Portland Timbers vs Seattle Sounders Player Ratings: Smash and Grab Edition

While the result was not the three points everyone wanted, earning a point on the road in one of the tougher places to play is always a good result. Good result or not the some of the Timbers players had a rough game and some of them struck gold. Here are the player ratings we, the editors, have give the Timbers:

Donovan Ricketts - 6

Stacey: He gave his best effort on the goal but really didn't stand much of chance. After that though, he came up with a couple big saves to keep the Timbers in it and he had that great play coming off his line to deny Ochoa.

Ben Zemanski - 5

Ryan: Ben had one of the harder defensive assignments going up against Steve Zakuani. While the goal did come from his side of the field it was not due to a defensive mistake from Ben as he acquitted himself well defensively. When Ben did get forward his crossing was superior to what we have seen from Ryan Miller.

Andrew Jean-Baptiste - 5

Stacey: Jean-Baptiste did some stellar work marking Eddie Johnson and he got the assist, so I'd love to be giving him an 8 and naming him MOTM, but he blew it on the goal. A large share of the blame absolutely lies with Chara, but, if I may borrow some wisdom from my dad, you'd like to think that your back line wouldn't let every midfield mistake turn into a goal. Maybe Johnson gets the goal anyway, but if Jean-Baptiste sticks with him on that run, he's in a position to possibly cut off that cross. Then, a few minutes later, he commited a dumb foul to give Seattle a dangerous free kick. After that, he woke up and he was great.

Mikael Silvestre - 7

Ryan: Silvestre's positioning and the way he reads the game allowed him to help suffocate one of the better attacking teams in the league. When you limit a team to just 3 shots on target and 7 attempts total you have had a good defensive game and Silvestre deserves a lot of credit for how well Portland played defensively.

Michael Harrington - 7

Stacey: Harrington has consistently looked good on defense so far and on Saturday, he had a number of interceptions and recoveries all up and down the left side of the field. The involvement of both of our outside backs probably helped the Timbers win the midfield battle a keep a slight edge in possession.

Darlington Nagbe - 5

Andy: You can always tell when Nagbe starts to get winded, because that's around the time when he really starts controlling the game and pushing the ball into the opposing penalty area. The problem is, that's also around the time when he stops making the attempts on goal himself.

Will Johnson - 5

Ryan: Will's game was not flashy but it didn't have to be as he just needed to help Portland counter Osvaldo Alonso. He also set the tone physically when he showed that he was not going to back down from any of the physical tackles that Alonso and company were employing.

Jack Jewsbury - 7

Andy: My man of the match, Jewsbury brings a defensive presence that lets Chara and Johnson and the fullbacks get forward without having to worry as much about covering the back line. He also can take a shot from distance, which especially comes in handy when the opposition has parked the bus. He'll get plenty of days off, but I have a feeling we'll see more of Jewsbury as the season continues.

Diego Chara - 4

Stacey: Chara had an uncharacteristic handful of bad passes right at the beginning of the game and unfortunately one of them led to the goal. After that, he got his legs under him and his passing improved, but he was less influential than normal. He did have 14 recoveries though, more than anyone except Osvaldo Alonso.

Diego Valeri - 4

Andy: I realize there are all kinds of reasons behind it, but Valeri needs to start completing more of his passes. I'm not saying he needs to change anything about his game or do anything beyond just get used to playing with his teammates, but when you're averaging 30 turnovers per game, that's 30 times that your team has to transition to playing defense without the ball. Obviously he's far enough up field that it doesn't matter as much as it would for Will Johnson or Diego Chara, but it's still an issue in my mind.

Ryan Johnson - 4

Ryan: I thought this was Ryan's toughest game as a Timber. He was not able to find the space he needed and was not able to use his speed to get behind Seattle's defense. He did however win the corner that later lead to Wallace's goal and he continued to work hard for all 90 minutes.

Rodney Wallace -7

Andy: That header was gorgeous.

Frederic Piquionne - 4

Ryan: While it may not have been flashy he had some good runs and some nice headers to open up the Seattle Defense a little more.

Jose Aldofo Valencia - Inc

Stacey: He came on in garbage time and literally never touched the ball. He did score the game-winner for the reserves though, so go Trencito!