Photo by Joe Nicholson/USA Today Sports Images
By JASON MITCHELL
SEATTLE– If any team needed a break, it was the Seattle Sounders.
Ravaged by injuries, suspensions, and international call-ups for much of the summer, the Sounders came into Sunday afternoon’s match against the Portland Timbers having lost nine of their last 11 matches, out of the playoff spots, desperate for a win.
And a break they got. Despite being outplayed for much of the match, the Sounders escaped with a 2-1 win over the Timbers in front of 64,358 at CenturyLink Field.
“They are tired,” Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said about a team playing its fifth game in 15 days. “They know they can play better, but they also know they got a result through grit and determination today. They set a goal for themselves today to get to three points. It didn’t matter how.”
No surprise, Designated Player Obafemi Martins was involved in both Seattle goals.
The Sounders first struck in just the sixth minute. Nelson Valdez took the ball off Nat Borchers’ feet with a powerful tackle in the penalty area. Martins then recovered, beating both Alvas Powell and George Fochive to the ball and converting past Adam Kwarasey from 7 yards out for the 1-0 lead and his team-leading 10th goal of the season.
Outshot and overmatched throughout the first half, the Sounders nonetheless doubled the lead in the 42nd minute on a Brad Evans penalty kick. Referee Alan Kelly awarded the penalty after Kwarasey took down Martins in the penalty area. Timbers players and coaches vehemently argued the call.
“The reality is I call a spade a spade and the official was very poor today,” said Portland head coach Caleb Porter, who also suggested Kelly was “sleepwalking” through the game.
After threatening time and again on set pieces, Portland finally found the back of the net in the 58th minute when an unmarked Jack Jewsbury scored from just 6 yards out off a Diego Valeri corner kick.
New Designated Player Lucas Melano missed a golden opportunity to equalize in the 78th minute, finding himself alone at the penalty spot but skipping a side volley past the left post. The Timbers earned a free kick at the end of stoppage time, but Valeri’s shot deflected off Valdez and curled out of bounds.
It was a disappointing end for a Portland team that controlled long stretches of the match.
“They had nothing,” Porter said of the Sounders. “I can’t even remember one time during the game when they broke us down. Their high-powered, big-budget team had trouble.”
With the win, the Sounders (12-13-2, 38 points) have now won two of three in league play and have reclaimed the sixth and final Western Conference playoff spot from the San Jose Earthquakes. While still missing Clint Dempsey and Andreas Ivanschitz to leg injuries, the club as a whole is rounding into health as it hits the homestretch.
Seattle now leads the all-time MLS series with their archrivals 7-3-4, and has never lost to the Timbers at CenturyLink Field (5-0-2).
For their part, the Timbers (11-9-7, 40 points) lost their first match in five games and saw their standings lead over the Sounders and Earthquakes reduced to just two points.
They were not, however, holding their heads after the match.
“I wouldn’t say we ‘almost’ outplayed them,” said Borchers. “We definitely outplayed them tonight. Any casual (fan) would agree with that statement. We also played as a team.”
Portland nearly equalized just minutes after Martins opened the scoring, but Jewsbury’s short-range header off a free kick sailed just wide right.
Missing midfielder Diego Chara to suspension, the Timbers nonetheless dominated the remainder of the first half — putting up 13 shots and earning six corners in the process — but goalkeeper Stefan Frei delivered a pair of big saves to keep the Timbers off the scoreboard.
“I think he is one of the top goalkeepers in the league,” said Schmid.
Looking forward, the Sounders host Toronto FC next weekend, while the Timbers host Sporting KC on Sept. 9.
I like when coaches do more than the typical “coach speak” and are honest and open. But Porter goes way beyond that. And you can see how what he says filters down to the team. Portland always deserves better, rarely blame themselves or accept an opposing team was better.
I agree that Portland outplayed Seattle, everyone does, including Sigi.
I guess Porter is perfect for Paulson.
Also, others have shown that Portland’s starting 11 had a higher payroll than Seattle’s yesterday. So, the “high powered, big budget” comment was incorrect.
Travis,
I think that your closing in on the root of the issue for Portland. There’s been an air of entitlement since they joined the league and I think that this comes from the top. I love the matches there and have attended both pre-MLS and MLS. The supporters are great. Involved and generally knowledgable, but they also think that they’re one of the “chosen teams.”
As far as the team goes, I think that the players have been over-hyped. The potential is there, but it seems to come up short, which like you said, is likely the product of a lack of accountability.
Sorry, but this is patently false: “they also think that they’re one of the “chosen teams.”. We know that Seattle, LA, NYs and Toronto are the chosen teams. Remember the whole Mix Diskerud saga? We are not a chosen team, the only we are chosen for is having our fanbase plastered on every other MLS marketing campaign.
And out of curiosity: which players do you think are overhyped? I’m in a bubble so don’t know what others say about them.
Steve I think that you misunderstood. My impression, and its just that is that ownership thinks that they’re one of the chosen teams and that this has trickled down to the supporters to a great degree. Portland is in the next tier that provide the type of experience and rivalry that is desired. You did correctly identify the 4 who Daddy Don will readily accommodate.
Nagbe fits the over-hyped monicker. Don’t get me wrong, I think that he could be a very good player, but not under Porter who enables him to mediocre. That’s the issue really. Porter identifies talent, but they don’t progress and in some cases I think that they regress. I don’t see players reaching their potential under Porter and in some cases I think that they regress. Urrutti is a player who think has been massively over-hyped.
They really should have out played Seattle:
Seattle 8 matches in Aug with two CMs where One was defender at beginning of the year the other was in Sweden.
PT – 5 last one played Friday 8/21 in PT
Seattle in that time played 8/22 At RSL and Wed in Honduras.
In reality we should have seen PT dominating the action, and we should have also seen Portland being Portland – can’t hit the goal – should have won with 4 or 5 goals.
If it wasn’t Pt and Porter coaching I might actually like their team. Really like Adi and the kid from Argentina.
Go Sounders
Winning ugly is the least of us fans’ concerns right now.
Neither team looked particularly good. Its better to win ugly than loose ugly.
Brad Evans should take pks for USMNT
Sounders might just finish ahead of splinters
Joke of a penalty call. Seattle was very lucky to come away with 3 points. Portland’s finishing was dissapointing.
I don’t really see where the controversy was on the PK? It may not have been intentional, but he didn’t get any ball and clobbered Martins en route to goal. If anything, Portland should feel fortunate it wasn’t a red.
Completely agree it was a PK, it wasn’t a clear shot, it could be determined to have been a tap around the goalie. In that case it was the goalie impeding his progress, which is no difference than a field player doing it and it being a foul. People need to stop listening to every call Twellman makes as he is wrong a lot
Penalty for the challenge. No red because Kwarasey didn’t prevent a scoring opportunity. Not my opinion, just how I think the scab would justify it. He’s a poor referee who shouldn’t be here anymore. He could have made it an indirect free kick for impeding the progress of an opponent. This would have made more sense since he didn’t even issue a yellow card which indicates that he didn’t feel the challenge was dangerous.
Portland needs to give Jakes Glesson a try. He can’t be worse.
The goalie legitmately came out to go for the ball and stopped as Martins got to it first and hit it toward goal. The goalir was in a standing stationary position after that and Martin’s forward momentum after hitting it on goal made him run into the goalie after the play. What was the goalie suppossed to do? Jump out of the way? You can’t just crash into a person after shooting and it’s a foul if the other player has a reason to be there and it’s incidental contact.
He was a little late anticipating the pass and coming off of his line. I do agree that he stopped and it is wrong that the scab decided that it was challenge. Once the whistle was blown erroneously, the scab could have backed away from it and awarded an indirect free kick. The problem with this guy is that he is clearly influenced by the home crowd. He needs to go back to the Airtricity League where the matches are played in front of three drunks and Irish Wolfhound.
A thousand times this. FIFA rules explicitly state a goalie has the right to the space they occupy. AK did not move. He did not make a challenge. Martins ran into him. No PK. Until keepers can levitate there is no way that is a PK.
That is a foul in the middle of the field and it is also a foul in the box, so it is a PK.
If keeper wins the ball there is no foul, he missed the ball. A foul by the keeper doesn’t have to be a yellow, he wasn’t reckless and didn’t endanger the safety so no yellow. There can be fouls without yellows.
Come on Dawg, everyone knows that referees use their discretion when calling fouls in the box. We’ve seen plenty of instances of fouls that would have been called in the middle of the pitch were let go in the box because the ball was well outside of the control of the player. Martins wasn’t getting to that pass. In end its done, but my real point is that the scab has no business officiating in MLS.
Sounders lucky in this one. Timbers outplayed them by miles