| 03 April 2011
The Timbers will be returning home with their heads held high after yesterday’s 1-1 draw versus the New England Revolution. Despite the odds stacked against them, the team was able to weather the storm, and gained their first point in the MLS standings as a result.
Revolution head coach Steve Nicol expressed his frustrations after the match: “We’re just disappointed all around. There were very few things about tonight. I guess if you’re not on your game and you pick up points then you should be happy. But obviously we’re at home and we want three points. We don’t want one point.”
Portland had already played a game earlier in the week, was playing for the third time on the road, and could have easily given up after falling behind early on in the match. But the players kept fighting and, after a well timed strike by Jack Jewsbury, were able to even the score 1-1 just as the first half was coming to an end.
The play started out with a beautiful pass from Kenny Cooper to Jeremy Hall that was really the key to the goal. Hall had good positioning inside the box and kept himself between the defender and the ball. Delaying for just a second before making his next move, Hall drew the defense to him, which opened up Jewsbury for the clear shot at goal.
Coach John Spencer made multiple changes to the starting lineup for the team’s US Open Cup qualifying match against Chivas USA on Tuesday. Apparently finding a combination of players he liked, Spencer decided to roll out a similar lineup for yesterday’s match. Specifically, this is the group that started the game against New England:
GK Gleeson, D Purdy, D Brunner, D Horst, D Wallace, M Hall, M Marcelin, M Jewsbury, M Alhassan, F Cooper, F Perlaza.
The demoted players included Kevin Goldthwaite, Ryan Pore, and Peter Lowry, while David Horst, Kalif Alhassan, and James Marcelin were awarded with their first MLS start of the season.
David Horst was the surprising player of the match. A fringe starter at the beginning of the week, Horst was the difference maker in ensuring that New England didn’t tack on any extra goals in the second half of play. He continuously intercepted passes forward and held his position down tight.
Young goalie Jake Gleeson was also outstanding for the second straight time. Although not perfect, he demonstrated composure and leadership well beyond his years and continues to make big play after big play.
Darlington Nagbe even saw time on the field today as he made his MLS debut yesterday, checking in at the 66th minute. And while he looked slightly rusty and didn’t have a huge impact overall, Nagbe showed flashes of what he’s capable of – being a game changer and coming up with big plays.
All in all, it was a successful final road game for the Timbers as they now head home to Portland for two matches. While the win would have been ideal, the more important point is that the team continues to show steady improvement as each week passes.
And if the team can continue to impress, hopefully two wins in JELD-WEN Field will follow.
photo: portlandtimbers.com
video: 901MLS
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