Recap: Portland Thorns vs Racing Louisville

The Thorns traveled to Louisville searching to clinch a playoff spot but failed to do so.

Photo: Thorns FC

Wow, that was a frustrating game. This performance was comparable to a sugar crush after the last two games when Portland beat the Shield winners, Orlando, and the six goals scored on Vancouver.

This match represented a test more for the coach than for the players. Was he going to be able to keep the little momentum or was he going to fail miserably? Most of the people who follow this league bet that Portland could get at least a point on the road.

Sadly, things went south for the Thorns in the last minutes of the game.

Image: Thorns FC

A very uneventful first half

Well, that was a hard half to watch. Payton Linnehan was the one who found more space to shoot. In the graphic below you can see the five shots Portland had in the first half, three of those are Payton’s (two on target, one was off). The “biggest” was Olivia Moultrie’s and the fifth shot was Isabella Obaze’s (xG = 0,24 total).

Graphic: Opta

However, the other two strikers the team was counting on — Christine Sinclair and Izzy D’Aquila — finished their performances without any shots on target. Maybe this game was the most anemic both players showed in the attack. D’Aquila created one chance but other than that, it was a forgettable match from both of them.

Source: Opta

Heavens rejoice: Sophia Smith is back!

The striker came as a sub in the 62nd to tire out Racing’s defense and try to impact the score. However, teams have learned how to keep her pretty much under control. She was making a difference on the left since she put a foot on the field and finished her limited minutes with three SOTs but none was enough to beat Katie Lund.

Graphic: Opta

Second half changes

It was weird to see Morgan Weaver on the bench for this match. Of course, the midweek game left some tired legs and it was understandable that she needed some rest. However, you might think Rob Gale was going to try to get the result to clinch a playoff spot from minute one.

Some of the Thorns looked frustrated. Olivia Moultrie in particular. Near the 80th minute, she got a yellow card and gave the hosts a free kick. Thank goodness nothing came out of it although it was near the box.

And to be honest, nothing much happened in either team’s boxes. Despite Portland’s 14 shots, and six SOTs, the expected goals was very low for both teams. The Thorns xG was 0.75 and Louisville’s 0.64. The hosts finished the game with only five shots and four SOTs, however they scored despite their shortage.

Not another clean sheet!

Ah, forget it. This person was writing about Shelby’s clean sheet and what it meant for her confidence — but then, Racing Louisville got a corner and the keeper decided to go out to chase butterflies, miscalculated, and couldn’t even punch the ball. To be fair, Reyna Reyes prevented her from doing so and said defender couldn’t win her aerial duel. Hence, the hosts scored in the 88th minute just when we thought Portland was getting at least a point on the road.

It was ironic, though, that it was Taylor Flint the one who scored: different last name but same player. She’s used to scoring against the Thorns. In 2022 she scored five goals while playing for the San Diego Wave, and four of those goals were against the Thorns.

Final thoughts

The Thorns have one more game, and they need to go all in. It’s the last chance they have to not only qualify for playoffs but also to give a proper farewell to Christine Sinclair at Providence Park.

Besides that, off season’s changes need to start in the dugout.