The Portland Timbers had a real opportunity on Saturday to clinch the Cascadia Cup tournament and bring home their first ever trophy in MLS. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. It's not that the boys didn't put up a solid effort though! In fact, the game was quite exhilarating. But it was still a largely disappointing affair considering what was on the line. I mean, we were so close!
In any case, Saturday's draw means that the Timbers will have to try their luck once again, but this time away from home at CenturyLink Field in Seattle... and we all know how well the Timbers play on the road. At the very least, hopefully they can win at BC Place once again against a struggling Vancouver Whitecaps team.
Here are the player ratings for the Portland Timbers:
Starting XI
Donovan Ricketts: 6
Ryan: Laid out when he knew he was going to take a hit which is always a good thing to see. Going down to an injury is not and you can't fault him for at least trying to make a go of it before being subbed off.
Kosuke Kimura: 4
Ryan: I thought he got burned way to easily by Zakuani in the first half and looked lost on a couple of plays. His second half was better but that was mainly because Seattle stopped going down his side.
David Horst: 7
Will: Mosco could take a lesson from Horst's stick-a-foot-in-there method of dealing with Freddy Montero. Time and again Horst broke up the Seattle attack with powerful headers and judiciously timed tackles.
Hanyer Mosquera: 6
Will: While Montero's goal was just ridiculously well taken, you would like to see Mosco break that up somehow. That is Freddy Montero, he scores goals in situations just like that. Otherwise, stalwart.
Rodney Wallace: 7
Will: Shut down Steve Zakuani at one end of the pitch and served in numerous good crosses at the other before finally netting the game tying goal himself.
Jack Jewsbury: 8
Ryan: This was his best game in a while as it looked like he returned to 2011 form, especially with him taking the corners late.
Darlington Nagbe: 7
Will: Big defensive contributions up the pitch made up for a quiet night in the attack from Nagbe. Although he was quiet for long stretches of the game, Nagbe was able to turn on the juice by the end of the match and put some serious pressure on the Sounders.
Diego Chara: 6
Will: Besides takling the heck out of anything colored bule and distributing the ball well in the midfield, Chara earned the Timbers their first penalty kick of the season when he was hacked down by a Seattle player in the box (just kidding on that one).
Sal Zizzo: 4
Ryan: He made some effective runs but he has returned to Zig Zag Zizzo, put your head down and then go. He needs to get back to having some interplay between those in the middle and up front to be more effective.
Bright Dike: 4
Ryan: He hustled out there but in this type of game we need to be able to play to his feet so he can distribute the ball. His touch needs a lot of work if he wants to continue to be on the field.
Franck Songo'o: 6
Will: Songo'o had some nice moments and combined well with Wallace on several occasions. Songo'o did well to keep Gspurning honest on his cuts inside as he put a solid shot on goal, but his willingness to play with others still seems lacking, despite not attempting to dribble through three people at a time in this outing.
Substitutes
Joe Bendik: 5
Will: As soon as he edtered the game, Bendik was caught off his line by a chip that was not savable but he bounced back immediately and finished out the day with some solid play at the back including one key save to preserve the draw.
Kalif Alhassan: 5
Ryan: Came in at a time when it is difficult to add something to the game, especially after Chara went out. He did well to keep Seattle honest and his presence did not allow Seattle to push forward to take advantage of Chara being out.
Danny Mwanga: 5
Ryan: He came in and really put a lot of pressure on Seattle's defense by sitting right behind Alonso and in front of their backline. This allowed him room to go at people and distribute. I want to see more of that from him if we can get him some time.
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There you have it. An outstanding performance from Cap'n Jack, but a middling performance for some others.
What did you think of the players on Saturday?