It’s not winning the league, but it’s silverware. And I, for one, am pretty jazzed about it. Does it mean that this team has turned some kind of corner? Well, no. This is still a young team with a lot of holes to fill. Winning the regional trophy, satisfying as it may be (and it was truly satisfying), does not change the overall situation of the team. So what is this? It’s the first road win of the season, and one that was achieved when something was actually on the line. It was too long in coming, but it’s come and I think we should all be thankful. More importantly, this was an example of what winning feels like for a team with a lot of young players. They haven’t had a lot to smile about for the last few months. This is something that they can hold on to. It’s a step in the right direction, and every journey has to start with a single step.
So, without further ado, I give you the player ratings:
1. Donovan Ricketts: Did well on those occasions when he was called into action. Had a couple of pretty good saves during the first half, probably the best of which was on Steven Smith’s failed attempt to put the ball behind for a corner. His distribution was adequate, but nothing to write home about. 5
12. David Horst: An excellent match, for the most part. He was his usual physically imposing self; regulating in the box and moving in to put out fires when necessary. He made a couple of runs up field that did not reflect the very best timing, but no ill consequences ensued and he got back in his spot with alacrity. 6
14. Steven Smith: His hamstrings seemed to be in good working order and his positional play was pretty good too. He did a very solid job considering that he wasn’t getting a whole lot of defensive help from midfield for much of the game. He played smart and used his assets well. 6
15. Kosuke Kimura: Not a bad performance, on the whole, but one that really highlights his shortcomings. Kimura gets sucked infield too easily and, generally speaking, he defensive positioning leaves much to be desired. He can often use his speed to compensate for this, but the fact that he has to charge out to the area that he should have been in in the first place often puts him at a disadvantage in terms of momentum and direction. Still, he didn’t give the store away, and that is something. 5
44. Hanyer Mosquera: Mosquera did a yeoman’s work for his entire spell on the pitch. His booking in the tenth minute was, to my way of thinking, pretty soft. Having gotten a caution, he proceeded to do an excellent job of imposing himself physically and keeping things tight in the middle. It’s easy (for me at least) to forget that Mosquera is a young guy still learning his trade. His showing on Sunday night was very mature and really shows growth from the beginning of the season. 6
6. Darlington Nagbe: He started the match out on the left, as a part of the weird and (as it turned out) not terribly effective formation that Gavin sent the lads out in. As usual, he didn’t get a whole lot done out on the wing, and soon was moving all over the pitch in search of the ball. This was not his most effective match, although this had in part to do with the fact that he just didn’t get the supply of ball that he generally needs to flourish. 5
7. Sal Zizzo: You can really just pencil in about the same review for most of Zizzo’s outing. As usual, he ran like hell and created problems when he got the ball. Of course, it is that last clause that is the key here. As so often this season, the linkage between defense and midfield was more or less dysfunctional for much of the match. As a result, Portland didn’t get a whole lot done going forward and Zizzo’s opportunities to have positive effects were limited. 6
13. Jack Jewsbury: Well, he’s Man of the Match if anybody is. He didn’t have the greatest night in terms of holding on to the ball. On the other hand, his laser shot in the 39th minute was the game winner. It was a beautiful strike, taken at distance with the outside of the boot. On the night it was enough, and that’s good enough for me. 7
21. Diego Chará: He ran around kicking just about everything in sight. When not hounding Vancouver midfielders, he was the point of transmission between a defense that was not getting the ball forward and an attack that was too static. He was essentially paired with Songo’o in midfield. I think that the hope was the Songo’o’s strength would cause problems, but he really couldn’t get going. As a result, Chará was rather an isolated figure for much of the match. 5
8. Frank Songo’o: My comment on his performance begins above. I can sort of see what the rationale was for putting him where they did, but I was dubious from the outset that it would work. And, lo, it did not. Songo’o works better on the wing where he can get isolated on defenders and use his strength and technique. He’s not a terribly precise passer (although he can put in a decent cross). Nagbe, on the other hand, doesn’t cope well on the outside and seems to fare better when he can use his pace and passing ability to challenge central defenders. Songo’o worked hard, but the cards were stacked against him. 5
19. Bright Dike: Didn’t see a whole lot of the ball, and didn’t do much with it when he did. In situations like that, where attacking opportunities are at a premium, you’d like to see a guy like Dike hold the ball up so that his fellows can join the attack. The common theme with most of his touches was profligacy. 4
5. Eric Brunner: The heart of every Timbers fan must have been in their throat when Mosquera was stretchered off, but Brunner did the business. It’s been a long road back for him since he got concussed, so it was nice to see him on and making a positive contribution. Definitely a step down in quality from Mosquera, but he got the job done. 5
22. Rodney Wallace: Speaking of hearts in throats, this is certain what must have resulted again for many in the Timbers fan base when the ineffective Songo’o was lifted for the perennially ineffective Wallace. The purpose of the move to provide added defensive cover, and for once it worked. I give RodWal credit: he worked hard out there. If it is true that his positioning was often rather poorly considered, it must also be conceded that he worked hard to get himself right and to be a disruptor in midfield. 5
10. Danny Mwanga: Came on for a cuppa at the end of the match. Not really enough data to judge. NR
I think the thing to say about these guys was that they were more than the sum of their parts on the night. That’s really saying something, especially because of how often this season one could have concluded just the opposite. They fought hard for each other and for the fans, and for one night it was pretty great to be green.
Magadh
