Quick Recap:
The Portland Timbers finally got the first goal and took the lead into half-time. The second half was probably the worst half the Timbers have ever played at home, and they went down 2-1.
First Half:
Portland came out flying. Franck Songo'o was all over the place. He was playing both wings and as the CM, and he was hitting perfect free kicks and corners. Eric Alexander was picking apart the right side of the Chivas USA line-up. Kris Boyd was making effective runs and garnering attention of two defenders at all times. Darlington Nagbe was all over the pitch combining with everyone.
Chivas USA didn't know what hit them as Portland continued to attack down the wings and whipped cross after cross into the box. When the crosses resulted in corners, they proved dangerous as well. So much so that CUSA players resorted to two-handedly shoving Eric Brunner right in front of the referee. Of course the ref thought it a perfectly legal play, so Portland just had to keep plugging away.
Plug away they did. The breakthrough came as Dan Kennedy went up for a cross, bumped into his own player, James Riley, and dropped the ball. Luck would have it that Boyd was standing right there and had the composure to wait for the ball to settle and for the way to be open, as he put it into the back of the net. Boyd is one cool customer.
In contrast to all the great chances Portland created, the Timbers still had some defensive woes. However, Chivas USA was not able to capitalize on those mistakes, especially since they had a passing accuracy of only 69%.
Second Half:
Since my first half recap was so great I figured I would mail it in and give no effort on the second half recap. So here it is: Portland gave up 2 goals and lost 2-1.
Observations:
- Steve Purdy or Ryan Kawulok should get some time soon, or else this season may continue to be a exercise in futility.
- Spencer called the whole team out for having no desire and a lack of leadership
- Wallace came out because of tweaked ankle and Songo'o came out because of a hamstring
- Brunner and Palmer repeatedly exchanged pleasantries through out the second half; I think Brunner might be a better choice for Captain.
- If Gavin is not looking for a quality outside back I think the Timbers will be in for some trouble this year.
- Next weeks game will be a battle of cellar dwellers...