POSTGAME: Oh, What a Night! Timbers Win 1-0 in Season Opener

In front of a sellout crowd at PGE Park, the Portland Timbers pulled out a 1-0 victory, sending the 15,000 plus fans in attendance home with big smiles on their faces.

After a preseason full of hype and anticipation, fan expectations and excitement were raised to a fever pitch as the game kicked off on a cool Saturday evening. Despite the energy of the crowd, the Timbers had trouble getting their engines started. Early in the 1st half, Portland wasn't especially sharp out on the field. Their nerves showed and the team seemed out of sync and played tentatively.

"There was a little over-excitement." said defender Stephen Keel. "Coming out and having 15,000 fans is definitely exciting, so it took us a little while to settle into our games and get into a flow."

"Opening night, the start of the season, there's a lot of expectations and excitement." Said Keel. "It's been a long preseason, a lot of built up energy and I think it happens all the time, so it was good to get that first one done and get a win. It's 3 points and now we're rockin' and rollin'."

Rochester took advantage of Portland's rough play and earned themselves the 1st half's only corner kick and numerous other scoring opportunities. Rochester's 23-year old forward Andrew Hoxie (although he would later become the goat), looked very impressive at times. A physically imposing player at 6'4, he was often seen fleetly weaving through the Timber's defense early on. Hoxie placed two shots on goal around the mid-point of the 1st half, but both harmlessly fell into the hands of keeper Steve Cronin.

"We had a nervous 1st half," said Cronin. "But after the 1st half we got our legs under us and then we really pressured them and it was only a matter of time before we got a goal."

In the 2nd half, the Timbers came out firing. Looking much more confident and playing aggressively, the team took control of the game, firing shots, and putting pressure on the Rhinos defense. The Timbers outshot Rochester 12-5 in the 2nd half and 15-9 for the game. They also earned themselves 2 corner kicks and really seemed like a different team after halftime.

"We knew we had to come out and put a better performance out on the field." said midfielder Ryan Pore. "(The 1st half) wasn't good enough. We had a great crowd behind us, the last thing we wanted to do was send them home disappointed."

Any fears of a let down were put away by Pore late in the game. In the 85th minutes, midfielder Brian Farber would send a corner kick across the box. The Rhino's Hoxie would jump up into the ensuing scrum and unbelievably hit the ball with his hand. The Timbers would be awarded a penalty kick and moments later Pore would calmly blast the game-winner past Rochester keeper Scott Vallow. Not phased by the moment or by the deafening crowd surrounding him, Pore would give a "pump fake" or a slight stutter step, throwing off Vallow's timing before drilling the ball into the left corner of the goal.

"I was looking to get Vallow down on the ground early and fortunately he went down. " said Pore. "I saw it and was able to slide it home the other way and it's all history from there."

Leading up to the goal, the Timbers turned it on and really began to mount their attack. They poured on the pressure, feeding off the energy of the crowd, and earned themselves shot after shot on goal. One of the best scoring chances came in the 58th minute, when defender Mamadou Danso would send a spectacular leaping header off a corner kick just inches wide of the goal. It should also be noted that substitues Brian Farber, George Josten, and Alex Nimo seemed to change the tone of the game and help spark the team in the 2nd half. Near the 80th minute, Nimo would receive a cross that skimmed past the keeper, resulting in an open net shot that would miss wide.

The Timber's defense performed well overall. Newcomers Quavas Kirk and Ian Joy both looked good and seemed to get better as the game went on. Also, Steven Cronin earned his 1st shutout of the season, making seven saves on the night, although he was never truly threatened.

"A shutout is a shutout." said Cronin. "The guys in front of me played great tonight, so it was definitely a team shutout."

Throughout the evening, the team really seemed to be picked up by the emotionally charged crowd. The Timber's Army waved flags, sang songs, and lit off their smoke bombs. Timber Joey revved up his chainsaw. Fireworks were lit. The atmosphere was truly electric all night. Once again, Portland showed why its indeed deserving of the name Soccer City USA.

"The crowd is great. I love them." Said Nimo, who had his name chanted when he entered into the game. "They actually give me the confidence when I come in, you know, to settle in and play your game. The crowd gives the team, not just me, but everybody great confidence."

Seriously, what a night. It's truly amazing when you have very high expectations for something and then that something not only lives up to you expectations, but completely blows them away. Amazing.

The Timbers will have 4 days off before their next game. They'll get some rest and then head back to practice to try and work out some of the kinks. Certainly, far from a perfect performance, the Timbers will need to continue and build up their chemistry. So, how does that happen?

"It takes place on and off the field." said Cronin. "And this is a tight knit group, in both places. So it's just a matter of playing more and figuring each other out."

And what else might the Timbers work on in practice this week?

"We could work on our team shape." said Pore. "We got a little spread out in the 1st half and couldn't get into a rhythm until later in the game, so those are things we need to work on."

"We're gonna continue to bang away." said Keel. "Work on keeping the ball and not giving it away so easy. And (work on) staying organized a little better."

"It's going to be a tough week." said midfielder Rodrigo Lopez. "We got two big games coming up. I think we have decent squad and we can handle it well and hopefully we can get some points next week."

Next up the Timbers will play host to AC St. Louis at PGE Park Thursday at 7pm. It will be two teams first ever meeting.

And lastly, perhaps Stephen Keel sums it all up the best....

"We'll take the result. It wasn't our best day in terms of soccer, but you're gonna have those days, you know, and good teams just find ways to win."

Other Game Notes: Ryan Pore lead the Timbers with 6 shot attempts. George Josten had 3 shots, Alex Nimo with 2 shots. Andrew Hoxie lead Rochester with 5 shots ..... Assistant Coach Amos MaGee served as acting Head Coach tonight. Timber's Head Coach Gavin Wilkinson is in England doing some EPL scouting and other big-time stuff. He'll be back on the sidelines for Thursday night's game..... Newcomers Doug DeMartin and OJ Obatola got their first regular season starts for the Timbers. Interesting to see the new guys get a look. Mandjou Keita is still returning to town after being on loan in India, but will be back in time for St. Louis.

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