Major League Soccer - Providence Park
06/6/2015: Sunny, 30C/86F
Attendance: 21,314
Pre-game records: Portland Timbers (W5-D4-L5-19pts) vs. New England Revolution (W5-D6-L3-21pts)
Starting Line-ups:
Portland Timbers – GLK Adam Larsen Kwarasey, DEF Alvas Powell, DEF Liam Ridgewell, DEF Nat Borchers, DEF Jorge Villafana, MID Dairon Asprilla, MID Diego Chara, MID Will Johnson, MID Darlington Nagbe, MID Gaston Fernandez, FWD Maximiliano Urruti. Formation: 4-2-3-1.
New England Revolution: GLK Bobby Shuttleworth, DEF Chris Tierney, DEF Jose Goncalves, DEF Andrew Farrell, DEF London Woodberry, MID Andy Dorman, MID Scott Caldwell, MID Kelyn Rowe, MID Teal Bunbury, MID Lee Nguyen, FWD Charlie Davies. Formation: 4-2-3-1.
Game 15 of the MLS season:
After a hot and summery day in the Rose City of Portland, the Portland Timbers and the New England Revolution faced off in what was to be their only league meeting this season. Portland had come off of two straight victories and the most recent of those was a late smash and grab victory over the Colorado Rapids 2-1 away from home the previous weekend. New England had drawn their last two games coming into this match with a 2-2 draw at home to the LA Galaxy being their most recent fixture. Portland were sitting in 6th place in the western conference on 19pts, looking to continue to climb up the league and the Revolution sat in 2nd place in the eastern conference even though they only had two more points than the Timbers going into the game.
Match Report:
1st Half
3 mins: 2 chances within the first 3 minutes for the Timbers as first, Gaston Fernandez charges through the middle but scuffs his shot from 20 yards well wide. 90 seconds later, Darlington Nagbe bursts through the center and jinks his way to the edge of the penalty area but he drags his low shot just wide of the left hand post in a positive start for the Portland Timbers.
11 mins: A lovely piece of combination play between Chara, Nagbe, Fernandez and Urruti and it’s the latter who shoots from the edge of the penalty area and the ball lands just wide of the far post with Shuttleworth looking on stranded.
19 mins: The first real chance for the New England Revolution as Andy Dorman wriggles free of Liam Ridgwell and his shot is smothered by Kwarasey. Immediately after, Asprilla’s cross from the right hand side is cleared to Fernandez who lays it off for Will Johnson but his low shot misses the target to the left.
32 mins: A number of corner kicks for New England as they began to settle into the game and took the sting out of Portland’s attacks who will have felt that they should have at least put one of those early shots on target. The Timber were able to clear each corner well but there were signs that the away side were very able to impose pressure of their own.
33 mins: Nagbe bursts through the center once again and fires a beauty toward the top corner from 25 yards but Shuttleworth tips it around the post acrobatically to deny the Timbers midfielder. Finally, a shot on target from the Timbers from 6 attempts.
Half Time Score: Portland Timbers 0-0 New England Revolution
Shots: Portland Timbers 6-3 New England Revolution
Possession: Portland Timbers 47%-53% New England Revolution
2nd Half:
51 mins: Nagbe wriggled free once again and fired from just outside the box but Shuttleworth palmed it away and just 1 minute later Will Johnson played it through to Asprilla who turned and shot from a wide angle but it skidded wide of the left hand post as the Timbers try to apply some early pressure to the Revolution goal.
60 mins: Charlie Davies took a run at Nat Borchers and won the battle with pace but his shot from a tight angle on the left was dragged wide of the goal and the danger passed for the Timbers. After an 8-10 minutes of Portland chances the game had become rather messy with a lack of real flow as the home crowd began to get a little restless.
75 mins: Nagbe whipped over a beauty of a cross that Adi won and nodded it back over to Urruti who heads it powerfully goal wards but Shuttleworth is up to it yet again as the Timber began to turn the screw once again as they searched for that winning goal.
86 mins: Darlington Nagbe won a free kick 30 yards out on the left side of the pitch and Villafana takes it quickly and it lands perfectly onto Adi’s head into the far corner to finally open the scoring. Portland Timbers 1-0 New England Revolution.
88 mins: Nagbe squirmed another cute little pass to Chara who released Villafana down the right hand side and his pinpoint low cross found Adi again who made no mistake and grabbed a double to make it 2-0 and sealed the Portland Timbers third win in a row. Portland Timbers 2-0 New England Revolution.
Summary:
The Portland Timbers started the game looking as though they would tear apart the New England defense and although they broke with pace, their shooting boots were simply left at home on this occasion but after a frustrating night in which Asprilla was stretchered off, the Timbers finally came good with just a few minutes to go after dominating the game chance wise even though for much of the game New England had more of the possession.
That’s the third win in a row for Caleb Porter’s men who are now 4th in the western conference and beginning to look like serious contenders not only for the play-offs but also possibly for the supporters shield if they can keep it going. With Johnson back in the midfield alongside Chara and a solid defense that doesn’t leak goals, they have a solid base and if Adi and company up front can continue to strike when it matter, the season could end very well for the Portland Timbers.
Full Time Score: Portland Timbers 2-0 New England Revolution
Shots: Portland Timbers 19–4 New England Revolution
Possession: Portland Timbers 50% – 50% New England Revolution