OK, Timbers fans. You can release that breath you’ve been holding in. After a full month of consecutive losses, the Timbers, in their sophomore season in Major League Soccer, finally scraped together a win. Though they still find themselves in the basement of the Western Conference, Timbers fans can start thinking positively about the season again.
Even better, Portland got that 1-0 victory against the best team in major league soccer at the moment, the formerly undefeated Sporting Kansas City. (Is it too late to point out I preferred the Kansas City Wizards?) There are good and bad things to take away from that win. Timbers fans still have every reason to be optimistic about a squad that only got stronger this year on paper, but that game also revealed some of the dysfunctions of this 2012 team.
Last year, the Timbers made an excellent showing of themselves for a first-year expansion team. They exploded out of the gate, ran into some problems down the stretch and rallied near the end of the season to narrowly miss the playoffs. The team’s key strength was a beefy and talented midfield, led by team captain and MLS veteran Jack Jewsbury. Over the off season, the team picked up key players from abroad to pump up the offense, and it looked like the 2012 iteration of the Timbers would be lean and quick, with a dynamite offense in the box. The signage from Timbers leaders over the off season didn’t help mediate expectations.
“This year, we’ve added some key players,” Jewsbury said in February. “Some guys we think can definitely help the team. And now it’s not a matter of if we can stay around in the mix for the playoffs, it’s a matter of making the playoffs and making a push for the title.”
Unfortunately, the signing of superstar Scottish striker Kris Boyd has introduced another aspect of high level soccer: pumping up star players and watching them under perform.
It’s a touch of irony that hasn’t been lost on Timbers fans that, in the hotly contested game against Kansas City, the winning goal had to be scored by a Kansas City defender. Boyd has consistently led the team in shots on goal but hasn’t been able to put games away, scoring only three goals in the past two months.
That could change, however. There’s a lot of chance on a soccer field. What hasn’t worked in the last two months could turn around for the Timbers in the future. Portland’s midfield is more potent than ever, and Boyd can’t shoulder all of the blame for the anemic offense. A midfield with Jewsbury, Chara, Nagbe and Songo’o should be sending more balls forward and creating more chances.
Everything seemed to work in the Timbers 3-1 regular season opening victory against the Philadelphia Union. It’s still possible to pull the season out of the gutter, and this is Portland’s chance to break out of its slump. Montreal, their next opponent, has only won one game this season, against Toronto FC, a team which hasn’t won anything but sympathy. If the Timbers can get their offensive machine working here, they could still make this season work.