Damn, that wasn’t a dream after all

By: Bob Kellett | June 11th, 2008

After a night of fitful sleep and the realization that I was not dreaming about Hollywood United’s 3-2 victory over the Portland Timbers at PGE Park on Tuesday in the first round of the US Open Cup, here are a few thoughts that I can’t get out of my head.

* Hollywood United played their balls off. The usual winning formula for a lower level team playing in a Cup game is to keep the game tight and to hope to sneak in a goal. HUFC hardly followed that formula. They played offensive soccer and created a number of chances. Sure they scored twice off from the penalty spot, but they also hit the woodwork twice and had a few more opportunities to score. Even more impressive is that fact that they came from behind not once, but twice. On the road. Whatever praise they get in the coming weeks is fully deserved. I certainly will root for them against the Seattle Sounders, who needed an extra time to defeat the amateur side Arizona Sahuaros on Tuesday night.

* Whatever criticism the Portland Timbers get is equally deserved. There is simply no excuse for letting an amateur side come into your stadium and having them take it to you. It starts at the top. Gavin Wilkinson took a gamble. With a USL-1 game on Thursday against Atlanta and a team that has played too many games in too few weeks this season, he fielded a makeshift lineup. He took a risk that a player like Scott Bolkan, who hasn’t even been on the matchday roster at any point this season, would be able to perform well enough over the course of 90 minutes to beat an amateur side. The way he performed Bolkan couldn’t have played for my amateur team. I understand that Cameron Knowles was out with a suspension, but why did Scot Thompson not even dress for this game? I’m not convinced Wilkinson was especially interested in the US Open Cup this year.

* I also am baffled by the substitutions. Chris Brown gave Hollywood United fits in the first half. His strength and experience were evident. He scored a goal. He created other chances. And he was taken out at halftime of a game that was tied. Why take out the best player on the pitch in an even game? If Wilkinson was so intent on playing Takayuki Suzuki, why not take out Chris Bagley, who was a non factor most of the night? Also, in a close game, why did Wilkinson take out Justin Thompson instead of Scott Bolkan? Neither had anything close to a stellar game - Matt Taylor ate their lunch - but wouldn’t you rather have a veteran like Thompson directing the backline late in a tied game than a rookie? Baffling.

* The turning point in this game was Suzuki’s penalty kick. He scores and the game is 3-1 and it is over. He didn’t score and you know the rest of the story. Misses on penalties happen, but with his experience in big games if he can’t hit one in this situation it makes me wonder about what will happen when the season is on the line.

* There was a 15-minute stretch in the second half that was as crazy as just about any game I have ever seen. Brian Dunseth drilled a shot that hit the post and Alex Bengard put in the rebound only to have it nullified for being offside. Down on the other end the Bryan Little went down in the box leading to Suzuki’s penalty kick which was stopped by Javier Barragan. A few minutes later Bengard won a penalty kick which Matt Taylor calmly dumped into the goal to level the game. That was an amazing turn of events.

* Where do the Timbers go from here? After going unbeaten at home all last year, they have not won at PGE Park in their last five games. They have only one once in their last eleven games this year. They’ve been humiliated by an amateur team and eliminated from the US Open Cup. They face a better than average Atlanta team on Thursday before heading into a couple of weeks off. Thursday could be a defining moment. If the team has heart and the manager doesn’t put them in a position to lose, they’ll play with more fire and intensity against Atlanta than they have collectively all year. They’ll come away with a win - a draw is simply not enough - and they’ll take their time off to get better. If they are ready to quit on this season, which still has 17 games left, they’ll play another half ass game and then go on vacation.