to drive me crazy, all the naysayers and critics that can never be happy. Until I finally realized we live in a sleepy, dreary, rainy, big-little city surrounded by beauty and nature but rarely able to get out and enjoy it. Of course we are grumpy.
Goals / 90 -> 12th place in MLS, 7th in XG, 14th in shots, 15 shots on target, 20th in shot on target % (43%), 17th for G/Shots (19%).
For me the % of shots on Target/Shots & G/shot% is the area that needs the most improvement. I am not sure if this is where he is expected to be or not...
That’s pretty much exactly how I felt about Moreno when the team wasn’t doing well. Everyone was criticizing him for missing so many passes in the final third in dangerous moments, and that makes sense, but he was one of the few players actually getting into dangerous positions in the final third because of his movement and dribbling, and I’ll take that over some of our other players who weren’t doing much of anything in the final third. And now Moreno is killing it, he was fantastic this game and has been for a month. He’s getting into the same spots, but now the offense is more coherent with Rodriguez and Moreno’s clicking
As far as I can tell, soccer (football) fans everywhere complain about their forwards missing easy shots. I followed Barcelona during Messi's heyday and there were lots of fans who were critical of how many shots he missed. This is when he was scoring 50 goals in a season, 91 in a year, etc. But he also missed, I don't know, 100 shots, so people were critical.
Psychologists say that people focus on bad stuff more than good stuff. It's why negative political advertising works, why social media is so rife with disparagement of other views, why grievance and victimhood work so well. IIRC it's a design bug of humans, but there it is. I assume I do this too and try to be aware of it, but I'm sure there's far more of it going on in me, consciously or not, than I would like.
Sometimes the misses are really egregious, and the goals are pedestrian. Jona missed at least two easy chances in the second half to get the Hat Trick, and I'm sure a lot of people will remember those as opposed to the two goals and one assist. I seem to remember a lot of poor touches in the Minnesota game a lot more than the game winner he got. I think he has really settled in quite well, but is actually going through a rough few games right now. I wouldn't be surprised if he were disappointed with his touches in the past three games despite having 3-4 goals and a couple of assists. Its a nice problem to have.
We want PERFECTION! But seriously, Jona has had a couple of rough games but continues to create opportunities. I enjoy his ruthless aggression towards the goal, and it is really creating chaos for the defenses. The three-headed monster of Evander, Mora and Jona is really clicking, even to the point where losing Evander for a game didn't derail the synergy.
I'm really happy for Williamson to have the game he did. I was really thinking his best days were behind him but he did a solid job at the 10 position in this game. It also really helped that Santi played a great game as a secondary distributor. If we can get these performances from those players there remains good upside for the Timbers.
Finally, I'm slightly disappointed in the lack of aggression after the red-card, but I totally understand the players taking the foot off the accelerator. Up 4-0 and then up a player creates a really big dropoff in intensity. The game was never in doubt at that point.
I said to my friends as we were walking away from the game last night that if it were 70 degrees, I'd be a whole lot madder at how little aggression they showed in the second half. I was mostly kidding - I totally get taking it a bit easy, given the scoreline and the heat - but still, it was noticeable.
The nice thing is that even though the aggression level dropped, they remained in such complete control, in a way they really kinda weren't against COL on opening day after they scored four in the first half. That made me not worry about it at all.
The funny thing about the defense struggling is that the past 4-5 years it really has been the same thing. When the defense starts playing well is when the team goes on a nice run of games. But the inconsistency keeps rearing its head. To me its a combination of mediocre players and poor coaching that is keeping the defense from showing better. If it were me, I would bring in 2-3 CBs and get rid of everyone except perhaps Zuparic. I like McGraw but struggle with his lack of speed. Its the same story with K Miller. Aruajo seems to be out of position a lot, and I don't see him making plays otherwise. Zuparic is the only who seems to be standing out to me, but I could be very wrong about that as well. The other problem is that Bravo gets injured a lot, and we have no depth behind him. We need someone who can can play LB/RB.
I would keep Zuparic as a nailed on starter, K Miller as a mostly starter (I still think he's a much better player than he's shown in his short time here so far) and McGraw as depth and add a few more depth/potential starters alongside him. I'm not looking for All-Star level defenders; Zuparic level guys aren't really easy to find. But McGraw/K Miller level guys are, and that's what the Timbers should be focusing on this window. It doesn't need to be a flashy window, but it does need to be a window that patches the holes in the leaky dam.
Yeah Župarić has been our best defender since he arrived here. I just wish we had another at his level. Araujo might get there but he hasn't yet. I think McGraw hit his ceiling last year, and I'm guessing we won't see a better version of K Miller either.
I may be in the minority, but I really like Araujo. He's fast, very good on the ball and a good passer. He's also aggressive, which is good and bad, but when paired with Zup, it is good because Zup complements the aggressiveness with savviness. They are the top two pairing IMO. I like Kamal a lot, but his lack of speed knocks him to third best CB. As for LB depth, Kamal can back up Bravo if need be, or E Miller can do that, too. The defense is rounding into shape and is not a major concern. Earlier in the season they played super soft, but now they are tighter and more aggressive and they are playing with better personnel than what they started the season with. I really like Pantemis, too.
I like Araujo in theory, but I just don't seem to see him out there making plays when he is on the field. Perhaps that is a good thing, but I'm not very good at scouting individual players. The funny thing for me is that the best pairing in my mind remains Zuparic and McGraw. That doesn't mean I think McGraw is better than K Miller or Araujo, but the pairing just seems to work. Regardless, Zuparic is the common player in any improved back-line.
It is absolutely a good thing to not notice Araujo. We (or at least I) also didn’t notice Zuparic much the first year, year and a half he was here. He was quiet, unassuming, and steady. I think Araujo will be a similar story, but I have noticed two or three really good plays from him each game. He’s also good with the ball, which is very important for us (his pass to Moreno on Jona’s second goal is what opened up the play). Overall I think our center back core is pretty darn solid, it’s the tactics that have let us down on the defensive end
The best defenders are the ones you don't notice. They just do their job and aren't flashy about it, just efficient. I'm not sure Araujo's quite at Zup's level yet, but Zup for me is one of the best defenders in MLS. Rarely puts a foot wrong, is always in a good position, and you never need to worry about him. I hope Araujo gets to that point and I see signs that he can, for sure, given a bit more time.
I will generally agree with you, but with one huge caveat. I find it hard to call any of our defensive players best in MLS when they just set a record for goals given up this year. Its been a problem area for a number of years, and a lot of that lies on the players. I would rate Zup as above average but I wouldn't really call any others better than average. Perhaps above average in some specific areas but not more than that (McGrew is really good with aerial plays). I hope Aruajo can rate as well as Zup.
I’d be interested in seeing some context around our hat trick curse. Has every other MLS club had one in this time (or at least all but the newer ones)?
Mike Donovan probably has posted something. I won’t go to Twitter on account of the toxins’ effect on me.
And we had eight during regular season games in our 10 years in USL, including McKinley Tennyson having four in one game (during an incredible run when he scored 18 goals in 9 games).
05/26/01 - Mark Baena at San Diego
08/13/02 - McKinley Tennyson vs. El Paso (4 goals)
07/03/03 - Byron Alvarez vs. Vancouver
05/29/04 - Alan Gordon vs. Milwaukee (OT match)
06/10/04 - Byron Alvarez vs. Edmonton
07/08/04 - Alan Gordon vs. Edmonton
09/08/05 - Dan Antoniuk vs. Atlanta
07/15/07 - David Hague vs. California
06/22/10 - Bright Dike at Kitsap (US Open Cup)
It must be said of course some USL teams (like Edmonton and California) were really, really bad.
Yeah, I love Jona and I really wanted to see the hat trick, but that was, well, not a flop exactly, but I've seen gentle breezes hit harder than that contact.
I just watched the video, because the incident happened on the other end of the pitch from my seats so I didn't get a real good view of it in-game, and yeah, there's no real argument to be made that that should have been a penalty. There was contact, sure, but Jonathan made enough of a meal of it that he's having the leftovers for breakfast this morning.
If you had told me before this game that, without Evander, this team's offense would flow as freely as it did and move as quickly as it did, I would have thought you were smoking something potent. I need to go back and rewatch it, because for most of the second half in particular I was busy sweating and being uncomfortable in a windless Providence Park (I can't imagine playing in those conditions), but that first half was one of the best-executed halves I think the team has played all season, even before the red card put them on something resembling cruise control.
If I were to criticize anything - and "criticize" is a very, very strong word for what was a pretty controlled, no-worries performance - it would be that, in a very tight league where goal difference often matters for playoff seeding, I would have loved the Timbers to have gotten another goal or two in the second half. But I'm also not actively unhappy they didn't - I'm disappointed they conceded one, because I would have loved Pantemis to get the clean sheet, but overall that was a very comfortable 90 minutes on a very uncomfortable night.
Nashville came out and took the fight to PTFC tonite... It proved a key factor in their demise.
They pushed so many guys forward on attack there was nobody left to mind the store. And when our guys started stepping out of the pressure, they saw free runners aplenty, and LOTS of open space.
I was a little worried about this game - no Evander - and I wondered who would come through. No worries: our DPs and Moreno provided. It was nice to see Williamson have an impact as well. I hope Ayala is all right, and I liked the flexibility to take him off and Williamson dropping back, although, it would be interesting for me to see Moreno as the 8 and keep Williamson at the 10. Antony made a couple of bone head passes and lost some dribbles, but he also provided a couple of really good chances. That guy just needs to play, and I think you'll see a lot of chance creation. His lost dribbles I think he takes a big touch because he must think the guy is going to keep backing off him, and they aren't, so he has to adjust and go with a shorter touch. Rodriguez's two goals were bangers. The first one he made look so easy, and the second he had to work a little bit. It was a great shot and not easy, compounded by the fact that Timbers players sometimes get in his way when he cuts in. Moreno nearly ran into the flight of the ball. So great to see a dominating win and more important, get the three points and keep climbing. Can't wait for next Saturday.
It was nice to see Williamson more engaged and having success. On the first goal he made a nice run right up the middle between the CB's that held them long enough for Jona to get the pass to Mora around the edge for the shot and the finish on his own goal was nice. We have a good offensive group, both starters and depth. I think our defensive group is underachieving big time and I think there is some sort of systemic disconnect between strategy, coaching and execution. So weird how they mentally just turn off at times and a team with our back line size should not give up so many set piece goals...
Excellent observation RE Williamson’s run on Mora’s goal. It really opened things up.
I noticed that run too, and he made a few other really good runs off the ball. I tried making a video about it but Apple blocked it for copyright
Rodriguez is a very good player who misses easy goals for some reason. He certainly was fouled in the box and should have had a PK. He was robbed of his chance to make Timbers history. I was way down on Mosquera for most of this season but he is playing much better since the charity game for some reason. It was good to see Williamson give a damn and Moreno stepping up recently. Also good to see Mora's scoring drought end. All in all and very enjoyable game to watch.
I don't think it can be understated, just how impactful Mosquera and Moreno were down that right flank. Both players were proactive, attacked the ball on defense, and contributed greatly to the attack in transition. For two young guys that have had some pretty dramatic ups and downs this year, this performance has to be praised.
"Rodriguez is a very good player who misses easy goals for some reason."
Dude has 11 goals in 18 games as a Timber. I'm not sure I'm willing to pick that many nits on the ones he misses at this point in his young Timbers career...hahaha.
The misses vs Minnesota were pretty amazing. Hopefully we can laugh at them in hindsight when he’s not made a habit of skying absolute sitters.
G/90: 0.66
G+A/90: 0.88
I mean, what more do people want? He had one off game. He takes a bazillion shots a game, and in any given game, between goals and assists, he contributes nearly one goal per game. He's gonna miss shots, that's a given. That's how being an attacking player works. Can we please stop with the "he misses a lot" narrative? because you know what else he does? He scores a lot. That's good! Let's focus on that!
While yes he does “miss” a lot he is also in position a lot to have those “misses” and still score a ton which means he “makes” a lot too. I think it is a great sign we recognize how much he missed because it means he is constantly in a dangerous place getting the ball. And the fact he scores and assisted on so many goals is great repeatable skill.
It's just a frustrating feature of this fanbase (not just here, I hear it a lot in the stadium as well) that people focus so much on how much he misses that they almost seem relieved when he scores, as if the misses are the biggest part of his game and the goals are the exception. Dude is a goal scoring machine and a big part of the reason the Timbers are where they are right now, and it's just frustrating that the narrative around him is "he misses so many shots!" and not "he scores a ton of goals!"
I'm as critical of this team and its players as almost anyone, and even I can't really bring myself to criticize Jonathan for missing shots - I just get bummed that his misses don't go in, because I know there's gonna be 5 more coming soon, and at least 1-2 are gonna result in a goal, or turn into a rebound that someone else will finish.
It's been a long, long time since this team has had a pure goal scorer like this (if ever?), and I'm celebrating every minute of it, because someone this goal-hungry does not come along all that often.
You know what is amazing though? He is an unselfish goal scorer. That willingness to make the extra pass. I love that he loves to shoot. But the guy also loves to make the right play and that should be exciting for us and terrifying for our opponents.
Well that's a feature of this city, not just the fanbase. We are hypercritical and rarely celebrate the small wins waiting for the big one to elevate us above our "big brothers" on the west coast, and 1977 and 2015 excluded, it never comes.
It used to drive me crazy, all the naysayers and critics that can never be happy. Until I finally realized we live in a sleepy, dreary, rainy, big-little city surrounded by beauty and nature but rarely able to get out and enjoy it. Of course we are grumpy.
Goals / 90 -> 12th place in MLS, 7th in XG, 14th in shots, 15 shots on target, 20th in shot on target % (43%), 17th for G/Shots (19%).
For me the % of shots on Target/Shots & G/shot% is the area that needs the most improvement. I am not sure if this is where he is expected to be or not...
That’s pretty much exactly how I felt about Moreno when the team wasn’t doing well. Everyone was criticizing him for missing so many passes in the final third in dangerous moments, and that makes sense, but he was one of the few players actually getting into dangerous positions in the final third because of his movement and dribbling, and I’ll take that over some of our other players who weren’t doing much of anything in the final third. And now Moreno is killing it, he was fantastic this game and has been for a month. He’s getting into the same spots, but now the offense is more coherent with Rodriguez and Moreno’s clicking
As far as I can tell, soccer (football) fans everywhere complain about their forwards missing easy shots. I followed Barcelona during Messi's heyday and there were lots of fans who were critical of how many shots he missed. This is when he was scoring 50 goals in a season, 91 in a year, etc. But he also missed, I don't know, 100 shots, so people were critical.
Psychologists say that people focus on bad stuff more than good stuff. It's why negative political advertising works, why social media is so rife with disparagement of other views, why grievance and victimhood work so well. IIRC it's a design bug of humans, but there it is. I assume I do this too and try to be aware of it, but I'm sure there's far more of it going on in me, consciously or not, than I would like.
Sometimes the misses are really egregious, and the goals are pedestrian. Jona missed at least two easy chances in the second half to get the Hat Trick, and I'm sure a lot of people will remember those as opposed to the two goals and one assist. I seem to remember a lot of poor touches in the Minnesota game a lot more than the game winner he got. I think he has really settled in quite well, but is actually going through a rough few games right now. I wouldn't be surprised if he were disappointed with his touches in the past three games despite having 3-4 goals and a couple of assists. Its a nice problem to have.
We want PERFECTION! But seriously, Jona has had a couple of rough games but continues to create opportunities. I enjoy his ruthless aggression towards the goal, and it is really creating chaos for the defenses. The three-headed monster of Evander, Mora and Jona is really clicking, even to the point where losing Evander for a game didn't derail the synergy.
I'm really happy for Williamson to have the game he did. I was really thinking his best days were behind him but he did a solid job at the 10 position in this game. It also really helped that Santi played a great game as a secondary distributor. If we can get these performances from those players there remains good upside for the Timbers.
Finally, I'm slightly disappointed in the lack of aggression after the red-card, but I totally understand the players taking the foot off the accelerator. Up 4-0 and then up a player creates a really big dropoff in intensity. The game was never in doubt at that point.
I said to my friends as we were walking away from the game last night that if it were 70 degrees, I'd be a whole lot madder at how little aggression they showed in the second half. I was mostly kidding - I totally get taking it a bit easy, given the scoreline and the heat - but still, it was noticeable.
The nice thing is that even though the aggression level dropped, they remained in such complete control, in a way they really kinda weren't against COL on opening day after they scored four in the first half. That made me not worry about it at all.
Defense is pretty clearly where we need to shore things up. We're second-best in the conference in goals scored, but third-worst in goals conceded.
The funny thing about the defense struggling is that the past 4-5 years it really has been the same thing. When the defense starts playing well is when the team goes on a nice run of games. But the inconsistency keeps rearing its head. To me its a combination of mediocre players and poor coaching that is keeping the defense from showing better. If it were me, I would bring in 2-3 CBs and get rid of everyone except perhaps Zuparic. I like McGraw but struggle with his lack of speed. Its the same story with K Miller. Aruajo seems to be out of position a lot, and I don't see him making plays otherwise. Zuparic is the only who seems to be standing out to me, but I could be very wrong about that as well. The other problem is that Bravo gets injured a lot, and we have no depth behind him. We need someone who can can play LB/RB.
I would keep Zuparic as a nailed on starter, K Miller as a mostly starter (I still think he's a much better player than he's shown in his short time here so far) and McGraw as depth and add a few more depth/potential starters alongside him. I'm not looking for All-Star level defenders; Zuparic level guys aren't really easy to find. But McGraw/K Miller level guys are, and that's what the Timbers should be focusing on this window. It doesn't need to be a flashy window, but it does need to be a window that patches the holes in the leaky dam.
Yeah Župarić has been our best defender since he arrived here. I just wish we had another at his level. Araujo might get there but he hasn't yet. I think McGraw hit his ceiling last year, and I'm guessing we won't see a better version of K Miller either.
I may be in the minority, but I really like Araujo. He's fast, very good on the ball and a good passer. He's also aggressive, which is good and bad, but when paired with Zup, it is good because Zup complements the aggressiveness with savviness. They are the top two pairing IMO. I like Kamal a lot, but his lack of speed knocks him to third best CB. As for LB depth, Kamal can back up Bravo if need be, or E Miller can do that, too. The defense is rounding into shape and is not a major concern. Earlier in the season they played super soft, but now they are tighter and more aggressive and they are playing with better personnel than what they started the season with. I really like Pantemis, too.
I like Araujo in theory, but I just don't seem to see him out there making plays when he is on the field. Perhaps that is a good thing, but I'm not very good at scouting individual players. The funny thing for me is that the best pairing in my mind remains Zuparic and McGraw. That doesn't mean I think McGraw is better than K Miller or Araujo, but the pairing just seems to work. Regardless, Zuparic is the common player in any improved back-line.
It is absolutely a good thing to not notice Araujo. We (or at least I) also didn’t notice Zuparic much the first year, year and a half he was here. He was quiet, unassuming, and steady. I think Araujo will be a similar story, but I have noticed two or three really good plays from him each game. He’s also good with the ball, which is very important for us (his pass to Moreno on Jona’s second goal is what opened up the play). Overall I think our center back core is pretty darn solid, it’s the tactics that have let us down on the defensive end
The best defenders are the ones you don't notice. They just do their job and aren't flashy about it, just efficient. I'm not sure Araujo's quite at Zup's level yet, but Zup for me is one of the best defenders in MLS. Rarely puts a foot wrong, is always in a good position, and you never need to worry about him. I hope Araujo gets to that point and I see signs that he can, for sure, given a bit more time.
I will generally agree with you, but with one huge caveat. I find it hard to call any of our defensive players best in MLS when they just set a record for goals given up this year. Its been a problem area for a number of years, and a lot of that lies on the players. I would rate Zup as above average but I wouldn't really call any others better than average. Perhaps above average in some specific areas but not more than that (McGrew is really good with aerial plays). I hope Aruajo can rate as well as Zup.
I’d be interested in seeing some context around our hat trick curse. Has every other MLS club had one in this time (or at least all but the newer ones)?
Mike Donovan probably has posted something. I won’t go to Twitter on account of the toxins’ effect on me.
Quite literally every MLS club - including the newer ones - have had a hat trick in MLS play except Portland.
At this point the streak is more incredible than actually scoring the hatty.
And we had eight during regular season games in our 10 years in USL, including McKinley Tennyson having four in one game (during an incredible run when he scored 18 goals in 9 games).
05/26/01 - Mark Baena at San Diego
08/13/02 - McKinley Tennyson vs. El Paso (4 goals)
07/03/03 - Byron Alvarez vs. Vancouver
05/29/04 - Alan Gordon vs. Milwaukee (OT match)
06/10/04 - Byron Alvarez vs. Edmonton
07/08/04 - Alan Gordon vs. Edmonton
09/08/05 - Dan Antoniuk vs. Atlanta
07/15/07 - David Hague vs. California
06/22/10 - Bright Dike at Kitsap (US Open Cup)
It must be said of course some USL teams (like Edmonton and California) were really, really bad.
Somewhere, Frederic Piquionne is smiling quietly to himself
The Curse lives on. The replay certainly showed a clear foul on Rodriguez, so I’m curious if there was an explanation.
Also, the RSL match has been moved up to 7 p.m. Huge test.
oh no, Jonathon clearly raised the landing gear and flopped. What did you see?
Yeah, I love Jona and I really wanted to see the hat trick, but that was, well, not a flop exactly, but I've seen gentle breezes hit harder than that contact.
I just watched the video, because the incident happened on the other end of the pitch from my seats so I didn't get a real good view of it in-game, and yeah, there's no real argument to be made that that should have been a penalty. There was contact, sure, but Jonathan made enough of a meal of it that he's having the leftovers for breakfast this morning.