Honestly though, the team looked good. Really hoping we keep Sava long term. He and Rusnak are just fun to watch out there.
We are actually in playoff position if two of these three happen: Houston loses three games in hand. Dallas loses two games in hand. San Jose draws or loses two games in hand. That said, this was a solid win under pressure against a good team.
I think we still have to win 3 of the last 4 to have a more solid chance at it. That being said, with teams having to make up games it means more weeks with 3 games. I'm sure at least one team will drop points, but will it be enough points? I'd feel more confident if FCD and Houston only had one game in hand, but with 2 and 3, it seems unlikely that enough points would be dropped. What's crazy is Toronto at 59 points. They have 21 more points than us, with two games in hand. They're having a great season.
We play Seattle at home next week, then L.A. In L.A. If you believe? You have to believe in six points. Perhaps not yet enough but damn if this team keeps playing like it has been lately? It kinds makes me think of 09.
No game is a gimme, but away games at LAG and Colorado are very winnable. A victory at home next week would be a great start to making this happen, but Seattle hasn't lost since mid-June.
I feel like one of LAG or Colorado will be a trap game in which we either lose or draw. Road games are always harder in the league, so I have a feeling we won't get the 6 points there. Seattle is due for a loss at some point, I don't see them continuing that run until the end of the season. Hopefully the loss is against us. The end of the season will be crazy I think. In the back of my mind I feel like we're going to lose against SKC, but if we did manage to win against Sea, LA, and Colorado, we might just be on the right run of form to get a result against SKC, especially if that result gets us into, or ensures us a playoff spot. I still think we barely miss the playoffs, but man Petke has made me a believer over the second half of the season. It's pretty impressive how much he turned around our season, especially since Yura has been trash, Barrett has been injured, and Silva was turned into a passable forward.
Great win. There isn't a team in MLS I despise more than the Timbers. They're a diving, flopping, hacking, whining bunch of bastards. Can't stand the way they play. Or they're crybaby coach.
If remaining games were against Dallas and/or Houston, that could help immensely, like the win against SJ does, but that's unfortunately not the case. Houston, Dallas, and San Jose are on track for about 46 points. RSL has more wins than Hou or Dal and a better GD than SJ, so RSL has the tiebreakers against each, but needs to pass or catch two of them. 2-2-0 (WDL) gives RSL close to a coin flip, because it beats eight points (2-2-2) from Hou or Dal and seven (2-1-2) from SJ. 3-0-1 would be far better; I think odds would be better than even there.
Quality win. Our offense is getting pretty dangerous. What i enjoyed most was the relentlessness of our pressure on the ball. Even Yura (who again, looks more fit) is pressing at midfield. Kyle did good things and was hounding their most dangerous player (Valeri) constantly - but it's sad to see him a step slow on every run. Luke had a couple of terrible giveaways but his pressure was nails.
Honestly couldn't care less about college sports. Green Bay got trashed though. For a short time, I thought they might make a comeback, but that was very short lived.
Our recent form has been really promising, but we hadn't really played anyone (outside the losses at Montreal and Vancouver) that I would consider a good team. This game was different and it made me nervous. While Portland is not the best team we've played, the quality they had was apparent. To get points here would require a truly good performance. I've been on the Petke bandwagon about 95%. I was still a bit hesitant for his faith in players like Wingert and some other minor things. To start Acosta here showed me he really is looking to both win games now, and develop young players that have the potential. I pulled that lagging 5% on board when the starting XI was announced. Remember earlier this season when the first 15 minutes of RSL games was the worst? We'd give up some horribly comedic goal and then put ourselves in a position of chasing the game? I really don't miss that. The start of this game was so much fun to watch. The guys in red wanted to play. They wanted to win. They believed in each other and the system designed by the manager. For the first 30ish minutes of this game, we looked a legitimate playoff team. Like not just barely making the playoff type team, but one you don't want to have to play type. That we only had one goal to show for it was somewhat disappointing. But good god what a goal that was. Rusnak reminds me of KB in that you can tell when he's recently played with his national team. The guy already carries a pretty high level of play. When he's back from international duty, though, he's at another level. Albert wanted the ball more than usual in this one and he wanted a goal. The one he got - he essentially murdered the ball. The disappointing part of this game was the stretch during the middle third. It felt like the halftime whistle couldn't come fast enough. Credit to Portland for making a minor tweak to their gameplan. I noticed they were playing a variation of high press where they didn't put pressure on the ball directly in RSL's defensive third, but they gave essentially no outlets for our defenders and holding mids. Because of this, our exciting front line got bogged down and eventually lost the energy that made the first third of the game so fun to watch. This is where we're missing a good box to box midfielder. Not that Luke isn't a good player, but we needed someone to break the press Portland had applied. Luke and KB simply weren't the guys. I've talked a lot of shit on Tony Beltran's offensive abilities in my time. For the first third of this game, it felt like he was doing everything to prove me wrong. Kudos to Tony for that. I'll gladly eat crow with that kind of play continued. I'm not sure what was said at halftime, but please, Petke, never say it again. Portland mowed us over from the opening whistle for the half. Valeri finally got their goal that, to anyone without bias in the game, could see coming for quite awhile. The right back for Portland deserves a ton of credit on that goal. He put in a hell of a ball and his movement froze mutliple RSL players from doing the defensive work they normally would. I expected an immediate response but it honestly didn't come. In fact, I was getting really anxious around the 60th minute. Something needed to change for RSL or we were going to draw at best and most likely lose. Then the magic of Savarino came out. We have to keep this kid next year. There is no way around it. Priority number one, honestly, is getting the option on the back of the loan completed. Easy enough, hopefully, for our GM. The injury to Silva is the most concerning thing off the back of this game. Yura was awful. I don't care about the energy or the improved fitness or anything like that. He's shit. His chemistry with the rest of the team is shit. If Silva's injury is significant then our minuscule playoff hopes are once again dashed. I get why Petke did it, but I never want to see RSL play a 5 man backline again. We were inviting the Timbers into our defensive third with how far we sat back. It was more a time wasting sub than anything, I get that, but please never do that again. Which reminds me, our defense is at least twice as good with Marcelo back there compared to Horst. I am very bullish on the M.Silva/Glad pairing right now. Caleb Porter is annoying as ********
15 to 32 said: The injury to Silva is the most concerning thing off the back of this game. Yura was awful. I don't care about the energy or the improved fitness or anything like that. He's shit. His chemistry with the rest of the team is shit. If Silva's injury is significant then our minuscule playoff hopes are once again dashed. What a shame that this is true. Although Yura did have a couple sweet passes and one that Plata totally screwed up that should have been a great chance on goal that ended up being an easy pick up by Attinella. I love Yura but for whatever reason he just can't get on the same page as the rest of the team. He has lost all confidence and it's obvious. Which reminds me, our defense is at least twice as good with Marcelo back there compared to Horst. I am very bullish on the M.Silva/Glad pairing right now. 100% Caleb Porter is annoying as ******** 1000000%
...some parroting of 15 and some disagreements... - It was Becks and Luke trying to handle Nagbe and Valeri...considering the gulf in athleticism and talent, I thought RSL's two battled gamely. Truth be told, these are 2 positions of concern for RSL going forward. - If I hear Dunny act confused about the fact that Rusnak actually strikes the ball with the proper surface (not the laces!!! There is a bone that is located under the side of your laces...you hit the middle of the ball with the hardest part of your foot (see afore-mentioned bone) and watch the movement you can get) i'm going to put my foot through a wall. For YEARS the US has had national team players who cannot hit a shot properly, and Dunny was on the f-ing Olympic qualifying team. The fact he still doesn't know how to hit a ball is STUNNING! Oh, all credit to Albert. His technique is impeccable. Watch him kids. And ignore ANYONE who tells you to kick with your laces. - I do worry when Plata ignores his defensive responsibilities. I get that he acts as an outlet and tends to slide between the other teams' lines, but he does put a LOT of pressure on RSL's outside left back and on the center mids to have to over-rotate. This is obviously a risk that Petke has decided he is willing to take. I like when RSL gets a lead to allow it to sub in Brooks. He takes his D responsibilities very seriously and forces the other team to change what they are doing. - I disagree with 15 on the back 5. Once Horst went in and RSL's outside backs could focus on pressuring the cross, I did not have any fear that crosses would lead to a goal as Horst and Silva are both very good in the air. If I'm RSL's opposition, I'm looking to attack up the gut against the center mids instead. (Led to dangerous free kicks.) - DAMN Yura was weak. He actually had a couple of opportunities to do what he used to do best, running at players with a head of steam. He did NOTHING with those opportunities. To be fair, he should have had an assist as he fed Plata perfectly. (Plata's 1st touch was a disaster on that one and cost him a goal.) - I am taking 100% credit and blame for where RSL is now. For the Galaxy away game, due to desparation, I broke out a 2007 Kreis RSL T and wore it for each of the wins since then. I did not have the opportunity to watch the Montreal or Van games, so no T, so no win. Yes, the T will be on (still unwashed since the Galaxy game of course) for the Sounders game on Sat.
Interesting stat time: Pato Plata took 8 shots in thsi game - twice as many as any other player. That he only had one on frame is simply not good enough. We outshot the timbers 19-13 but only put 4 on target. We had 7 shots blocked - our second highest mark of the season behind the 10 we had blocked in the 0-0 draw against Houston. Our possession stats are concerning. We were at just over 48% possession, but we only had 533 touches (lowest since road trip to Seattle). We only attempted 357 passes (lowest since Seattle). We only completed 264 of those (lowest since Seattle) for a success rate of 74%. Portland had better numbers in every passing category but three: corners, throw in passes, and key passes. The last one being of utmost importance - we had nearly double their amount for 17. Rusnak with 4. Highest by any player (Valeri had 2). Petke must have talked about individual confidence on the ball, because we attempted 14 dribbles in this game. Highest since the road trip to Montreal - a game we played much more as individuals. Only 36% of those were successful, though, which was our third worst number of the season. The two halfs of Yura Movsisyan: He contributed 2 key passes in his short stint. He was disposed 5 times (next highest player in game had 3). Portland tried their best to force teh ball through Luke and KB instead of Rusnak - a smart move. Luke touched the ball more than any other RSL player and lead the team in attempted & completed passes. Kudos to Nagbe - he completed 92% of his passes. The only RSL player in the top 5 for pass % was Glad at 87%. Rusnak was just behind him at 85% The heat maps are interesting to look at. Rusnak drifted right towards Savarino while Silva dropped in more to the left with Plata. Essentially making it a 4-2-4 on the night. Overall, the stats were promising considering the opponent.