Timbers keep pace with Villa

Following a 2-2 draw after 90 minutes, the Portland Timbers lost 5-4 to Aston Villa on penalty kicks in an international friendly exhibition game at Jeld-Wen Field July 24.

The Timbers trailed 1-0 in the first half but managed to keep the game tied in the second. The match went straight to penalty kicks from there.

Both teams scored their first four spot kicks, but the Timbers missed their fifth and final penalty while Aston Villa converted theirs to win the game 5-4. Despite this letdown, the Timbers chose to look on the bright side.

“There is no bitterness from this game whatsoever,” said Timbers interim head coach Gavin Wilkinson. “In exhibition games, there is no pressure. You can go out and play with a little bit of freedom. We understand where they [Aston Villa] are at and where their payroll is at. And as a club we competed with them and we matched them tonight.”

More than 20,000 fans showed up to watch the Timbers play a team from the top tier of the English Premier League. As always, the Timbers Army screamed, chanted and cheered, but Aston Villa defender Ciaran Clark scored the only goal of the first half.

“I thought we did well in the first half. We kept our shape,” Wilkinson said. “We set goals for ourselves and didn’t have any individual breakdowns. We let in some set pieces, but in open play they didn’t break us down.”

In the second half, the Timbers matched Aston Villa in attempts on goals and corner kicks. Since this was an exhibition game, both teams made plenty of substitutions to give their younger players a chance to showcase their skills.

“Coming off the Dallas performance [5-0 loss], I was very happy with our guys,” Wilkinson said. “No one has scored against Aston Villa on their U.S. tour, and we came back from 1-0 down and 2-1 down.”

The Timbers fans stayed on after the game to watch their team take on Aston Villa in the penalty kicks. “The crowd was fantastic. They got behind the players and the players could sense that energy,” Wilkinson said. “There is no doubt that we have the technical ability, but penalty kicks are more mental than anything.”

Overall, Wilkinson chose to focus on this performance as one to build on for the upcoming MLS games. “I think the fact that we have scored two goals against a team that hasn’t been scored against this tour is very positive,” Wilkinson said. “They played good football, and we coped with it.”

It seems the Timbers have had to do a lot of coping this season. “The guys are rallying around each other. Before you rebuild, you might have to hit rock bottom, and there was a lot of positives from this game,” Wilkinson said.

Aston Villa manager Paul Lambert was appreciative of the quality competition. “I enjoyed playing in Portland,” Lambert said. “It was a good experience. It was going to be difficult for us, but I am delighted with the way we played and the way we won the game. Some of the football was very good.”

Such international friendly club games serve a dual purpose. The game provides both teams with some very good publicity, and for the locals it is a chance to face a well-known team, while the visiting team gets a chance to fine-tune their tactics before the start of their regular season.

“We are still away from our top form,” Lambert said. “But I am delighted that we have worked hard on our tour and the lads have applied themselves, because there are no easy games in world football.”