Match 5: Seattle Sounders 0-0 Portland Timbers

By: Bob Kellett | May 10th, 2008

The Bottom Line: The Portland Timbers paid their final regular season USL First Division visit to Seattle on Saturday evening and played the Sounders to a 0-0 draw before 10,184 at Qwest Field. With both teams struggling to find their attack, the two Northwest rivals played a typically tight game. The two teams met just two weeks ago with Portland coming out at top at home. Seattle has started their season 1-1-2 and the Timbers have opened up at 3-0-2. It was the second nil-nil draw in three nights for Portland and the fourth shutout in five games for their keeper Ray Burse. Seattle and Portland will meet one more time in the regular season on August 7 at PGE Park.

Timbers Lineup:
Burse
S. Thompson Knowles J. Thompson Griffin
Higgins Potl
Suzuki (Olum 90) Gregor (Guante 67) Brown (Little 74)
Bagley (Oka)

Three Stars

1. Tom Poltl - Sure his distribution left a lot to be desired, but this was a Poltl type game and he did what he does best. He broke up Seattle’s attack in the middle of the field, controlled possession when things were getting ragged, and threw his diminutive body around with frequency.

2. Josh Gardner - When I watch Seattle play the other USL-1 teams, Gardner rarely is evident. When he plays the Timbers he always in the mix of things. Tonight he had a couple of excellent shots on goal and caused the Timbers backline trouble all evening.

3. Ray Burse - We know the guy is going to get a number of shutouts this season with the defense he has in front of him, but tonight he really earned it. He made a couple of excellent saves early and was in complete control in the box. He looks to be more comfortable communicating with his defenders than he did earlier in the season.

Did you notice….?

* The Timbers were fortunate to survive Seattle’s early pressure. Andre Schmid almost earned a spot kick with some theatrics and then he missed a sitter that you and I probably would have scored on. It was Chris-Brown-Thursday-Night-bad. Josh Gardner also fired a shot that forced Ray Burse into his best save of the season and thankfully it went off the crossbar. The second half was more of a back and forth affair with neither team able to generate a ton of opportunities. The Timbers had the better run of play in the final 10 minutes. Portland’s fitness is simply better than Seattle’s.

* This was the most interesting lineup Gavin Wilkinson has started in his reign as manager. He had Bagley, Brown and Suzuki all in the starting lineup, but only Bagley was playing in a true forward position. Suzuki and Brown did an excellent job cracking back on the wings defensively and Gregor was free to roam on the offensive end. I like this lineup in theory, although I was surprised Suzuki, a natural left footed player played on the right side and Brown, a right footed played, was on the left. I would have guessed that Suzuki would have been the target with Brown on the left and Bagley on the right. It was probably a 4-5-1 but at times it looked like a 4-2-3-1 with Poltl and Higgins sharing stopper roles. When Bagley came out Suzuki moved up top as the lone striker. This is a defensive lineup but with offensive pieces.

* Chris Eyelander and Chris Brown went at it in the first half. Brown got his foot in a second late on a challenge and Eyelander went over and gave him a chest bump. Put the two into a boxing ring and my money is on Brownie. One head butt and Eyelander would be out.

* Gregor was the first player to get pulled. This is one of the senior players Wilkinson was talking about playing below expectations following the Rochester draw. I give Gavin credit for having the guts to pull him and Chris Brown, as well. How has Gregor played nine million years and never learned how to use his right foot? At all. Brownie was a non factor out wide in terms of offensive, but he did play some defense at least. Both these guys are getting up in age and shouldn’t have to play the full 90 minutes in the second game in three nights. The bench is deep enough this year for them to be replaced even if fatigue isn’t a factor.

* Gavin Wilkinson must really be high on Arsene Oka. The dude has been in training for a week and already he has supplanted Olum as the go-to sub at right mid. He does have impressive speed and is a high energy player for sure. Color me intrigued.

* Sebastien Le Toux has played two games against the Timbers this year and hasn’t factored very much. The reigning league MVP has been shut down by Cameron Knowles, who I think doesn’t get the credit he deserves. Knowles is the glue on the defense.

* Roger Levesque missed his second consecutive game with a sprained ankle. There is a big drop off from Levesque to Schmid. Leighton O’Brien also had to be subbed out because he tweaked a hamstring. O’Brien is a solid, solid player but he is prone to injury.

* I really, really want Chris Bagley to do well. He works hard, he’s a nice guy, he didn’t get the credit he deserved last season, but tonight he didn’t play his best. He works best when he has players working off him. Think Bryan Jordan last season. With Gregor as his only support, he was left on an island most of the game.

* Seattle’s USL Live announcers mentioned that Teen People have been out to interview Takayuki Suzuki. I subscribed to Teen People during halftime.

* The Timbers Army was very evident on USL Live. Nice job to everyone who made the trip. It sounded like a home match and that it was indeed “our house”. This will be Seattle’s largest crowd of the season. Their regular home at Starfire only holds 3,500.

Cascadia Cup Standings
After two matches:

Portland - 4pts
Seattle - 1pts
Vancouver - 0pts

Final Thoughts: - Hey, it is a point on the road against a pretty solid Seattle side. That appeared to be Gavin Wilkinson’s intention from the beginning. The lineup he used tells me he wanted to clog the midfield, prevent Seattle from making a lot of overlapping runs out wide, and hope that the Timbers could sneak in a goal. Everything but the Timbers sneaking in a goal bit worked. As a fan it is frustrating to watch your team play a pair of nil-nil draws, but I thought the Timbers at least played a more complete game than they did against Rochester. There is still work to be done and the lack of attacking pressure is a concern, but starting the season with five games without a loss and four shutouts isn’t too shabby. Next weekend’s trip to the humid part of the country to play Puerto Rico and Miami will be another challenge, and another opportunity for the coach to figure out what combinations work best.

Match Reports (I’ll update when I see them)