Game 23: NSC Minnesota Stars v. Portland Timbers

Fourth place Portland Timbers travel back to Minnesota for the fourth and final meeting with the Stars in 2010. Still only three points clear of Minnesota and Puerto Rico, Portland will need a positive result in order to remain above the increasingly jumbled group of clubs vying for the final four playoff positions. The Timbers won in their first game in Blaine back on June 19 but did not win either home game against the expansion side.

Captain Ian Joy will be back in the line-up against the Stars on Saturday, having served his one-game suspension due to the red card picked up against Minnesota at PGE Park on August 11. Striker Ibad Muhamadu is also likely to get a position in the starting XI after a strong debut away to St. Louis last weekend. Gavin Wilkinson has mostly settled on a line-up at this point in the season, presumably meaning he has gathered more than enough information from his running try-outs earlier in the year. Expect to see Joy, Steve Purdy, Futty Danso and Ross Smith at the back with Alex Nimo, Ryan Pore, James Marcelin and Keith Savage in midfield. Muhamadu and Bright Dike should start up front in a suddenly powerful attack.

Unfortunately neither 19-year old Khalif Alhassan, newly signed from Liberty Professionals in Accra, nor trialists John Rooney and Omar Salgado will be included in the traveling squad.

Three away points can go a long way toward keeping the Timbers above the mess brewing below. Portland are in a good position for reaching the playoffs, but exactly where they will be located within the hierarchy of the league table still depends completely on the Timbers’ ability to pick up valuable points away from home.

Category: Portland Timbers, Trials, USSF Division II