Drilling down on: at Portland 2, Seattle 1

Man of the Match

Portland center back David Horst (pictured, after his goal) nearly nailed an early opportunity and he wouldn’t miss a second time, escaping his mark to double the Timbers’ early lead. On defense, he was rock solid, especially in the air (with one notable exception, when he failed to deal properly with Eddie Johnson on the Sounders’ goal). Still, he was a bother on offensive set pieces and did his part on the back line as Portland won a biggie.

Packaged for take-away

• David Horst could be spending his Sunday night in Portland in pain, ruing his missed 11th minute effort, a free header off a corner kick that cracked the crossbar. He got loose from Jeff Parke but couldn’t pull off the early goal. He could be, except …
• When Portland is finding room to serve from the wings, Portland will always be dangerous. It was happening early Sunday, and Kris Boyd was the beneficiary, opening the scoring in the 17th off a feed from Steven Smith on the left wing.
• Smith got the start at left back for Portland. Since he spent so much time early in his career with Rangers, having participated in those famous Celtic-Rangers rivalry matches, safe to say he wasn’t too undone by his first Cascadia Cup fixture.
• A few minutes after his goal, Boyd had a free header from six. Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Jeff Parke were having a devil of a time keeping track of Boyd, whose open header shot in the 25th turned into a corner kick. Horst doubled the home team’s lead on the ensuing corner kick, escaping Parke yet again.
• Parke was taken off in favor of Patrick Ianni at halftime.
• With a 2-0 lead the Timbers dropped their lines slightly and nearly paid the price. Seattle came out of the back with greater ease and established a toehold on the game. With more chances in the final third, Brad Evans clunked an uncontested header from close-range just before the half; which could have chanced the game, obviously.
• Troy Perkins needed to be alert on two Osvaldo Alonso shots from long range, both on target.
• More of the same to open the second half. Portland tried to pressure in higher areas, but Eddie Johnson’s 58th minute goal seemed to unnerve a young-ish Timbers’ lineup, and the game became lopsided. Seattle pressed and Portland countered. Right up to the end, Portland looked nervous and naive, unable to more easily nurse home the result.
• Darlington Nagbe played ahead of Diego Chara in the Timbers’ diamond midfield but had very little to say about the game. He was caught in possession too often, unable to solve the little problems for which an attacking midfielder needs to plot and plan.
• Chara, on the other hand, was a presence on offense and defense for his team.
• Mike Fucito was handed his first start for Portland, coming against his old team, which was probably a good thing for team psyche and for creating the kind of bite and energy a rivalry contest deserves. On the other hand, there wasn’t a lot of chemistry with fellow forward Boyd. Or, perhaps it was just rust for Fucito, who doesn’t play much for John Spencer.
• Ricardo Salazar did a credible job of keeping a lid on such a potentially volatile match. On the other hand, when Salazar ordered a free kick retaken after Fredy Montero encroached in the 76th minute, blocking a free kick from inside the 10-yard radius, why didn’t he book the Sounders’ striker?
• Sal Zizzo’s introduction for Portland along the right side in the second half gave Seattle something to think about, dealing with the speedy Timbers’ attacker.
• Near the end, Fredy Montero and Lovel Palmer were both shown reds for their parts in a fracas that Montero appeared to start.