The Portland Timbers traveled to Seattle on a rainy spring night for a highly anticipated, Northwest rivalry showdown. Both clubs entered the match with high hopes; Seattle had suffered only one loss in the past eight games, while Portland has won four out their last five matches.
During the pre-match ceremony, the proud Timbers’ fans who ventured to the Emerald City to show their support riled and taunted the stadium of green supporters. Their coordination and support seemed remarkable, that is until the Sounders FC fans responded. At the south end of Qwest Stadium, where the infamous and tempo controlling Seattle hooligans call home, six banners featuring standout Seattle players were unravelled. If that was not enough, an even larger banner was dropped from the upper stands. The message was clear, unabashed, and simple: “Decades of Dominance”.
After ninety minutes of play, the score would stand at 1-1. Neither shots, nor aggressive, entertaining play were in short supply. A barrage of shots were unleashed on both ends, keeping the keepers on their toes. While most crosses were either deflected or grabbed by the goalies, a handful of saves accrued at both ends. Kasey Keller and Troy Perkins deserved applause and recognition for their tireless, enduring saves.
Seattle’s defense controlled the field. Patrick Ianni, James Riley, and Jhon Hurtado broke up or cleared nearly every attempt by the Timbers. Overall, Seattle’s defense was strong and unfaltering with the exception of Osvaldo Alonso. He turned the ball over too many times and generally looked flat and unaware. While no major mistakes were committed, better play is expected in the MLS, especially from normally strong players like Alonso.
Offensively, Fredy Montero and Alvaro Fernandez led the charge. Fernandez was in optimal and rare form, showing his fancy footwork and easily gliding and dancing past Portland’s defense. He was calm, aware, and possessed the ball well.
In the 52nd minute, a messy header in Portland’s goal box resulted in a Fernandez strike past Perkins. Credit the cross assist to Levesque, and the flick of the head to Montero.
The Timbers’ retaliated in the 65th minute. Jewsbury took a free kick just inside the fifty yard marker. His bending slice met the head of Danso, who towered above the Sounders’ defenders, and redirected the ball past Keller for a Timbers’ goal.
“We know they’re a dangerous team on set pieces. We talked about it all week,” Keller said in a postgame interview with International Soccer Network. “They started winning a few more set pieces in dangerous positions and Jewsbury hits a great ball in and they have some big bodies in there.” Set plays are a specialty of Portland, and with tall strikers like Mamadou Danso and accurate aerial passers like Jewsbury it’s easy to see why.
Despite suffering devastating injuries, Seattle has shown its depth and stayed competitive. Let’s hope this carries suit for the remainder of the season.
“Losing a player like Evans changes it. Losing (Erik) Friberg as we prepare for the game certainly changes things for us,” Sounders FC Head Coach Sigi Schmid declared in postgame comments. “When you add it up and you have Friberg, you have (Brad) Evans, you have O’Brian White, you have (Mauro) Rosales, you have (Steve) Zakuani, that’s a lot of pieces to be missing.”
Seattle now faces Sporting KC and FC Dallas in a pair of home matches before hitting the road to face RSL on May 28.
Portland Timbers Starting XI – Troy Perkins, Jeremy Hall, Eric Brunner, Mamadou Danso, Rodney Wallace, Darlington Nagbe, Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara, Kalif Alhassan, Kenny Cooper, Jorge Perlaza
Seattle Sounders FC Starting XI – Kasey Keller, James Riley, Patrick Ianni, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Tyson Wahl, Brad Evans, Osvaldo Alonso, Servando Carrasco, Alvaro Fernandez, Fredy Montero, Nate Jaqua
