Diego Valeri’s early goal was enough as Portland earned a big three points, 1-0, over visiting Colorado in the opener of MLS Round 30 on Friday. A few take-aways from the contest, which had a bit of that playoff feel. (We are only about six weeks away from the first post-season contest, you know.)
Timbers’ newcomer Maximiliano Urruti is already contributing for Portland
Maximiliano Urruti, who hasn’t even been in Portland long enough to map out the best food trucks in his new town, made his first Timbers start. And the former Toronto FC man, who came to the Timbers two weeks ago in exchange for forward Bright Dike, a first-round draft pick in 2015 and allocation money, is already making an impact.
Diego Valeri’s early goal was a classy finish, but do not overlook Urruti’s role in it. Moments before Valeri’s steady 13th minute chip, Urruti had pressured Rapids’ veteran center back Drew Moor, probably even fouling the Rapids’ defender in the hurry-hurry of it all. So the next time Urruti pressured Colorado’s back line, Moor rushed his clearing pass. It was intercepted, played right back into Valeri and … 1-0 Timbers.
Urruti had a meanness and menace all night, even collecting an early yellow card for too much of it. But it seems to come with good instincts, too, and a feel for making things happen. He needs to tone down the theatrics just a bit, but the Timbers may have located a truly useful part.
The turf at Jeld-Wen can still provide an edge
The artificial turf at Jeld-Wen Field, generally recognized as better than other turf fields in MLS but still hardly ideal, remains an advantage that Portland can exploit. Case in point: the Rapids controlled matters for long stretches. But passing and crossing is just a little different off the fake stuff, and that includes restarts.
Colorado had six corner kicks and three free kicks in dangerous places before the break, but just could not do enough to create consistent danger off those potential opportunities. The visitors got the feel of it, or closer to it, in the second 45, but still couldn’t make it work.
Sometimes the advantage isn’t in what the Timbers can do, but what the other guys cannot. (Or, better said, what the other guys cannot do well enough.)
Shane O’Neill continues to shine
Rapids youngsters Dillon Powers and Deshorn Brown have gotten their rookie props. Chris Klute, too. And who knew how well Clint Irwin would perform when he had to take over in goal for Colorado after Matt Pickens’ long-term injury?
But more and more, we have to wonder whether young center back Shane O’Neill will be the best of the Rapids’ young bunch? The U.S. under-20 was positionally perfect Friday and ever sure on the clearances. Not bad in a high-pressure match, in the Jeld-Wen cauldron, no less.
Portland scored early … then hung on
You could look at the Jeld-Wen glass as half-empty, noting (correctly) that Caleb Porter’s team scored early and then … didn’t do much else except to sit deep, hang in there and escape with the three points.
But there is some value to doing so. The playoffs are coming, and the ability to grind out results, to be “gritty-not-pretty,” can be useful. Porter had the passing game going early in his first year with the Timbers, then got the counter attack working efficiently. If they can find the grind, so to speak, the Timbers have found a pretty good place heading into the post-season.
FYI, the Rapids haven’t been shut out since July 7. So this was one “grind” with some real muscle behind it.
