Match 6: Puerto Rico Islanders 2-2 Portland Timbers

By: Bob Kellett | May 16th, 2008

The Bottom Line: The Portland Timbers came back from a two-goal deficit to pick up their first point in four tries in Puerto Rico in front of 6,922 at Juan Ramon Loubriel Stadium. The Islanders (1-3-1) struck first on a header from Sandy Gbandi in the 20th minute. Just five minutes later John Krause also knocked in a header to extend the lead for the home side. Lawrence Olum quickly got one back for the Timbers, depositing a cross from Miguel Guante into the goal with his head in the 27th minute for his first goal of the season. In the 83rd minute, Bryan Little found Chris Brown who used his head to beat Puerto Rico goalkeeper Bill Guadette for his third goal in 2008. The Timbers (3-0-3) remain unbeaten in six games, picking up their third straight draw. The will continue their road trip in Miami on Sunday.

Timbers Lineup:
Burse
S. Thompson Knowles J. Thompson Griffin (Little 45)
Olum (Bagley 75) Gregor Higgins Guante
Suzuki (Karalexis 89) Brown (Poltl 88)

Three Stars
1. Bryan Little - He came in after the intermission and injected life into a moribund Timbers offense. He almost had a goal of his own and he set Brown up beautifully for the equalizer.

2. Petter Villegas - He absolutely gave the Timbers’ backline fits. He doesn’t come to play every evening, but when he does he is a heck of a player.

3. Was there really another star in this game? I guess I will give some love to Miguel Guante for his assist and for his efforts on defense.

Did you notice….?

* ..how incredibly wretched Portland was in the first half. That was the worst I have seen the backline in a couple of seasons. They looked out of sorts, out of position, and out of the game. The team looked like it had just gotten off the plane after a 13-hour trip. The second half was a different story. The Timbers were not great, but they at least had some life in them. Say what you want about playing in the humidity and heat in Puerto Rico, but at the end of the game the Timbers were the fitter team. I’ve said that every game this year.

* The two goals by the Islanders were almost mirror images of one other. The first goals came from a cross on the left side of the pitch which Sandy Gbandi headed into goal. The second came from a cross from the right side of the pitch with John Krause also burying it in the goal. I will have to go back and watch the goals again, but my initial thought was that Justin Thompson was out of position on both of them. After Wilkinson pulled Griffin at halftime, however, I think Leo might have been the one at fault.

* The Gbandi goal broke a scoreless streak of 350 minutes that dated back to the second game of the season against Minnesota.

* Olum’s goal came in the air thanks to a cross from Miguel Guante that was right on target. Olum used his hops to get up and head it far post. It was one of the rare times in the first half the Timbers actually completed a successful pass.

* Burse was really poor on his free kicks and distribution. It looks like he drank from Andrew Gregor’s water bottle and caught the “kick everything low” disease in the first half. In the second half he did the opposite by kicking everything to the moon. How about just finding a player on your own team and kicking it to him for a change?

* Brown had a really, really quiet game other than his goal. About midway through the second half I started thinking that we might need to find a target forward for this team. And then he scored and I started humming the Charlie Brown theme song and I wasn’t as worried about finding a target forward.

* On more than once occasion Justin Thompson and Leonard Griffin were yapping at one another. It was that kind of night for the backline in the first half. Griffin was yanked at half and I thought Guante did a decent job taking over the left back position for the final 45. Guante is a tidy little player when he has the ball at his feet.

* Why is Shaun Higgins our holding midfielder? He has played that role the last three games and I have seen no evidence that he is successful at it. Higgins is a better player when he is wide and can use his quickness to cut back into the field on the attack. I think Poltl is much better suited at doing the dirty work behind Gregor in the center of the pitch. I realize Poltl can’t go the full 90 in a weekend like this one, but this position continues to concern me.

* I have seen enough of Bryan Little to say he should be starting on the left side. He adds an offensive element out wide that this team has been lacking. The jury is still out on whether he can crack back on defense.

* My heart missed a beat in the 83rd minute or so when the Timbers had a set piece opportunity within shooting distance of the goal. Takayuki Suzuki stood over the ball like he would take it. Of course he didn’t, Gregor did, but it was nice to see that Taka is at least now being considered as an option. Gregor’s effort, by the way, was a decent one. Just off the mark. He had the keeper beaten.

* I am not surprised that Neil Dombrowski and Arsene Oka didn’t make the trip. You only need two holding midfielders and with Higgins in that role, Dombro is the odd man out. Oka is still working his way into shape. This isn’t the type of trip that would benefit a player in his current state. With Olum’s goal and overall decent effort tonight, I credit Gavin for selecting him for this trip.

* Karalexis came in as a forward in stoppage time. He was paired with his old college buddy Bagley up front. By the end it looked like Gavin was simply trying to bring on the final whistle and to come away with a point, odd lineup be damned.

* God bless them for trying, but the next time the Puerto Rico announcers watch a soccer game might be their first time. Their commentary was simply brutal and their knowledge of their own team pitiful. I wanted to reach through my computer screen and give them a hug and suggest they don’t give up their day jobs. I know broadcasting in another language is something I couldn’t do, but GAHHHH!

* Whatever happened to the atmosphere in Puerto Rico? They almost had 7,000 there but it didn’t feel like it. I remember watching games played there a few years ago and the crowd was loud. It might have been the USL Live broadcast, but it sounded like a library tonight. A few smoke bombs after a goal, atmosphere does not make.

Some homemade highlights

Final Thoughts: - I have mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand it is great to see the Timbers come back from their first deficit of the season to earn a road point in a place that has not been easy for them to play. On the other hand I am frightened by the performance in the first half. They had their clocks cleaned by a Puerto Rico side that is really below average this season and that is going to struggle to make the playoffs given their early home record. The defense is the bedrock of this team and when it crumbles we are in trouble. Hopefully this was more of an aberration than anything else. Miami is not an especially good team, but they do have some talent up front that will make defense’s pay for their mistakes. It won’t be easy playing another game in hot weather less than 48 hours from now, but the way the Timbers finished and the fact they still have not lost a game has to make the team feel pretty good.

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