Depth shines through: The MLS season is tiring. There’s no way around that. It’s 34 games plus open cup and possibly playoffs. All of this results in 3 game weeks which can be extremely taxing. Injuries and fatigue are almost a guarantee. This unquestionably applies to the Timbers who just started a run of 5 matches in 15 days on Sunday. However, the Timbers have the antidote to this: depth. On Sunday they started 5 bench players and 4 of them impressed. Out of these four impressive players, Farfan was the best. Throughout most of this season, he has been left out of the full-back conversation, but Sunday’s performance might’ve just entered him into it. Farfan was youthful and aggressive which resulted in him having the joint-most tackles on the pitch. He did this while remaining composed and solid and restricting wide space. Farfan’s performance was a reminder of how capable the young defender is. Dielna has struggled a lot this season and has already been labeled a “bust”, but his solid display in New York gave us reason for hope. Throughout the game, Dielna remained calm and was seldom caught out of position which is a shortcoming that most fans are accustomed to when watching him. This unexpected calmness helped him end the match with 2 tackles, 2 interceptions, and 6 clearances – a very substantial stat sheet. Renzo Zambrano didn’t quite fulfill his task of replacing Chara, but he definitely held his own. Zambrano held his position well and was very effective at limiting the space in and around the box. On the other side of the ball, Zambrano was tidy and effective, completing 89 percent of his passes. The final impressive bench player was Flores. Flores never has the most noticeable impact on a match but he always does the small yet important things well. Like Zambrano, he held his position defensively and despite his size, he managed to win three aerial duels. Offensively he was the more proactive of the holding mids, completing 29 passes and one key pass. The Timbers depth has really started to play a big part in their season and has provided fans with optimism for both the present and future.
Three streaks ended: The Timbers ended three long-running streaks on Sunday. The first was a win without Chara in the starting lineup after 22 matches, the second was New York’s unbeaten streak at home which had lasted 10 matches, and the third was New York’s unbeaten streak in all competitions which had endured for 14 matches. The 22 games winless without Chara was presumably the most important broken streak on Sunday. The Timbers have always been heavily reliant on Chara due to his energy, aggressiveness, and overall tendency to impose himself in the center of the park. Without him, the Timbers have frequently looked lost. However, against NYCFC they deviated from this trend and partook in a hard nosed, gritty win. As Chara ages, finding ways to perform without him will become more and more important. Hopefully, this performance is a sign that the Timbers are starting to get less dependent on the hard-nosed Columbian. There’s always a sense of satisfaction when you knock a streaking team off their high horse, but this is a lot more important than just satisfaction. Besting an in-form team is always a very tough task and really says a lot about the Timbers mindset and level of play. A win against NYCFC is also a huge confidence booster for the Timbers. This confidence will be key when they navigate a tricky slew of games in the next two weeks, which includes both LAFC and Seattle. The psychological value of breaking a streak can never be underestimated and it seems that this match will only amplify Portland’s already growing confidence.Defensively Solid: Going into the match on Sunday, it was clear that one of the biggest challenges facing the Timbers would be defensive aptitude. NYCFC was on a hot streak offensively, having scored 18 goals in their last five matches. They were missing two of their best offensive players but despite this, the Timbers remained wary of NYCFC’s offensive threat. This wariness was only amplified by the fact that the Timbers were starting without Chara, Moriera, Villafana, and Tuiloma. But despite these worries, the Timbers managed to execute a game plan that landed them a clean sheet and three points. One big facet of this game plan was full-back play. In the few matches preceding the NYCFC match, the fullback duo of Villafana and Moreira had risen to prominence. Both fullbacks are very attack-oriented and often provide the Timbers with much-needed width offensively. However, there is a downside to their playstyles. Moriera and Villafana have a tendency to get caught out and leave the Timber’s flanks exposed. Savarese realized that this would be detrimental to the Timbers more defensive game plan in a tough environment against New York. So instead of playing Villafana and Moriera, Saverese played Farfan and Valentin, two defensively oriented full-backs. This choice paid dividends as both defended well and limited New York on both sides of the pitch. This conservative, stingy defense meant that the center mids and defenders could focus on their defensive responsibility instead of covering for the full-backs. The second effective aspect of the Timbers defensive game plan was a tight, well-executed defensive shape. They made sure that New York rarely had a chance to break the lines by making the two banks of four as tight as possible. NYC tried to bait the Timbers out but they didn’t budge and continued to maintain their shape. This made NYCFC heavily reliant on crosses which only worked occasionally because the Timbers exerted a strong presence in the box. The man who said “defense wins championships” was not mistaken and if the Timbers keep on playing as they did on Sunday, fans have a lot to be excited about.
Kai's Blog 