Game Preview: Timbers Return to League Action Against Minnesota

Portland Timbers

VS

NSC Minnesota Stars

Thursday June 17th
7pm @ PGE Park
Online @ PortlandTimbers.com
Radio on 95.5 The Game

The Portland Timbers will play host to the expansion Minnesota Stars (formerly the Thunder) tonight at PGE Park, as the Timbers return to league action following a 3-0 victory in the first round of the US Open Cup Tuesday evening. Winless in their last seven league matches, the Timbers (3-4-4, 13pts) have fallen into a three-way tie for 7th place in the USSF standings overall and are only one step above last place in the USL conference. Out of the 12 teams in the league, the top 8 will qualify for the playoffs.

The Timbers have failed to meet the high expectations placed on the team heading into the season, with most fans and media outlets predicting the team to win the league or at least finish near the top of the standings. Defensive lapses and breakdowns in communication have been extremely costly and has lost the team key points in the standings. Another ongoing problem this season has been the team's inability to put the ball in the back of the net. Finishing chances, offensive continuity, and a lack of scoring support, have all contributed to the team's woes. Of the team's 10 goals this season, Ryan Pore has scored 8. When will somebody else step up?

How will the team address some of these issues? Will Coach Gavin Wilkinson make more changes? The team tinkered with rotation and formation on Tuesday against lowly Sonoma County, with players like Brian Farber and Take Suzuki in a more aggressive and attacking role. Will the team experiment with a 4-3-3 formation to try and produce more goals? Should they?

The next two games could have big implications in the standings for the Timbers. After tonight's match, they'll head up to Minnesota to finish the 2nd part of a home-and-home with the Stars on Saturday. Minnesota (4-7-2) is currently sitting in 6th place with 14 points in the overall league table, not bad for a team in it's first year of resurrection. The Stars have played well recently, pulling off a draw against Rochester and upsetting Montreal 1-0 in the last game. If the Timber's are unable to gain any point this week or worse yet, they give away points to Minnesota, then the team will dangerously drop further down the table as the season nears it's halfway point. Basically, Portland has dug itself a hole and if they aren't able to turn things around soon, the hole might become too deep to climb out of.