Portland Timbers vs Toronto FC Player Ratings: The result

We had a good turnout for this last week's player ratings with 120 responses and quite a few people left comments. Overall the scores are high with no player earning lower than 6.2. Without further ado here are the player ratings:

Milos Kocic - 6.2

Will - He put up a clean sheet and looked good when called on as a shot stopper, which was not that often. However, he showed some real hesitancy in coming off of his line to get the ball whether in the air or on the ground, which lead to some of the more nervy moments of the night.

Zboatman - Still some work to do here, he appeared to hesitate in coming out and that caused the scary moments in front of goal. Bottom line is he got a clean sheet and deserves credit for it.

Andrew Jean-Baptiste - 6.5

Ryan - Another solid performance from a player who had some inconsistencies when he first started getting major minutes. His distribution out of the back was better than previous games and helped Portland unlock a very deep Toronto FC team.

FuSchnickens - I liked AJB's work on the night. No glaring gaffes - just some solid work. Definitely the better of the two CB's on the evening.

Michael Harrington - 6.7

Will - It was a solid shift from Harrington, who was his usual consistant self against Toronto on Saturday. The Timbers' fullback shut down the left flank against TFC and got forward into the attack while maintaining his balance with Sal Zizzo on the right. Overall it was another good night for Harrington.

ArvydasSabonis - Harrington looked energized and hungry in his pairing with Wallace on the left flank. Sometimes knocked for getting outpaced by faster wings, Harrington looked both fast and crafty as he helped dictate play in what could be considered a top 3 individual performance. For the Timbers to finish the season strong a dynamic left flank performance like the one we saw on Sat. between Wallace and Harrington will be critical.

Pa Madou Kah - 6.4

Ryan - The Last few games Kah has played with emotion and that emotion got away from him. This game he played with the right edge to his game and helped keep a shutout. However, there seemed to be times that Kah got out of position and a better team than Toronto would have taken advantage.

James Bondo - Made several mistakes early, and at least one late. I would have given him a 3, but he also got his head on the ball in at least 3 TFC set pieces, so a 4 it is.

Sal Zizzo 6.8

Stacey - Of the few unsusual starters against Toronto, Zizzo at right back probably made people the most nervous, but Zizzo did a fairly good job of giving Caleb Porter what he wants from his outside backs. On the defensive side of things, he made four interceptions (more than any other Portland player) and seven recoveries. At the other end of the field, he put in some surprisingly impressive crosses and also a few pretty bad ones. Overall though, it was a pretty decent showing in his first start of the season.

Brad Wright - We got a lot more than "run down the wing with the speed of a gazelle, and kick it to a defender". An impressive match from Zizzo.

Will Johnson - 8.02

Will - As Will Johnson worked out his anger issues on the ankles of TFC, it was immediately clear that the Timbers just work better with him out there. Having Johnson on the pitch takes some of the pressure off of Diego Chara to make every tackle everywhere on the pitch while also adding the long, accurate passes that Johnson does better than anyone else on the team.

Mikesprinkle71 - I wanted to give him a 10. The giant middle finger he displayed to the ref by pacing off the free kick wall. I realize he displayed 7 other fingers at the same time, but in ref language that was a wonderful "Dude you screwed the pooch here" moment.

Diego Chara - 7.9

Ryan - I think JT_Smooth summed up Chara's night perfectly with "Bizniss as uzual."

Kalif Alhassan 7.5

Stacey - Even though most of the goals came when he made way for Valeri, Alhassan had a great night filling in for his teammate. He did a better job of keeping his game simple than he often has and he was a key piece of a lot of great passing sequences in and around Toronto's box in the first half as the team looked for an opening. Plus, I counted at least two hard driven shots from Kalif, including his goal, and only one "shross."

JSwish - Probably the only time I can vote a 10 for Kalif and not get ridiculed for it. A beautiful goal off, he held his corner and kept a goal out. And most importantly, he kept Diego Valeri's workload down to 15 minutes.

Darlington Nagbe 6.5

Will - On a night when all eyes were on the changes in the lineup, Nagbe seemed to disappear a little bit. His passing and movement was good, especially when interchanging with Kalif and Trencito throughout the second half, but it would have been nice to see him get in on the goal scoring action as the Timbers took apart a weaker foe.

hoser!hoser! - He was dangerous in the attack but he really needs to take over as the leader of our offense when Valeri isn't in. He needs to take that on himself. He's such a skilled, dynamic player, but he needs to command our offense. Time to step up Nagbe into the truly league-shattering player you can be.

Rodney Wallace 6.8

Ryan - Wallace has not found the same form he had before the Gold cup but this game was a step in the right direction. His penetrating runs down the side line kept Toronto from completely parking the bus and when he played to the middle he was a great decoy for other runs made by Will Johnson and company.

scudzmckenzie - pretty solid up and down night, had a few of his usual turnovers, but contributed offensively, and continues to improve in his defensive role.

Jose Valencia 7.9

Ryan - Trencito showed that he could play within the frame work of the team. His passing helped unlock a stingy Toronto defense but he did not shine until the game opened up. Once the game was all but over he showed his strength and his passing ability to provide two great assists to two deserving Timbers.

The Sagehen - Look, he did some good things and worked hard. But by my count, he turned it over 8 times when a simpler pass or fewer touches would have worked. I agree he's going to be great -- but he's not there yet.

Diego Valeri 7.96

Stacey - Toronto had all the momentum and a lot of the possession for about 20 minutes before Valeri took the field, but he was an instant difference-maker late in the game. He set up the second goal when he poked the ball away from Gale Agbossoumonde for Rodney Wallace, was involved in the build-up of the third goal, and scored the fourth, helping to take the game from an important but lackluster win to a rout and a major confidence booster.

Anonymous - Short stint, lasting impact. Immediately changed face of attack, and opened space for attacking third. I might name my child Diego.

Brad Ring - 5.6

Ryan- He came on and the Timbers won, that alone has to be worth at least a 5.

PrettyPenguin - Brad Ring comes in, and we win! I give him a 10 because he did what he was supposed to in a very short amount of time, and there is no NR option. He looked good in the reserves game on Sunday, too.