The Timbers limped into the derby on a six match winless slide while the Sounders came in red hot unbeaten in seven.
Portland's Strategy
For the second straight match, Kenny Cooper was left on the bench. John Spencer elected to play 4-1-4-1 to congest the midfield. Marcelin was brought on and played in a defensive midfield role for Portland. In front of him were Jewsbury and Chara. Operating on the flanks were Nagbe and Alhassan, often electing to switch sides to try and shake up the defense. Perlaza played as the lone striker and struggled to find space, often losing out physically.
Seattle's Strategy
Sigi Schmid used his usual 4-1-3-2 formation for Seattle. The Sounders benefit by having to only employ one holding midfielder in Ozzy Alonso. He alone covers touchline to touchline and has a wide passing range to create chances. Friberg played in front of Alonso and he did a decent job linking up play between Montero and Alonso. Rosales and Fernandez played out wide. Fernandez was more successful of the two at finding space. Montero played in his usual second striker position and Levesque operated as his strike partner.
Seattle Dominates Possession But Cannot Create
The opening 20 minutes were intense and cagey, which is typical in most big derby matches. Portland sat deep not wanting to concede an early goal. They let Seattle's back line keep the ball around the halfway line. Portland defended comfortably but were unable to string together a counter attack because of their deep defensive position.
Seattle was able to craft a half chance in the 27th minute when Freddy Montero received the ball in the middle of the pitch and chipped a ball to the right where Rosales latched onto it but shot over the goal. Fernandez then came to life setting up Montero off of crosses from the left but they could not quite beat Troy Perkins. Repeatedly exploiting the right side of Portland's defense, Fernandez won the ball at the halfway line and sent Levesque through on goal. He never got a shot away and his cross to Montero yielded nothing. Alonso then found Friberg with a long ball in the 39th minute and the Swede did well to hold off a challenge a slid a pass behind Purdy. Fernandez had a chance but his first touch gave him a poor angle and Perkins saved well.
Portland went to the locker room without ever troubling the back line of Seattle. Alonso sniffed out any play in the middle of the pitch and the narrow Jeld-Wen pitch made it difficult for Nagbe and Alhassan to find space.
Five Goal Second Half
The opening goal in the first minute in the second half was the best thing that happened in the match. Alhassan found acres of space down the right side and slipped past Wahl into the box. He fired a low cross in to Perlaza at the near post. Parke got to the ball first but inadvertently poked the ball through Keller's legs, sending the Rose City into a tizzy.
Portland almost controversially doubled their lead seven minutes later after Hurtado went down injured on the pitch and Wallace exploited his injury by crossing a ball low that was begging to be turned in by a charging Perlaza.
Portland would rue this missed chance after Montero leveled the match off of a free kick that floated past Perkins into the low left hand corner.
This goal sparked Seattle as Friberg and Montero started to link up well and caused Portland trouble.
The attacking impetus by the Sounders was not rewarded as Portland took the lead back in the 69th minute. Chara picked up the ball after a clearance on a Sounders corner. He released Alhassan down the right hand side who stormed in the box. His speculative effort deflected in off of Wahl for the second Timber goal.
Seattle was forced to ramp up the pressure to level the match. James Riley swung in a cross over the head of Montero in the 74th minute. However, the ball reached the substitute Lamar Neagle on the right side. He put a cross in to an unmarked Rosales on the back post. Rosales volleyed it in front of goal to Montero who stuck it past Perkins for his second goal of the game.
John Spencer responded to the goal by bringing on out of favor Kenny Cooper to rescue a win. The switch did not pay off for the home side. Seven minutes later, Ozzy Alonso sent a ball over the top for Neagle to beat Brunner for pace. He latched onto the ball and Brunner used a high boot to knock Neagle and the ball away. Referee Jorge Gonzalez sent Brunner off and awarded a penalty for the denial of a goal scoring opportunity. Alonso stepped up and buried it past Perkins, sealing his man of the match performance. With ten men, Portland failed to challenge Keller an Seattle walked away with an away win and bragging rights.
Conclusion
The first half was very cagey and defensive but the fans were rewarded by a barn storming second 45. Seattle deserved the road win as they created more chances and controlled play. Sigi’s formation has worked well and propelled Seattle to second in the west. Alonso is a talent that should be coveted by European side and Montero has slowly started to regain his old form. The addition of Friberg and the healthy Fernandez to midfield added a short passing game. The downsides are the Sounders remain vulnerable down the left side, where Tyson Wahl lacks pace and one on one defending. Also, they have not found a consistent goalscorer to pair alongside Montero. Levesque and Fucito work hard in chasing and pressuring the ball, but they lack the goal scorers instinct.
Portland's Strategy
For the second straight match, Kenny Cooper was left on the bench. John Spencer elected to play 4-1-4-1 to congest the midfield. Marcelin was brought on and played in a defensive midfield role for Portland. In front of him were Jewsbury and Chara. Operating on the flanks were Nagbe and Alhassan, often electing to switch sides to try and shake up the defense. Perlaza played as the lone striker and struggled to find space, often losing out physically.
Seattle's Strategy
Sigi Schmid used his usual 4-1-3-2 formation for Seattle. The Sounders benefit by having to only employ one holding midfielder in Ozzy Alonso. He alone covers touchline to touchline and has a wide passing range to create chances. Friberg played in front of Alonso and he did a decent job linking up play between Montero and Alonso. Rosales and Fernandez played out wide. Fernandez was more successful of the two at finding space. Montero played in his usual second striker position and Levesque operated as his strike partner.
Seattle Dominates Possession But Cannot Create
The opening 20 minutes were intense and cagey, which is typical in most big derby matches. Portland sat deep not wanting to concede an early goal. They let Seattle's back line keep the ball around the halfway line. Portland defended comfortably but were unable to string together a counter attack because of their deep defensive position.
Seattle was able to craft a half chance in the 27th minute when Freddy Montero received the ball in the middle of the pitch and chipped a ball to the right where Rosales latched onto it but shot over the goal. Fernandez then came to life setting up Montero off of crosses from the left but they could not quite beat Troy Perkins. Repeatedly exploiting the right side of Portland's defense, Fernandez won the ball at the halfway line and sent Levesque through on goal. He never got a shot away and his cross to Montero yielded nothing. Alonso then found Friberg with a long ball in the 39th minute and the Swede did well to hold off a challenge a slid a pass behind Purdy. Fernandez had a chance but his first touch gave him a poor angle and Perkins saved well.
Portland went to the locker room without ever troubling the back line of Seattle. Alonso sniffed out any play in the middle of the pitch and the narrow Jeld-Wen pitch made it difficult for Nagbe and Alhassan to find space.
Five Goal Second Half
The opening goal in the first minute in the second half was the best thing that happened in the match. Alhassan found acres of space down the right side and slipped past Wahl into the box. He fired a low cross in to Perlaza at the near post. Parke got to the ball first but inadvertently poked the ball through Keller's legs, sending the Rose City into a tizzy.
Portland almost controversially doubled their lead seven minutes later after Hurtado went down injured on the pitch and Wallace exploited his injury by crossing a ball low that was begging to be turned in by a charging Perlaza.
Portland would rue this missed chance after Montero leveled the match off of a free kick that floated past Perkins into the low left hand corner.
This goal sparked Seattle as Friberg and Montero started to link up well and caused Portland trouble.
The attacking impetus by the Sounders was not rewarded as Portland took the lead back in the 69th minute. Chara picked up the ball after a clearance on a Sounders corner. He released Alhassan down the right hand side who stormed in the box. His speculative effort deflected in off of Wahl for the second Timber goal.
Seattle was forced to ramp up the pressure to level the match. James Riley swung in a cross over the head of Montero in the 74th minute. However, the ball reached the substitute Lamar Neagle on the right side. He put a cross in to an unmarked Rosales on the back post. Rosales volleyed it in front of goal to Montero who stuck it past Perkins for his second goal of the game.
John Spencer responded to the goal by bringing on out of favor Kenny Cooper to rescue a win. The switch did not pay off for the home side. Seven minutes later, Ozzy Alonso sent a ball over the top for Neagle to beat Brunner for pace. He latched onto the ball and Brunner used a high boot to knock Neagle and the ball away. Referee Jorge Gonzalez sent Brunner off and awarded a penalty for the denial of a goal scoring opportunity. Alonso stepped up and buried it past Perkins, sealing his man of the match performance. With ten men, Portland failed to challenge Keller an Seattle walked away with an away win and bragging rights.
Conclusion
The first half was very cagey and defensive but the fans were rewarded by a barn storming second 45. Seattle deserved the road win as they created more chances and controlled play. Sigi’s formation has worked well and propelled Seattle to second in the west. Alonso is a talent that should be coveted by European side and Montero has slowly started to regain his old form. The addition of Friberg and the healthy Fernandez to midfield added a short passing game. The downsides are the Sounders remain vulnerable down the left side, where Tyson Wahl lacks pace and one on one defending. Also, they have not found a consistent goalscorer to pair alongside Montero. Levesque and Fucito work hard in chasing and pressuring the ball, but they lack the goal scorers instinct.
Portland was opportunistic in scoring two economical goals. John Spencer will want to rethink his formation for the future because Perlaza struggled as a lone striker. He could not find space to operate, losing the ball 15 times while only completing seven passes and taking two shots. Being predictable in only being able to create out wide, the Timbers need Jewsbury and Chara to play the ball through the middle and make runs to support the lone striker.
The Timbers Army was fantastic as expected. They will be disappointed with their team’s consistent inability to create chances.
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Sorry to see you did not mention the ECS and the rest of the Sounders fans who traveled in numbers. Nice breakdown of the game. Two lucky goals for Portland, which were created by good play down their right side. That has been our weakness this season. I think you are right about Alonso. He is the mold of that other Alonso, Xabi, and may leave us in January.
ReplyDeleteWhy exactly do the ECS (or any other fan) deserve mention in an article with this focus? Christ, why don't y'all give the relentless and narcissistic self-promotion a rest.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. The ECS wasn't even loud. The TA absolutely drowned them out. Unlike at Century Field where the TA could be heard throughout....and this is coming from a Sounder.
ReplyDeletetake it easy. i was at both games and heard both sides.
ReplyDeleteWondering about the narrowness of Jeld-Wen and how it affects tactics. Does it maybe suggest a different formation, perhaps 4-2-2-2, or 3-2-3-2? This would (a) give Perlaza some help up front, (b) hopefully creat more pressure up the center, which might (c) help open up some space for the wingers.
ReplyDelete