POSTGAME: Keel Seals the Deal, Timbers Struggle Past Aztex

It was a happy Labor Day as the Timbers returned to their winning ways, pulling out a 1-0 victory against the Austin Aztex this afternoon at Nelson Field. In a rugged, sloppy match, and despite being outplayed for many stretches, the Timbers were able to find the back of the net in the 85th minute. Defender Stephen Keel was the hero tonight - a shot by Savage from the top of the box deflecting off Aztex keeper Gallardo, which then found its way to Keel, who nonchalantly kicked the ball into the corner of the goal. It's Keels first goal of the season. With the victory, the 1st place Timbers collect three more points in the standings, their magic number currently standing at 4. However, depending on the outcome of other games this week, Portland could possibly clinch the Commissioner's Cup and 1st place in the USL, as early as this Friday against the Aztex. Either way, it appears the Timbers will get a chance to take the Cup in front of their home crowd, as the team will finish the regular season with 3 matches at PGE Park.

With a few of their starters not making the road trip, Coach Wilkinson was forced to tinker with his rotation a bit, forward Jason Mclaughlin getting his third start on the year in place of the injured Mandjou Keita. The Timbers have not escaped this season without their share of injuries. Cameron Knowles, of course, out for the year and midfielder Johan Classeson still out with injury, although he's due to return shortly. With Keita nursing minor ailments and opting for rest instead of making the trip, the Timbers struggled at times to find cohesion offensively, clearly missing their leading goal-scorer. Although the shots were there - the Timbers firing 18 total for the game - the quality was not. Often times Portland had trouble keeping possession and many of their opportunities were wasted with shots going wide or clanging off the crossbar.

Still, in the 1st half the Timbers spent most of the match in the attacking third of the field, but in the 2nd half the Aztex would respond, outplaying Portland and generally looking sharper and more aggressive. Even though Austin only managed 6 shots on the game, they made the most of their strikes, nearly scoring on a few runs. Cronin was forced to make 4 saves on the game, all in the 2nd half. The defense came up big tonight. For the most part, they were able to mark up and shut down the Aztex forwards and gave Portland's offense plenty of opportunities to score. So, perhaps fittingly it was a defender that got us the game-winner.

Portland's depth was a factor again today. Taka, Nimo, and Forrest all came in and provided an important boost off the bench in the 2nd half. The Timber's deep rotation allows them to rest any weary legs and should serve them well heading into the playoffs. However, the fear could be that coasting into the postseason or perhaps taking our success for granted could come back to haunt the Timbers. Motivation and focus will be big keys as the team will need to stay aggressive to ensure they finish strong and lock-up 1st place. Portland has shown a slight tendency to play down to their competition, settling for a draw against Cleveland in their only meeting and struggling to pull out the win earlier in the season against the Aztex also. It will be a balancing act for Coach Wilkinson as he tries to rest legs, adjust playing rotations, and still get this team playing its best soccer down the stretch. The Timbers will return home Friday trying for a season sweep of the series with Austin and depending on pending results, could be trying for something quite a bit bigger as well.

Last drop - Attendance at the match was 2,439. It was pathetic. A ghost stadium. The far stands were completely empty. Literally, I don't think there was one person seated there, but I guess if your team sucked and your pitch looked like a football field...well, what else can you expect?

Look, Keel is so cool there is a rock band named after him.

Don't mess with these guys.