- Dominance fails: The Timbers were heavily dominant in Thursday’s match. They had 64 percent possession while outshooting Orlando 26 to 2. But despite the disparity in both shots and possession Portland only managed to draw. This match served as another troubling testament to the Timber’s lack of effectivity when faced with a solid backline. One of the biggest reasons for this lack of effectivity was Orlando’s ability to crowd Portland out of the box. Although the Timbers often had possession of the ball in the offensive third Orlando always denied them the most meaningful space by positioning several defenders in the box. The Timbers tried to counteract this by distributing the ball out wide. The Timbers did this well and managed to pull Orlando’s defense out wide, but the defenders remained staunch centrally denying the Timbers the most important space. This trend persisted throughout the first half with the Timbers constantly on the verge of a breakthrough. Then, the goal late in the first half only contributed to Orlando’s defensive persistence and they started to deny Portland any space, even out wide. As the second half wore on, Portland looked more frustrated offensively, despite scoring a late equalizer. The second problem that the Timbers exhibited on Thursday, was an ineffective performance by the Timbers attacking trio of Fernandez, Blanco, and Valeri. As commentator Jon Champion correctly pointed out, the Timbers were oozing threat, but strangely enough, opportunities rarely came to fruition. Despite showing great movement and concise passing, the Timbers rarely managed to turn these aptitudes into a clear cut chance. Responsibility must be borne by Fernandez, Blanco, and Valeri. The single goal was a feeble output considering the Timber’s dominant performance. The trio had some excellent runs and interplay, but they always seemed to be forced into less threatening positions by Orlando’s excellent defense. Their shots often missed the target entirely. It’s no secret that the Timbers rely on Blanco, Valeri, and Fernandez for most of their offensive production, so performances like these are problematic. Dominance and possession have failed to hand the Timbers an expected win for two consecutive weeks. These two disappointing draws have made it clear that the Timbers should revert to a more counterattacking style.
- Fernandez mini drought continues: It’s been approximately 345 minutes since Brian Fernandez last scored. It seems that after a quick start, Fernandez has slowed down a bit. Fernadez made history by scoring in each of his first seven Timbers appearances and seemed to be exactly what the Timbers needed. But as of late he’s cooled down a bit, failing to score in his last four appearances. Many thought the match against Orlando would be an excellent opportunity for Fernandez to get back on the scoreboard. However, this did not come to fruition and Fernandez walked away from the game empty-handed aside from an assist. Fernandez was by no means bad against Orlando but he wasn’t his usual dominant self. He often drifted in and out of the match and struggled to find space behind the center backs. This performance was very characteristic of Fernandez during the last few matches: energetic, hungry, but the final breakthrough that was so prevalent in his first seven games seemed to be missing. One can attribute this slow down in part to the matches in which Fernandez was playing. Both the matches against LAFC and NYCFC were very defensive affairs in which Fernandez was not given much service. The same can be said of the game against Colorado considering the Timbers were playing a man down. In three of the four matches Fernandez was underserviced so it’s hard to place all of the blame on him for not scoring. But despite this reassuring fact, it is still a bit troubling that Fernandez has cooled down. It could be that with more film on Fernandez, MLS coaches have found a blueprint to stop him from scoring. It may also be possible that the excitement of being at a new team wore off and he’s playing with less inspiration. There are a multitude of reasons for Fernandez’s mini drought but let’s just hope he manages to end it against Seattle.
- Timbers lose more momentum: After beating both LAFC and NYCFC away, spirits were high. Fans felt that the Timber’s momentum was only improving, resulting in playoff places and high seeding. The home matches against last-placed Colorado and fair to middling Orlando were supposed to increase this already growing momentum. Contrary to expectation, this did not happen. The first draw against Colorado was frustrating but wasn’t all too worrying because the Timbers were fatigued and fielded a weakened squad. Yet against Orlando, the Timbers played a starting lineup and were still stifled. Whenever you underperform in a match that you should win, it damages the team’s psyche. If this happens in two consecutive matches, it is even more harmful. The fact that both of these draws happened at home is also not to be ignored. These two draws give opposing teams a blueprint for stifling the Timbers at Providence Park. This blueprint involves lying deep while absorbing pressure. It has proven to be highly effective in the last two games, which is especially troubling considering 11 of the Timber’s last 14 matches take place at Providence Park. Luckily we have a big rivalry match that can help them regain it. Dominance fails: The Timbers were heavily dominant in Thursday’s match. They had 64 percent possession while outshooting Orlando 26 to 2. But despite the disparity in both shots and possession Portland only managed to draw. This match served as another troubling testament to the Timber’s lack of effectivity when faced with a solid backline. One of the biggest reasons for this lack of effectivity was Orlando’s ability to crowd Portland out of the box. Although the Timbers often had possession of the ball in the offensive third Orlando always denied them the most meaningful space by positioning several defenders in the box. The Timbers tried to counteract this by distributing the ball out wide. The Timbers did this well and managed to pull Orlando’s defense out wide, but the defenders remained staunch centrally denying the Timbers the most important space. This trend persisted throughout the first half with the Timbers constantly on the verge of a breakthrough. Then, the goal late in the first half only contributed to Orlando’s defensive persistence and they started to deny Portland any space, even out wide. As the second half wore on, Portland looked more frustrated offensively, despite scoring a late equalizer. The second problem that the Timbers exhibited on Thursday, was an ineffective performance by the Timbers attacking trio of Fernandez, Blanco, and Valeri. As commentator Jon Champion correctly pointed out, the Timbers were oozing threat, but strangely enough, opportunities rarely came to fruition. Despite showing great movement and concise passing, the Timbers rarely managed to turn these aptitudes into a clear cut chance. Responsibility must be borne by Fernandez, Blanco, and Valeri. The single goal was a feeble output considering the Timber’s dominant performance. The trio had some excellent runs and interplay, but they always seemed to be forced into less threatening positions by Orlando’s excellent defense. Their shots often missed the target entirely. It’s no secret that the Timbers rely on Blanco, Valeri, and Fernandez for most of their offensive production, so performances like these are problematic. Dominance and possession have failed to hand the Timbers an expected win for two consecutive weeks. These two disappointing draws have made it clear that the Timbers should revert to a more counterattacking style.
Portland stifled by Orlando-3 takeaways
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Kai's Blog 