Game 6: Portland Timbers v. AC St. Louis

2010 Match-Up Images Courtesy of Spacewalk Creative

Portland Timbers will try to rebound from one of the worst performances in recent memory when AC St. Louis make their second visit to PGE Park on Saturday evening. The Timbers struggled mightily in a 1-0 loss to Crystal Palace Baltimore on Thursday night, putting into question the fast start to the season. If Portland can rebound from such a horrid outing and play well against a St. Louis side who were defeated 3-0 in their first foray into PGE Park, the fears of a shift in the season’s momentum will be quelled. If however, a determined St. Louis side come to Portland and earn a positive result, there will be much restlessness among the Timber faithful.

The Timbers have an alarming trend of creating fine scoring opportunities before either shooting directly at opposing goal keepers or just missing altogether. While Ryan Pore electrified the first four games, his scoring prowess was nowhere in sight against Palace. Meanwhile, George Josten and Mandjou Keita either shot off the post or bundled their best chances at goal. Obviously shots off the woodwork are just bad luck, but Portland have only scored one goal from a source other than Pore this season. That goal scorer, OJ Obatola, was not only missing from the starting XI but did not even feature as a substitue in Gavin Wilkinson’s whole sale changes on Thursday. The Timbers need OJ’s dynamism and enthusiasm, even if he too has missed his share of shots in this young season.

More alarmingly, Portland’s midfield play, particularly on the interior, has been woefully short of adequate. Alex Nimo, Pore and Rodrigo Lopez have shown they can dictate play from the wings but the central combination of Johan Claesson and James Marcelin has not emerged the way Wilkinson would have hoped. With confusion and poor passing from what are supposed to be the first steps of the creation of offense, the Timbers struggled to get any kind of flow in the first hour against Palace. Late on, with Pore moving up and Nimo and Taka Suzuki on the pitch, Portland showed signs of revival.

For St. Louis, they’ll need to create more offense than they did in their last trip to Portland. The Timbers thrashed AC, making the new club look very much like they’d never played together before. Only Anthony O’Garro and Manuel Kanté have scored goals for AC this season, one goal each. Kanté was one of the few bright spots for St. Louis in the first game so the Timbers will be focused on corralling the French-born midfielder.

In a vacuum, Portland would very much be the favored team in this match-up. But within the context of the season, the Timbers are somewhat desperate for points. A grueling late season run of away games is ahead and more immediately, Montréal Impact are just four days away. A strong result will be the only outcome that will calm both the players and the fans. It’s very possible that the Timbers overlooked their opponents from Baltimore on Thursday night with the big Montréal game looming. Do not expect Wilkinson to allow his boys to do the same against St. Louis, whose only points this season came at the expense of Palace.

Category: Portland Timbers, USSF Division II