Would FC Dallas become the next victims of Timber Joey's chainsaw? You bet they would. Portland had this game in hand for 80 minutes, but in the end, they let up and the final score was closer than it should have been.
It was kind of an uneasy match from the opening minutes. Both sides struggled staying onside. However, it did seem like Dallas had the better of possession. Those would be themes that would pop up throughout the match. Dallas played a high line out back and Portland had a horrid time getting possession in the final third.
Shaky goal keeping was a problem for both sides. However, you might expect it from Portland, who was essentially playing their third string keeper, but you wouldn't expect it from Kevin Hartman. It cost both teams, but ended up costing Dallas more. In the 15th minute Jewsbury, playing in his 200th MLS match, bounced a shot off the post and Hartman to give the Timbers a 1-0 lead. Timber Joey took another slice off the victory log in the 35th when Hartman whiffed on a header from Kenny Cooper, and PDX went into half time up 2-0.
Portland picked up right where they left off in the second half. They had one goal called back for offside in the 48th minute, and in the 55th they scored again. Alhassan sliced and diced the Dallas defense and then dished off to Wallace who again made Hartman look foolish and put PDX ahead 3-0. Alhassan went around Dallas defenders like they were orange cones on the training ground. The whole play should be up for goal of the week in my opinion.
Unfortunately for Portland, that's about when they took their foot off the gas. You could really feel Dallas building, and maybe getting under the skin of the less experienced Portland side. Not to mention Dallas has this guy named David Ferreira. You might remember him. He was the MVP last year and helped dismantle Colorado in Dallas' last match. Well in the 83rd minute, the PDX defense decided to chill a little bit, and Mr. MVP scored, making it 3-1. Brek Shea followed that a couple minutes later with a nice chip over Gleeson to make it 3-2, and it looked like PDX was coming off the rails heading into stoppage time. In fact, right at the death, Dallas got a nice chance off of a set piece, but Gleeson picked the right time to come up big, saving the kick off the crossbar in what should probably be save of the week. Portland held on for the 3-2 win.
It's been fun watching PDX play at home, and I think they can probably give anybody a run in their home field. However, they have to do a better job getting and keeping possession, particularly in the attacking third. They had issues against both Chicago and Dallas. They also have to learn to keep their discipline and close out matches. Neither the Chicago match nor this one should have been as close as they were, and that has to be the next step to maturity for this squad.
For FC Dallas, it's like Jekyll and Hyde. If the side that beat Colorado had showed up before the 80th minute, they would have stood a good chance at picking up a road point in the Western Conference. As it is, they fell short. Ferreira is great, but it looks like the team as a whole lacks consistency, and that could cost them in the powerful West.
No comments:
Post a Comment