The lineup didn’t look promising. The players missing? Diego Chara was back in Portland resting his ankle, and Darlington Nagbe was at home nursing his shoulder. Then there was Norberto Paparatto’s calf, and Adam Kwarasey’s quad; national team duty for Alvas Powell, and a well-deserved rest for Jorge Villafaña.
The result was that the Timbers trotted out three players making their first start of the season in Philadelphia. Caleb Porter brought seven players whose primary minutes this year have come with third-division side Timbers 2, and two of those players were on from the start.
Portland hung in for a while, but in the end, it was no contest: A 3-0 win for the healthy and suddenly functional Philadelphia Union, with the first two goals coming within three minutes of each other midway through the second half.
It’s the Timbers’ third straight loss on the road. But just as it was after Portland were drubbed 5-0 by the LA Galaxy, the opportunity for a quick and impactful rebound—at home, against a Cascadia rival—exists. The Timbers didn’t have their proudest night on Saturday in Chester, but the hope is that this limp performance will matter little in the final reckoning of a season that is still very much on the up and up.
This match was a calculated gamble by Porter. This was a playoff game, every starter who sat out against the Union would have played—and chances are, they’ll all be back next weekend when the Timbers host Vancouver. But exiting the most congested stretch of the season—six games in 20 days—resting key players made sense, especially considering that this match was away at an Eastern Conference opponent.
Absolutely, it hurts to lose. But all games aren’t created equal. If losing this one gives Portland a better chance to beat the Whitecaps, and a healthier team down the road, it was a sacrifice worth making.
Still, the Timbers weren’t good enough against the Union. The presence of Powell and Villafaña, who had both started every match of the season to this point, was missed most clearly. Both Jeanderson and Taylor Peay are green and sorely lacking in tactical awareness, and the Brazilian especially miffed Porter several times by getting lost in transition.
With the two fullbacks struggling to keep up, Portland’s back-line was pulled apart again and again, leaving both Liam Ridgewell and Nat Borchers on an island in central defense. It didn’t help that Diego Chara was gone too, meaning Portland’s greatest eraser in front of the back four was absent as well.
For most of the game, the Timbers looked like a team who knew they weren’t supposed to win. Philadelphia started hot, hit the post twice, and then pulled away late. Portland had a hard time keeping the ball, despite playing with a strong front six that included the likes of Johnson, Valeri, Fernandez, and Adi.
There are two overriding truths in MLS: One is that it’s hard to win on the road. Even the best teams struggle with it, including the Galaxy, who are without a road win all year. The second is that no team—clearly not Seattle, who were losers again on Saturday—has the depth to replace more than a couple of starters on a weekly basis. The salary cap prevents it. Play a weakened team like the Timbers did on Saturday, and more likely than not you’ll get punished.
Give Philly some credit. They’ve turned their season around, and sold out PPL Park for this game. Chaco Maidana was brilliant, and chalked up three assists. With CJ Sapong short of his best, Vincent Nogueria and Andrew Wenger picked up the slack. The Union defense, led by captain Maurice Edu, wasn’t troubled all night.
Andrew Weber, who got his first start of the season and continued the streak of the Timbers using at least two goalkeepers in every season of their MLS history, was helpless to stop the second-half onslaught.
There weren’t many bright spots for the Timbers, but Gaston Fernandez was excellent. Hopefully we see him start next weekend in the lineup that tore apart Seattle. La Gata, much like his fellow 2014 signing Norberto Paparatto, has clearly found his footing and a sense of belonging in Portland.
Fernandez is going nowhere. The question is how he’s going to get his minutes with a new DP striker, compatriot Lucas Melano from Diego Valeri’s old club of Lanus, coming in soon. All of the sudden, with Valeri and Nagbe untouchable, there isn’t a whole lot of minutes available for half of the likes of Fernandez, Adi, Melano, Urruti, Wallace, and Asprilla.
Things should settle down now. There are only a few more midweek matches left in the season. Reinforcements are on the way, and the Timbers should be back to a clean bill of health next week. The Western Conference is incredibly tight—the top five teams are all within one point of each other—and everything points to an enthralling stretch run coming up.
The Timbers have now played twenty MLS games this season. There are 14 left—seven at home, seven on the road—and all but three of them are against Western Conference opponents. What will Portland make of itself? We’re about to find out.
