The Portland Timbers (6-13-6, 24 points) are looking for payback against the Colorado Rapids (8-16-2, 26 points), a team they’ve never defeated since joining MLS and a team which pummeled them 3-0 back in late June. A win Friday could also catapult the Timbers out of last place in the Western Conference and put the Rapids into the basement.
Credit: Oregon Live (http://media.oregonlive.com/timbers/photo/nagbe-being-chasedjpg-141f88450bd69fe3.jpg)
- Diego Chara will be back after missing Saturday’s match with a yellow card accumulation suspension. This is excellent news but where does it leave Eric Alexander? It’s disappointing to see Alexander continue to be the odd man out in this lineup. With a team-leading six assists on the year, it’s pretty clear he needs to be out on the pitch. I thought he played one of his best matches of the season on Saturday. I think it’d be tough to sit him down after playing so well. So the question has to be asked: if Alexander starts who sits? For me it would have to be Jack Jewsbury. Ironically, Jewsbury has played pretty well over the last three matches so he’s made a case to stay in the lineup as well. I’d love to see Gavin Wilkinson have the guts to sit Jewsbury and start Alexander. It’s the one lineup tweak we haven’t seen, and it would be very interesting to see how that lineup would play out.
- As I mentioned in the introduction, the Timbers haven’t beaten Colorado since coming into MLS. Not only that, but the Timbers have only scored one goal in those three matches, while the Rapids have scored seven. The Rapids are reeling right now while the Timbers actually look to be playing with confidence. We’ll see if that confidence can turn into a second straight victory for the Timbers.
- Speaking of confidence, is there any player in MLS right now playing with more confidence than Darlington Nagbe? After his goal on Saturday, I saw Nagbe walk towards the center circle. As he got close to the center, he turned around and raised his arms and clapped and pumped his fists in the direction of the Timbers Army. I’m not sure I ever saw anything like that from Nagbe before. Sure, he’s celebrated after goals before, but this seemed different in a way. There was almost a bit of a swagger to Nagbe, and I liked it. Earlier this season, I thought Nagbe had truly arrived. Then he went 19 matches without scoring a goal, and I was as critical of Nagbe as anybody. Now, I hope his recent resurgence marks a true coming out party into MLS.
Pre-Game Notes:
REFEREE: Jair Marrufo. AR1 (bench): Frank Anderson; AR2 (opposite): Jeff Hosking; 4th: Daniel Radford
MLS Career: 140 games; FC/gm: 24.2; Y/gm: 3.2; R: 32; pens: 44
INJURY REPORT: PORTLAND TIMBERS – OUT: DF Chris Taylor (R hip surgery); PROBABLE: MF Kalif Alhassan (L patellar tendinitis); GK Jake Gleeson (R groin strain) … COLORADO RAPIDS – OUT: DF Anthony Wallace (L Achilles tear); MF Pablo Mastroeni (headaches); FW Edu (R foot contusion); QUESTIONABLE: FW Kamani Hill (L quad strain); PROBABLE: FW Omar Cummings (R ankle soreness)
INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: none
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:
- SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: none
- SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: POR: Kris Boyd, Jack Jewsbury, Hanyer Mosquera, Lovel Palmer, Steven Smith, Kosuke Kimura … COL: Jaime Castrillon, Tyrone Marshall, Drew Moor, Martin Rivero, Tyson Wahl
HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (3 meetings): Timbers 0 wins, 1 goal … Rapids 3 wins, 7 goals … Ties 0
AT PORTLAND (1 meeting): Timbers 0 wins, 1 goal … Rapids 1 win, 1 goal … Ties 0
FUTURE MATCH: 9/5: Colorado Rapids vs. Portland Timbers, 7 p.m. MT (NBC SN)
Video Preview:
My prediction:
Timbers get their 2nd victory in a row. 3-1 over the Rapids.
Chris Singer
GFT Portland Timbers Blogger. Web designer. Freelancer. MLS Community Manager for @kyckfutbol. Check out my web/book project http://cansoccersavetheworld.com. Follow me on twitter at @futboldaddy.
While I would love to see EA at what point does it become too much tinkering. I don’t think Gavin has had the same lineup yet from one game to the other and as this team is starting to find connections offensively does Jack provide just enough Defensively to make the case for continuity. I don’t know the answer and I would not be sad to see Jack take his talents somewhere else.
When GW first took over, the first few matches saw a lot of tinkering, but over the last 3 matches the only changes in the lineup had to do with yellow card suspensions (Wallace starting with Songo’o out in one and Alexander starting with Chara out). You make a good point though, I’m not one for constant lineup tinkering. I just think that Alexander is deserving of a start every week and I thought he provided as much defensively if not more in the last match to warrant an opportunity. I also think in terms of Caleb Porter, I can’t imagine Jack being an automatic start or even captain next year.