| 25 March 2011
For many, the Portland Timbers opening season 3-1 loss to the Rapids was a disappointment. And while it certainly was disheartening to fall short on opening day after such a promising undefeated preseason, the setback wasn’t as horrific as most are making it out to be.
Portland faced off against the defending champions on their home pitch with every single one of their starting players available. The Timbers, on the other hand, were without two sure starters, Sal Zizzo and Troy Perkins -- and a third, if you include Darlington Nagbe as an eventual starter once he fully recovers from his hernia surgery.
But that is not to say that the club was without its faults. The Timbers appeared to be nervous and unprepared for the speed of the MLS. The offense was clumsy and the defense looked overmatched. Throw in the fact that Timbers' owner Merritt Paulson wasn’t even given the customary visiting team suite and you can bet that all followers of the team – players, owners, and fans alike – were not happy with last Saturday’s end result.
Still, if you look at the game as two halves, Portland never quit and the players stepped up in the second, winning the final 45 minutes 1-0.
Further, The Rapids’ forward combination of Omar Cummings and Conor Casey is as dominant as you’ll see on an MLS club. It was a tough draw for Portland’s MLS debut, but the Timbers defenders can use this as a learning point to springboard from and improve upon.
They’ll get their shot at redemption tomorrow when the club faces Toronto FC and Dwayne De Rosario at BMO Field. Toronto opened its season with a 4-2 loss to the Timbers' fellow expansion team, the Vancouver Whitecaps.
As the season is currently only one game in, it’s tough to accurately gauge where teams stand and whether or not the Whitecaps are as strong as they appeared against their rival Canadians or if it was just a one game flash of brilliance that will soon die out.
Regardless, the Timbers frontline has to be feeling optimistic about the opportunity to follow up Saturday’s drubbing by going up against a Toronto club that just allowed four goals to their opponent. This time, the Reds will be at home, however, and you can be sure they won’t want to drop a second game in a row to a second expansion team in a row.
Kenny Cooper was the one Timber that was able to successfully reach the back of the net in the opener, and if history has any say, he’ll be expected to appear on the scoreboard again against Toronto. In Cooper’s last four games against the Reds, he’s scored a total of six goals. This dates back to 2008 and 2009 before his time in Germany, but it is still an impressive feat that he’ll attempt to continue.
One hindrance for Saturday is that it’s looking like the Timbers will be without defender Steve Purdy, who has been called up for national team duty with El Salvador. If he misses the match, David Horst will be the likely replacement.
The Timbers were desperately missing the stellar play of Sal Zizzo in their first game. He ignited a significant portion of the team’s offense during the preseason and his absense was apparent as the ball movement was lacking without his playmaking ability. The sooner he, Nagbe, and Perkins are back in the lineup, the sooner Portland can begin to establish more of a rhythm on the field.
In the meantime, the team’s opening game jitters will probably have gone away for the most part by the start of the Toronto match, and the Timbers will have a fresh chance to demonstrate what they’re really made of. Stopping Toronto's De Rosario will be a start.
photo: portlandtimbers.com
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