Well, there goes that dream. The Portland Timbers season is over after another 4-0 thrashing at the hands of San Diego FC in game 3 of the first round of the MLS Cup Playoffs. Anders Dreyer and Amahl Pellegrino took turns teeing off on Portland's hapless backline and advance to take on Minnesota United in the quarterfinals.
Lineups & Prematch
My mindset after game 2 would have been "If it ain't broke, dont fix it" if I was Phil Neville, but I'm certainly not Phil Neville, who brought Jimer Fory back into the starting XI as a wing-back in a back-three setup. All I can say about the change is "I don't get it." Kamal Miller looked great at left back in a back four, and the team put together their best-looking performance against San Diego last weekend. This team isn't good enough to be chopping and changing lineups at this stage of the season.
Recap & Highlights
5' Goal San Diego, 1-0 - The worst possible start from the Portland Timbers, who were turned over on the wing by San Diego FC en-route to a customary Anders Dreyer goal against them. Valakari took the toward the box and delivered a floating cross for Dreyer to sweep home unmarked in the box. Jimer Fory was high up the pitch, and Miller was left on an island inside the penalty area as the potential MLS MVP opened the scoring.
17' Goal San Diego, 2-0 - Another calamity at the back for the Timbers, and in the blink of an eye they found themselves down 2-0 before the clock struck 20 minutes. Amahl Pellegrino dealt the final blow after an initial save from James Pantemis denied the first attempt, but the ease at which San Diego carved Portland's backline apart again is something that can't happen in a playoff game.
27' Chance Portland - Fory got on the end of a cross from Antony and powered a header down toward the ground that deflected off of Cristopher McVey, and somehow Pablo Sisniega got his knee down to save the attempt off the goal line.
29' Yellow Card Portland - Fory was shown a yellow card for a hard challenge from behind.
Halftime: San Diego FC 2 - 0 Portland Timbers
The first half played out like a carbon copy of game 1 in San Diego: The coaching staff got the defensive structure completely wrong as the hosts jumped out to a dominant early lead, the Timbers got back into the game a little bit, but at that point – 2-0 down on the road to the best team in the conference, the damage was already done.
It's like the players and coaching staff didn't learn any lessons from game 1, and didn't try to replicate anything well they did in game 2. Fory and Antony were nowhere near the level required in, and especially out of, possession, allowing San Diego's attackers free run after free run at Miller, Surman, and Zuparic.
Going forward, Velde hardly got a kick of the ball in San Diego's half. Da Costa showed for the ball often but wasn't decisive in his use of it, and Kevin Kelsy made a hash of any service that came his way.
46' Substitution Portland - Juan Mosquera came on for Fory at the break, switching back to the lineup/formation that worked so well for the Timbers in game 2.
53' Goal San Diego, 3-0 - Another clipped-back cross to the back post, and another goal for the hosts to pull further away from a Timbers team that looked lost in defense. Pellegrino again the beneficiary of the slack defense (or lack thereof from Juan Mosquera) to power home a volley that put San Diego out of sight.
56' Substitutions Portland - A triple-switch from Neville brought Cristhian Paredes, Pipe Mora, and Matias Rojas on for Diego Chara, Kevin Kelsy, and David da Costa.
61' Crossbar - Mosquera was able to deliver a cross onto Paredes' head in the boFux, unfortunately his glanced attempt thundered back off the crossbar. The Timbers recovered the ball and forced it back to Mosquera wide, but his cross was defended by Luca Bombino's face before it got to the danger area.
66' Yellow Card Portland - Paredes booked for a late challenge.
71' Yellow Card Portland - Ayala booked for a late challenge.
76' Substitution Portland - Gage Guerra replaced David Ayala.
79' Goal San Diego, 4-0 - Lozano with a free run at the backline before sending a cross to an even more free Dreyer at the back post to fire home. Nobody anywhere near him. Rinse, repeat.
80' Red Card Portland - Between not defending at all on San Diego's two second half goals, giving the ball away cheaply every other time he received it, and throwing a forearm into Chucky Lozano's neck to be sent off, the cameo from Juan Mosquera tonight is in contention for worst Timbers performance of all-time.
86' Yellow Card Portland - Kamal Miller booked for a late challenge.
Full Time: San Diego FC 4 - 0 Portland Timbers
Another year, another embarrassing effort in a resounding season-ending loss for the Portland Timbers under Phil Neville. Why do I say embarrassing? Because at no point tonight did the Timbers look like they were up for the fight.
San Diego capitalized on four of the easiest chances they will ever create because for some reason, the Portland Timbers have fullbacks who think they're wingers. Well, to be fair to Antony he actually is a winger, but you get my point. Jimer Fory and Juan Mosquera each had one good moment going forward tonight, but were detrimental to the team on three of the four goals conceded.
Diego Chara and David Ayala were chasing Tverskov and Valakari's shadows as San Diego beat Portland's press time and time again. Kristoffer Velde grabbed games 1 & 2 by the scruff of the neck and dragged his team forward, he was near non-existent tonight, as were David da Costa and Kevin Kelsy as well.
Did I expect the Timbers to beat San Diego tonight? No, I thought it was a long shot. But I did think that if they played, to a man, the level they're capable of, that they had a chance to get to penalties where all bets are off. The fact that they didn't, in fact it was quite the opposite, is what makes this loss so hard to take.
I've argued that Phil Neville isn't solely to blame for Portland's struggles to end the season, but I've come to the conclusion that his Achilles heel is trying to out-think and tinker with what has proven to work. Prime example: There was zero reason to change the tactics at all from what was rolled out last week.
The team hasn't looked remotely consistent or comfortable with a lineup for months, and when they did in game 2, it was immediately scrapped for a new formation and pressing structure. Completely self-inflicted wounds.
And now another uncertain offseason full of questions, and big decisions needing to be made, begins for a team that has disappointed supporters once again. One thing that is certain is that we'll be here to cover it. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts for following along for the ride this season here at Stumptown Footy. We couldn't, and wouldn't want to, do it without your support.
