The Portland Timbers dropped 2 points in the final 2 minutes of their match Saturday evening, allowing AC St Louis to score a goal in stoppage time and tie the game at 1-1 moments before the final whistle. Instead of coming away with 3 points in the standings from a victory, Portland (3-1-2) will have to settle for just 1 point instead with the disappointing draw. In the 66th minute, the Timbers would take the lead on Madjou Keita's first goal of the season - a steal by Ryan Pore, a pass to Keita near the top of the box, who would gather then turn and fire a skimming shot past St Louis keeper Alec Dufty. However, after dominating the action and controlling possession for a majority of the match, in stoppage time AC St Louis forward Mike Ambersley would stumble upon an intended shot by a teammate in the box then quickly blast his own shot past keeper Steve Cronin, eliciting groans and murmurs of disbelief from the 10, 057 in attendance at PGE Park. A costly slip by the Timbers.
"We're frustrated." Said leading scorer Ryan Pore. "We dropped 5 points in the last 2 games at home at that's one thing we wanted to do was make sure we get 3 points for every home game, so frustration level is high, but we have to keep going."
"I think the guys were tired." said defender and team captain Ian Joy. "You have to not forget that we played 2 games in 3 days. I think that the motivation, the energy from the guys coming out from the very first whistle was fantastic and we really pushed it. When you get to the last 5 minutes of a game there should be that extra motivation to actually walk away with a win. Maybe you lost your concentration in the last 5-10 minutes and then they put a lot of pressure on and they've got nothing to lose, they go for it and luckily for them they get the break."
"I thought we played well." said midfielder Alex Nimo. "I thought it was a great 1st half and 2nd half, a great game, we worked hard. The last 5 minutes (there was) a lack of concentration and we need to pick that up....we should have scored more goals...I think a couple of the guy's legs got tired, we need to push through that. I think the biggest part is we need to stay more focused until the whistle is blown.... we really needed that win."
Portland has yet to play up to their full potential, still trying to come together and find the right chemistry after adding many talented and new pieces to their roster this off-season. After a stunning 1-0 loss to bottom dwelling Baltimore at home on Thursday evening, coupled with tonight's heart-sinking draw, fears and anxieties about this team living up to its lofty expectations are starting to build. Coach Gavin Wilkinson took the team immediately into the locker room upon the finish of the game for a closed door meeting.
"We outplayed them from start to finish, minus one opportunity that they received." said a fiery and intense Wilkinson after the game. "We ask again that a player win individual battles and have a level of determination and work ethic to deny opportunities, it just didn't happen that way. I think most of the chances we had were very good chances. It could have been 5 zero. It's just that...this game again (sigh)....
Added Wilkinson, " We cannot go into the last 5 minutes and not hang on to a 1-0 lead, that's mentally an issue."
When asked what was said to the team and why he felt the need to talk to them privately so soon after the end of the match, Wilkinson replied, "Just trying to create a mentality on the field where we're going to work for every single ball, that we're going to give a level of respect for anything that's thrown at us. That's a team that left the stadium tonight that doesn't deserve a single point and we gave it to them. And that's the way I looked at it, they didn't create it, we gave it to them.....It's was fresh in our minds and it needed to be spoken about...it's easier to address it and think about it when it's this fresh. "
The hardest part to swallow was that the Timbers played well for almost the entire match. They out-shot AC St Louis 14-3 for the game and 7-1 in the 1st half. Portland was creative, aggressive, and moved the ball around the field efficiently. Not only did they dominate offensively, but on the defensive side they were solid as well, shutting down St Louis' attacks before they could evolve into anything seriously threatening.
"I thought this was our most complete game." Said Pore. "Unfortunately for us we conceded in stoppage time, so we didn't put the full 90 together but like I said it was maybe our most complete game we've played so far, so we just have keep improving."
"I think you have to look and take the positives from this game." said Joy. "It's very hard to do right now after a letting a goal in during the last 5 minutes, but you know, for 85 minutes we dominated that game. We played with a little bit more direct football and put a lot of pressure on them from the very first minute....Unfortunately, we're not taking our chances, if you don't score goals you're not going to win football games. 1-nil wasn't good enough at home with this crowd and with the motivation that all the guys have we should be taking our chances. The confidence in front of goal maybe just is not there at the moment, although one positive that's coming from it is that we're getting in fantastic positions, we're creating those chances and as long as we keep creating those chances the goals will eventually go in."
After Friday's practice, the team was determined to come out with more focus and bring an intensity and aggressiveness right from the start. They pushed the issue offensively against St. Louis creating chances steadily throughout the evening, often one-on-one situations against defenders deep in the final third. However, similar to Thursday's loss the team couldn't convert on their opportunities against St Louis' defense.
"It's hard to play a team like (St Louis) and play pretty football against a team like that," said Joy. "Becuase you can continue to keep the ball for 90 minutes of the game in the back and midfield, keep passing it back and forward, and it would look beautiful, but unfortunately you're not going anywhere. When you play against teams that defend for the whole game you gotta break you down in some way."
Certainly the outcome cannot be blamed on an overall lack of effort. The team worked hard for most of the match, spreading shots all around the field. Seven Portland players fired shots on goal with OJ Obatola leading the way with 6 and Pore adding 5 chances.
"We looked for our strikers as soon as possible." said Joy. "The strikers did an excellent job of holding up the ball and fighting for the ball because they were playing against some big boys back there, so it wasn't very easy for them. But today we decided we were going to go a little more direct, which means that we're trying to hit out strikers early and try to work of them, get luck bounces, get into the box, and put pressure on them....it's very hard to beat teams when you're playing pretty football and they got 10 guys behind the ball."
There were a few changes to the lineup Saturday evening, including Alex Nimo and OJ Obatola being placed into the starting rotation. Nimo played especially well, making his presence felt from end to end, defensively being a pest and on the offensive side making sure he was active and involved on the attack. Doug DeMartin, Rodrigo Lopez, Bright Dike, and Tony McManus would each be subbed into the match at different times to try and spell starters who were likely worn down. Depth is considered a strong point of this club and Wilkinson tried to use it to his advantage.
"I didn't make one substitution for poor performance," said coach Wilkinson. "It was players that worked hard, players that had exhausted themselves. When you bring players in off the bench you expect them to have a positive impact. You expect them to win challenges, you expect them to work a little bit harder, and you don't expect them to let down the other players."
"We have a great squad," added coach Wilkinson."And if the players aren't going to come in and do their jobs, then we have another great player that will do their job. And again if we have to create a sense of urgency and a sense of desire to be on this team, and its the little things that add up, then we'll do it."
A match with a plethora of close Portland scoring chances, the team will have to put the sting of this draw behind them and focus on finding a way to finish plays. To put things further in perspective, St Louis keeper Alec Dufty was forced to make 5 saves on 14 shots, while the Timber's Steve Cronin had no save on the night, an incredible statistic. Still, with Rochester inactive this past week, Portland is currently tied for 1st in the league standings with 11 total points. The Timbers will have 3 days to think about this result and will resume play on Wednesday evening at home against Montreal. The Impact are one of the tougher teams in the league and played Portland to draw back in April, so the Timbers better get it together and get it together quickly.
"We've got a fantastic fan base here," said Joy. "(They) really support the team through thick and thin and that's what I call a real football fan, a soccer fan, you know, actually sticks by the team no matter what's going on, and this team does that and this team has that."
- Full Box Score -
* Photo provided by Allison Andrews @ Timber Mill
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