Game Preview: Timbers Resume Season Against Baltimore

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Portland Timbers
(3-0-1)

VS
Crystal Palace Baltimore
(0-3-1)

Thursday May 12th
7pm @ PGE Park
TV on FSN
Radio on 95.5 The Game
Streaming Online at PortlandTimbers.com

After 11 days off from league action, the Portland Timbers return to the field Thursday night as they take on first-year franchise Crystal Palace Baltimore at PGE Park. Still undefeated after their first four games (3-0-1), the Timbers used the extended break as an opportunity to rest and recuperate their bodies, as well as refocus mentally as a team. However, the luxury of a long early season hiatus can also have its consequences. With the inactivity, Portland had dropped down to 2nd place in the league standings now tied with Austin at 10 pts, while Puerto Rico has leap-frogged into 1st after a 1-0 victory against Montreal this past Saturday bringing their total to 11pts. Also, after such a long time away the potential for field rust is likely, as well as a possible let down in conditioning and endurance. The team has worked hard in practice over the last couple days to avoid any disappointments.

"It's about preparation. The coaching staff getting us prepared, they have a goal, they know our bodies and how we work." Said midfielder Brian Farber. "They built it up so we actually had a few days off earlier in the week and now we're building up towards Thursday night....I don't think the lay off would effect this group of guys, maybe some other group, but I don't think we take anything lightly. This team is so deep that everybody is challenging everybody constantly and you never wanna have a bad day."

One certainty is that the players are itching to get back in front of their fans. The atmosphere at practice Wednesday morning was jovial and energetic, the players clearly focused and working hard, but also visibly inspired to be playing again.

"The guys are just so excited to get back onto the field." Said defender and team captain Ian Joy. "Sometimes you can have that excitement kind of let you down, when you come back on the field and the performance is little bit dead, but the guys are just so excited.... we just want to get going and put a show on for our fans."

"We've put in some good training and had some time off as well, so it made everybody hungry to come back and play." Said keeper Steve Cronin. "We've had a good couple days and we're definitely juiced up. Guys just don't wanna leave the field today. We're all just so excited to play."

The Timber's enthusiasm will be unleashed Thursday night when they face Crystal Palace Baltimore, currently winless on the season and in last place. In 4 games Baltimore (0-3-1) has only managed 1 goal, the franchise's historic first score going to midfielder Mathew Mbuta in the team's 3-1 loss to Puerto Rico. Baltimore is a team still trying to find its way in its inaugural Division-2 season. With 11 players from last year gone and slew of new faces on the roster, Crystal Palace has yet to settle on a consistent rotation or develop an overall identity as a team. It's most notable achievement thus far is a scoreless draw against perennial contenders Vancouver. So, how do the Timbers avoid overlooking the competition?

"Again, it's about preparation. You can't overlook anybody, ever." Said Farber. "If you look at our streak last year, I guess that's why the streak stayed on, it's because every single game was important for us. And we're looking at this like any other game, it doesn't matter where they're on the table for us."

"You can't really look at what they've (done) so far in the year cause there's gonna be growing pains for all teams." answered Cronin. "They're a team that wants to get its first win. They had a good result in their last game at Vancouver, tied up 0-0 and that's not an easy place to play. They're going to come in here trying to get a similar result if not a win. You know, we need to win at home, that's important, and that's what we're going to do."

The keys to a Portland victory will lie in how well they adapt to Baltimore's defensive strategies and their ability to control tempo. USSF leading scorer and April's player of the month Ryan Pore leads the Timbers with 6 goals in 4 games, as well as assisting on Portland's only other score of the season by OJ Obatola. Pore's play this season can only be described as brilliant and his scoring has carried this resilient Timber's team through some stretches of rough play.

"It's been hard to look past Ryan. I think his success so far is a credit to how hard he works in training. The guy has a tremendous amount of confidence and that confidence that he's brought has spread throughout the team." Said Joy. "We have actually started the first couple games a bit slowly, but Ryan hasn't. He's performed very well in the games and saved us on many occasions. So now we're just trying to catch up with him..."

Much of Baltimore's focus will be on finding a way to contain Pore, most likely by crowding him to minimize his touches, as well as slowing down the tempo to try and decrease overall possessions throughout the game. When you're the less talented team often your best chance to win is to shorten the game.

"When the team coming in is an expansion team who only has 1 point they're probably going to play a little bit more defensively." Said Joy. "You have to take that into consideration and you gotta be patient in those types of games."

The wild card will be Mandjou Keita. The return of last season's leading scorer to the lineup should provide a boost for the Timber's not only on the field, but emotionally as well. However, it remains to be seen whether Keita will start the match or whether Coach Gavin Wilkinson will choose to ease him back into the rotation. Either way, Portland's enthusiasm is soaring and it's clear that they're bursting at the seams to hit the field.

"We're itching to play a full 90-minute game in front of our fans and entertain them." Said Joy. "It doesn't matter who comes here. The team could be an expansion team, the team could be a team of champions. We don't care. We just wanna come out and play and play well for our fans."

Key Players
Randi Patterson - A veteran forward with some MLS experience, Patterson played the last 2 seasons with the Charleston Battery, scoring 14 goals in his stay with the club. Patterson has appeared in every game for Baltimore, including starting and playing every minute of their last 2 matches.

Takuro Nishimura - "Nishi" played for the Timbers last season, making 13 appearances, and providing reliable and quality play out of the backfield for Portland all year. This season it's the same thing, just a different team. Nishimura is the only defender to start every game for Balitmore this season, look for him play some inspired soccer against his old mates.

Mathew Mbuta - With the honor of Baltimore's first franchise goal under his belt, the young 24 year old midfielder will certainly be looking for another against Portland. Mbuta is on his second go around with Baltimore, in 2007 he was a first-team all USL-2 member with 5 goals and 7 assists on the season. With 12 caps and 2 goals under his belt for the MLS' New York Redbulls in 2008, Mbuta is a player full of potential. Be sure to keep an eye on him Thursday.

USSF D-2 Pro League (current standings 5/13/10)

NASL Conference
NASL Conference	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
01. Vancouver Whitecaps FC	5	2	1	2	4	2	2	8
02. Montreal Impact	4	2	1	1	4	4	0	7
03. Carolina RailHawks	4	1	1	2	4	3	1	5
04. Miami FC Blues	4	0	0	4	3	3	0	4
05. AC St. Louis	6	1	5	0	3	10	-7	3
06. Crystal Palace Baltimore	4	0	3	1	1	5	-4	1
USL Conference
USL Conference	GP	W	L	T	GF	GA	GD	Pts
01. Rochester Rhinos	6	3	1	2	9	5	4	11
02. Portland Timbers	4	3	0	1	7	2	5	10
03. Austin Aztex	5	3	1	1	9	6	3	10
04. Puerto Rico Islanders	3	2	1	0	6	3	3	6
05. NSC Minnesota Stars	7	2	5	0	5	12	-7	6
06. Tampa Bay Rowdies	4	1	1	2	4	4	0	5