Game 5: Timbers 0 – Palace 1

Crystal Palace Baltimore earned their first victory of the season with a 1-0 win away to Portland Timbers at PGE Park. Former Cuban international Yaikel Perez scored the game’s only goal on a flick of a header in the 29th minute from a Pat Healey cross to stun the Timbers. For their part, Portland were inept in the first half, requiring two substitutes simply to increase the tempo and solidify direction. Even still, the home side were prone to errors and suffered from terrible luck as well with three different shots rattling the post. Portland put in a feverish effort in over the final half-hour but it seemed their fate was sealed as 16 shots went toward the Palace goal just in the second half, but not one of them found a way through.

Alex Nimo, one of the first half substitutes, made the most of his time on the field, even in the woeful first half. His service on two occasions nearly led to goals in the south end of the stadium. One pass went to Mandjou Keita who then found George Josten who clanged one off the post; the other was a perfect cross to Keita whose header soared over the crossbar. It was that kind of night from start to finish.

Keita returned to the starting line-up after appearing in the friendly with Puntarenas twelve days earlier. Though his play that day was lauded in this space, perhaps he is better suited to a substitute’s role at this point. Last season’s league leader in scoring simply did not create enough chances and was generally unable to hold up play as a front man. The Timbers need Keita to do one or the other or else play OJ Obatola in his stead.

Ryan Pore was one of the game’s most confusing players, seemingly uninterested in the kind of attacking play that garnered six goals in the first four games of the season. Pore tended to drift back into defense as Ian Joy overlapped, presumably aimed at directing crosses into the box. Pore did take many of the set-pieces but his form returned to that of utter frustration with free-kicks going into the wall and rushed corners missing the target area time and again.

Palace do have to be given some credit as they did force several key saves from Steve Cronin over both halves. The goal mid-way through the first half did seem to buoy the visitors, especially as the prospect of their first victory came closer to a realization. Goalkeeper Evan Bush was fantastic for the visitors, particularly in the final moments as the Timbers peppered his goal with shots all the way through the five minutes of added time. But to be fair, Portland did give Bush quite a bit of help as nearly every shot they took in the second half was directly at the keeper.

In Portland’s attempt to ring up as many points as possible from early home games, losing to the recognized worst side in the league is not particularly helpful. It is also not useful in attracting large crowds to home games as the 8800 fans in attendance last night were frustrated beyond words. The Timbers will need to rebound quickly as AC St. Louis return to Portland on Saturday. The Timbers throttled St. Louis three weeks ago but clearly this Portland side is not quite right. Manager Gavin Wilkinson will need to figure out a line-up that gels better than the one he debuted last night. Whether that means dropping Keita back out of the starting XI, including much more of the supremely competent Nimo or returning OJ to the front line, some other group of starters will need to be found.

Ultimately the Timbers are still in fantastic shape based on their strong start to the season and will get two more chances to pick up points in the next six days. By no means does this result doom a season that began so promisingly. But Portland have been sent crashing down to earth, not to mention out of the ranks of the unbeaten.

Category: Portland Timbers, USSF Division II