Portland’s Setup:
Portland set up in a traditional 4-4-2, as compared to their unusual formation that they used Sunday against Houston. Chara and Jewsbury were the two holding midfielders. Both were lacking aggression and energy, and it showed as Zusi and Espinoza especially controlled the flow of the game. Nagbe was wide left and not only did not see much of the ball, but he was lacking movement in general and was a complete non-factor. Zizzo made some nice runs in the first half, but was substituted for in favor of Alhassan at the start of the second half. He was more of a factor using his speed down the wing to play balls into Cooper. Cooper started again up top with Perlaza and was even less of a factor than on Sunday. It is a mystery as to why he continues to see playing time. Perlaza made an impact with his speed but it was clear he was lacking confidence in his shot because he continually deferred when the opportunity for one presented itself. In some of these instances it hurt his team as he had the chance to test Nielsen and passed to a teammate who was not in a position to do so. The Timbers back four was poor in their clearance of balls played in the air into the box, and that was how two of SKC’s goals were scored. Wallace played left back and Chabala right back as Palmer was suspended, and he was shaky all night and Portland will look forward to Palmer’s return to the lineup.
SKC’s Setup:
With Jefferson injured and Bravo suspended for his red card in the Seattle game, SKC stuck to their usual formation of a 4-2-3-1 with a few different players and wrinkles. Espinoza and Zusi partnered as the two holding midfielders. They dominated the flow of the game and possession as well. Their defensive pressure on the Timbers midfield allowed for this disparity in possession in favor of SKC. Stojcev replaced Jefferson in the center of midfield, and did not make as much of an impact on the game as Jefferson, but he was solid and effective and proved himself a solid reserve that can be used when needed. Kamara played an effective game, but was not quite involved as much as he had been in recent weeks. Sapong was wide left, but drifted inside frequently and could often be found up top next to Bunbury, and this caused some congestion. It was most noticeable when the ball was on the right side, as Sapong drifted too far towards the middle and because of this wasn’t able to get to a few crosses that he should have been able to get to. The back four for SKC was solid all night, and had good communication that allowed them to keep track of Portland’s forward players.
Thoughts On The Match:
The main problem from Portland’s perspective was the Chara and Jewsbury were not nearly as aggressive as they needed to be in order to break up the SKC attack. Because they weren’t, SKC controlled the pace and the flow of the game, and were able to create a number of scoring chances that could have led to them scoring four, five or even six goals. This lack of pressure by Jewsbury and Chara was very noticeable on the first SKC goal when a bad clearing header by Wallace led to Zusi unleashing a missile past Perkins. There is no question that it was an excellent strike, but Jewsbury and Nagbe both loafed on their closeout and it made it too easy for Zusi, who had been close on his first few efforts before that.
Another problem for Portland was that they had no clear link between their back line and their attacking players. Chara and Jewsbury did not have very good distribution, and Nagbe in particular did not come back enough for the ball, which led to too many long balls being played that did not trouble SKC at all. Perlaza made some nice runs but Cooper did not hold up the ball at all and was ineffective finishing in the air, which made him not useful at all. Dike was substituted in for him and made much more of an impact than Cooper.
SKC pretty much did as they wished throughout the match. Sapong lacked width and it hurt the SKC attack at times, but when the ball was on his side he did well to play out wide. Bunbury showed some selfishness that at times hindered the SKC attack, but his skill and talent still was very evident, especially on the second goal for KC when he one timed a flick on from Sapong that Perkins nicely saved, but right to Zusi who put in the rebound. The flick on was off of a long Besler throw, and after watching the last several SKC matches, teams have still yet to figure out how to stop that part of the SKC attack, as it has been very effective for them. The third and final goal was very lucky but it signified the type of night it was for Portland. Brunner cleared the ball directly off of Saad and right over Perkins’ head to give SKC a 3-0 lead. It was Saad’s first MLS game as well as his Birthday, clearly another sign that Portland could do no right.
Conclusion:
Portland, in my opinion, is not using its best combination of players. They are still not out of the playoffs and some changes in their personnel could lead them to getting back on the winning track. Cooper needs to be sat down on the bench for the foreseeable future, and Nagbe needs to be moved into the middle with Alhassan replacing him wide to the left. This would inject some energy into the Portland lineup as well as speed. It also has to be said that these last two games for the Timbers were on the road, and Portland is most definitely a better team at home.
This game was a great sign for SKC, as they were missing two very key players and were still able to pick up three points. If it were not for their total lapse at the end of the Seattle game, SKC would still have their unbeaten streak. Either way they look like a team that could be dangerous come playoff time.
Thoughts on the match? Portland's Form of late?
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