Recap: Portland Thorns vs Orlando Pride
It's over. The bad streak is finally over.
The Thorns welcomed to Providence Park the team that has clinched the Shield and has been unbeaten during the entire season, the Orlando Pride. The previous encounter between these two teams back in May was a loss for Portland, and looking at both clubs latest performances, it looked as if the result was going to be same.
How thankful we were be to be wrong.
The Thorns pulled off the upset, winning their first NWSL match since July, with goals from Morgan Weaver and the legend Christine Sinclair.
Lineups
Coach Rob Gale put Shelby Hogan back in goal (Macca Arnold was still unavailable), while in defense the biggest surprise was the absence of Marie Müller, and Kelli Hubly was benched as well.
In the middle, the coach used Sam Coffey and Jessie Fleming as a double pivot. At the same time, Morgan Weaver and Payton Linnehan were placed in the midfield, but in possession, they would join Olivia Moultrie in the attack while Christine Sinclair would go behind Olivia in this phase.
On the other hand, Orlando left its most important attackers on the bench, namely Marta, Barbra Banda, and Adriana. Regarding defense, center-back Emily Samms didn’t start either.
The game
Since the beginning, Orlando tried to take control of the game and understandably so. They’ve been in the driver’s seat the entire season and they wanted to continue with the unbeaten streak. In the first half, the visitors tried to build most of their attacks on the right wing, however things didn’t go as planned.
Nicole Payne did a fantastic job recovering and intercepting balls, making clearances and winning duels. She had the help of Fleming, who also had a great night defensive-wise. She finished the night with nine duels won, six tackles won, two fouls won, 10 recoveries, and 84.6% passing accuracy.
The game wasn’t even in the 15th minute when Portland had a corner. Moultrie sent the ball to the box, Reyna Reyes headed it and the ball got to Morgan Weaver who was in the middle of three defenders. However, none of them tracked her, and she put the ball in the back of the net with a tap-in.
As minutes run down, the Pride were having a hard time finding a clear shot to test Hogan. As a matter of fact, they finished the first half with only three shots, two of them were SOTs and one was blocked.
Portland didn’t take much more time before putting another in the back of the net when the game resumed. Only minutes after the beginning of the second half captain Sinclair doubled the lead. Moments before her goal, she had another similar chance, but on that occasion, she decided to pass the ball to Moultrie thinking maybe she was going to pass it back. After all, Sinclair was in a better shooting position. On both occasions, Sinclair found space at the top of the box.
Coach Seb Hines started to put one by one his missing starters but although they made a difference on the field, it didn’t reflect on the score.
The inclusion of Marta made the Pride more dangerous on set pieces but in the end, Shelby Hogan collected a clean sheet.
Final thoughts
Besides the players we already highlighted, we have to mention Payton Linnehan. True, maybe her stats are not outstanding but she put in a great performance, winning duels and taking her chances when she could. Too bad she was injured most of the year, otherwise she could’ve been a great asset. However, she can still help the team finish on a winning streak to secure a spot in playoffs and then contribute in the postseason.
Another player worthy of mentioning here is Morgan Weaver. What a game she had! Some of her stats: one goal, seven duels won, two shots on target, two blocked shots, two chances created, and four tackles. She was definitely feeling it last night.
Leaving individual performances aside, this win was a team effort and it was great to see Portland accomplishing this great feat. Although the Pride were missing some of their most important pieces in the first half, the Thorns showed they cannot be underestimated by any means — not even by the unbeaten team of this season.
The fans in the stadium were amazing as always and they got rewarded with a Christine Sinclair goal. You can tell she’s giving 200% in every single minute she plays, and she wants to finish what is already a dreamt career true to her style: on a high. Hopefully, the next two games that are going to be played at home as well will give the Thorns all the support they need to get six points.
Couple of things that stood out on rewatch:
- Obaze and Becky need to be the duo at CB. We all knew it already, but mannn, it’s so noticeable how much less hectic things are with the two of them back there. This was probably only their 2nd or 3rd start together?
- Sam being really progressive with her first touches. Happened all over the field where she’d take her mark out of the play with the first touch and directly led to Sinc’s goal. Feels like she’s been a little cautious this season because of how shaky the shape is, but it’s good to remember that she’s an extremely talented attacking piece too.
- Did Spaanstra kill Gale’s dog? Did Izzy rescue it from a fire? I get why Spaanstra isn’t playing in the 3-5-2, but why in the world is she not the winger sub in the 4-2-3-1?
Want to give Moultrie a bit of praise for her defensive work last night. She was far from perfect, but she pressed hard and often and I appreciated the effort.