The Legend explains it best how valuable Nagbe is to the team, regardless of the box score:
Landon Donovan on Nagbe & Pulisic
Thursday, August 24, 2017
Timbers ride the Rapids at home
Let's start by addressing the bottom line: the Timbers walked away with 3 crucial points at home to the worst team in the league. This comes before a 3-game road trip. Dropping points would've been devastating to morale.
On to the details:
1) until the missed penalty, the Timbers were flying. Quick-ball movement, dominating possession, big chance creation, the whole 9 yards.
2) what happened with Valeri letting Guzman take the penalty? My suspicion is that there is something deeper going on because in the 2nd half, Valeri deferred to guxman on a free kick at the top of the box after Nagbe drew a foul. Valeri or Nagbe could take that kick, but when Guzman approached Valeri seemed resigned to letting Guzman handle it. What's going on there?
3) post-penalty miss, Guzman's mentality dropped. He had a couple of five-sways, some rash fouls, and eventually a yellow card. The yellow card means he's suspended for the Seattle game. Truly poor professionalism from Guzman in how he handled himself after the penalty miss.
4) is it just me or did the Timbers looked Gassed by the 75th minute? Thankfully, and unusually, Porter used his substitutions to bring on fresh legs. Asprilla and Powell helped hold possession
For the last ten minutes, and were crucial to keeping the 3 points.
5) the Rapids' speed on the counter after Hairston came on was threatening. I'd take Hairston in a trade for any of the Timbers backup wingers. What a threat in turning the corner on Vitas and others on more than one occasion. Colorado will take points from other teams this year.
6) Valeri & Nagbe's goals were sublime.
7) Mattocks looks disenchanted. When he scored a goal last week he didn't seem to be all that happy in his celebration. And his head-shaking upon being substituted last night does not bode well for what's going on between the ears for our backup forward. While he made some nice runs, Mattocks hasn't exactly staked his claim for challenging Adi for more minutes or being a 90-minute replacement when Adi is out. I liked seeing the fresh legs on Ebobisse and hope he can grow into the role of backup forward.
3 points. Two amazing goals to lift the spirit. A great crowd to push them over the finish line. Onward, Rose City!
On to the details:
1) until the missed penalty, the Timbers were flying. Quick-ball movement, dominating possession, big chance creation, the whole 9 yards.
2) what happened with Valeri letting Guzman take the penalty? My suspicion is that there is something deeper going on because in the 2nd half, Valeri deferred to guxman on a free kick at the top of the box after Nagbe drew a foul. Valeri or Nagbe could take that kick, but when Guzman approached Valeri seemed resigned to letting Guzman handle it. What's going on there?
3) post-penalty miss, Guzman's mentality dropped. He had a couple of five-sways, some rash fouls, and eventually a yellow card. The yellow card means he's suspended for the Seattle game. Truly poor professionalism from Guzman in how he handled himself after the penalty miss.
4) is it just me or did the Timbers looked Gassed by the 75th minute? Thankfully, and unusually, Porter used his substitutions to bring on fresh legs. Asprilla and Powell helped hold possession
For the last ten minutes, and were crucial to keeping the 3 points.
5) the Rapids' speed on the counter after Hairston came on was threatening. I'd take Hairston in a trade for any of the Timbers backup wingers. What a threat in turning the corner on Vitas and others on more than one occasion. Colorado will take points from other teams this year.
6) Valeri & Nagbe's goals were sublime.
7) Mattocks looks disenchanted. When he scored a goal last week he didn't seem to be all that happy in his celebration. And his head-shaking upon being substituted last night does not bode well for what's going on between the ears for our backup forward. While he made some nice runs, Mattocks hasn't exactly staked his claim for challenging Adi for more minutes or being a 90-minute replacement when Adi is out. I liked seeing the fresh legs on Ebobisse and hope he can grow into the role of backup forward.
3 points. Two amazing goals to lift the spirit. A great crowd to push them over the finish line. Onward, Rose City!
Thursday, August 10, 2017
3 Points from 1st Place
A good recap of how the Timbers have rode their depth to stay in the Western Conference hunt:
Timber try to sneak into the playoffs
Timber try to sneak into the playoffs
Wednesday, August 9, 2017
Timbers Formation Change Pays Dividends
The Timbers beat LA at home 3-1. With Darlington Nagbe back from US National team duty, Porter elected to keep Sebastian Blanco on the left side of the 4-2-3-1. While I was reticent to see Nagbe switch from the left, where he has been at his most productive by Goals/Assists, it appears the switch enabled him to become the dominant player over the course of the match. Here's a link to the Audi Player Index:
MLSSoccer.com - Audi Player Index - Portland vs. LA Galaxy
Simply put, Diego Valeri is our hero, but Nagbe is at the top of the pyramid. Let's hope that trend continues and the Timbers put together a winning streak to firmly cement our playoff position heading into the Fall.
MLSSoccer.com - Audi Player Index - Portland vs. LA Galaxy
Simply put, Diego Valeri is our hero, but Nagbe is at the top of the pyramid. Let's hope that trend continues and the Timbers put together a winning streak to firmly cement our playoff position heading into the Fall.
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