Portland Timbers win MLS Cup in Columbus Ohio 12-6-15

Timbers are victorious in 2-1 final against the Columbus Crew, winners of the Eastern Conference and considered to be one of the most balanced and dangerous teams in the league.   I don't have any brilliant insights into this match which won't be written about by hundreds of others.  My reason for writing this post is simply to commemorate the moment--a long time coming for many many people who have been in the stands over the forty years since that first match in 1975.

That year,  the team marched from a June loss at home in the rain against the Seattle Sounders to take the Western Division title with a one game lead over the Sounders at the end of the season.  Post season pitted the teams again,  and 'the lads' in green won 2-1 in overtime on a goal by Tony Betts, a crowd favorite, cut in the mold of Will Johnson.  Ticket sales for the playoff games skyrocketed as high as 33,000 and the local press marveled at the site of people sleeping out in a queue at Civic Stadium to get their tickets,  particularly to the St. Louis Stars semifinal match which was decided on a goal by "the Wizard of Nod" Peter Withe.   The wins put the Timbers into the NASL Championship which was played in San Jose against the Tampa Bay Rowdies.   Sadly,  the Timbers lost that August 1975 match 0-2.

Since then, despite various iterations of the club and team through subsequent years,  there has not been a Championship.  Until today.

Several things shine out for me.   I watched the match today with two of my own longtime teammates and their spouses,  with my youngest son and his son.   None of that might have happened were it not for the Timbers from forty years past because I think none of us knew diddly about the game called soccer. Because of the Timbers,  I began to explore the skills and strategies of the game.  I was 25 years old, not an athlete,  somewhat opposed to jocks and jock culture.   I got a soccer ball and started going to a nearby park with a tennis court and practicing passing and trapping,   with both feet because that's what I heard the Timbers' coach say was important.   I didn't know anyone who played soccer.    In  June 1977,  I got an invite to show up for a 'soccer jamboree' at Delta Park which would lead to a recreational, Portland Parks summer league for people who were interested in the game.  I found myself on a team for the summer which morphed into a men's league team in the fall.   SJO Irregulars,  sponsored by Seton Johnson & Odell became the foundation for FC77, a club which has been fielding men's teams in a range of divisions for 38 years.   And most of those men, probably would not be playing soccer if it were not for the '75 Timbers.

Notable things about this legendary win by the Timbers. Diego Valeri's pressuring run on the keeper is the only time I can recall such a result.  I've seen keepers strike the ball into an onrushing attacker and give up a goal,  but never much a surgical 'no' as Valeri delivered.   This goal will be viewed on YouTube for decades.    The second goal by the Timbers clearly started from a ball that was in touch but neither the linesman nor the center registered that fact and when it was clear that there was no whistle,  Portland played forward,  catching Columbus flatfooted and leading to Wallace's goal.   Okay I get that it's 'not fair' but the primary axiom of the game is 'play the whistle'.   The Kamara goal that followed might have involved interference with the keeper but perhaps not.

The reality is that in the rest of the match, despite Columbus discipline and control,  the Timbers were the more dangerous side.  And if officiating were to be raised as an issue,  the clear handball on the goal line by Parkhurst--arm in unnatural position and looking at the ball as he deflects it,  should balance out the ball in touch in the first half.   The Timbers had two shots on the post, and Borchers' shot into the ground saved by Steve Clark's thighs speak to the effectiveness of the Timbers' attack.

The Boys deserved this win.  They scrapped and played hard and earned it.  And in my mind,  they are a team just finding their form.   So I am hoping, deeply, that the club sees this group of players  as the core for the future and looks to their potential growth as a squad.   These Timbers are worthy of everything dreamed of through the past four decades.

"We're gonna do what they say can't be done!"   Timbers Army.

Darlington Nagbe's MNT debut

Our Portland Timber attacking dynamo, Darlington Nagbe,  was called up to the US Men's National Team for a qualifying match against St. Vincent & the Grenadines.   Nagbe was called to play in the 64th minute along with another player.   review of the game's flow showed that he acquitted himself well, passing accurately,  moving off the ball to create opportunities and occasionally turning to the attack, at one point cracking off a strong shot.  

Notable to me was that Nagbe's workmanlike performance on the field in that short period of time involved precise passing,  intuitive movement off the ball,  and a defensive effort to break down counter attacks when the opponent picked up the ball.  I thought that Nagbe was stellar at showing he could play that role throughout his twenty-some minutes of play.   He made few mistakes and showed a clear understanding of the USMNT system despite its differences from his play with the Portland Timbers.

Nagbe is one of the most talented players over the ball in the MLS...and maybe elsewhere.  The typical response from opponents is to take him down and draw a soft foul.  This may be one of the weak points of the game---that a low consequence foul, say pushing the player to the ground,  doesn't cost the offending team much but nullifies the talent and skill of the player fouled.   I hope this isn't the direction the game is headed.

Nagbe deserves the call up.  He's a quality attacking player.  He's effective if he's used in a system that understands his strengths.  He will be a legendary player if he can be protected from the cynical fouls that are so common in MLS.

My hope is that he remains healthy and that he stays with Portland.   I think he's one of the best players I've seen---just needs some help against the thugs.

Portland Timbers first MLS playoff match: eliminating SKC in PKs.

Anyone who follows futbol passionately treasures their short list of legendary matches, generally matches attended in person.  And the game provides a limitless list of competitive moments, in small or large venues, where the passion was intense, the stakes were high, and the goddess, Fortune, put her hand on the scale more than once to tip the outcome. 

The first playoff match for the MLS Portland Timbers kicked contending matches aside as the team battled through 120 minutes of field play and eleven rounds of penalty kicks to finally take the win when keeper, Adam Kwarasey ,stopped opposing keeper, Jon Kempin, with a  great save after making his own statement by bending the net with a strong shot.  

Old Nicks v Pierres 9-12-15

On Saturday, September 12,  Old Nicks opened our fall season with a match against Pierre's, the perennial champions of the division we share in Portland's men's league, the GPSD.  This was a particularly notable moment because Old Nicks had won the O58 Summer League and championship game.  Pierre's never plays in Summer Leagues and so we'd won without having to face them. 

Pierre's is a classic select team carefully assembled over the years by Tony Ryan, a canny footballer with an eye to enjoying the game as a winner even when he's had to watch from the sidelines.   In our age group,  Pierre's has always been a strong team because the players have long played soccer,  have trained together for years, have been coached to a unified style of play, and in most instances are natural athletes.  Despite the fact that we've been beaten by them over and over through the years,  we have admired them for their style and commitment. 

Over the years since the Millennium  we have only had a single match in which we were able to eke out the win.  At the January King Cup Tournament in Las Vegas (held the weekend of Martin Luther King Day) 2002, our motley crew in its second tournament appearance faced off against Pierre's in a night game and beat them on a high lob from Jim Brinkman.  The win has been part of our team mythos for a dozen years since.  We did beat Pierre's that one time, but in league play, they've been unstoppable.   

Our strategy, strongly urged by Jack Stigler who has played with both teams, has been to initiate a regular team practice,  to drill on basics,  and to work on getting so familiar with each others' play that we are comfortable on the field.  "If I pass to this guy, he'll do this."   We were feeling confident from our steadily increasing team play in the summer result but were also keenly aware we'd won it without having to face Pierre's.

At noon on the newly created turf field at Delta 5 the players drifted in, preparing for the match.  Though it was an autumn day,  the temperature was warm and the sun was bright.  No Oregon overcast.   Old Nicks faced a dilemma.  We had enough players to take the field, but our goalkeeper wasn't available.  In Summer season we'd won using six different goalkeepers.   In addition,  we had half a dozen players out injured or on various forms of family trips. The biggest challenge of the oldest division may be that the players are all at an age when they want to do what they want to do--and on a given weekend that may not be soccer.

The other and beneficent side of the coin is that all the older players know each other and are willing to step in and fill a void for guys they like on a weekend where they are not opponents.   So it was that the Nicks' were augmented by Tom Wolfe in goal, Roddy Coles in defense and Greg Anderson as a rover.  All three had played for their own team, Masterbooters, just prior to our match and had agreed to hang over with us.

The match began as they so often have with Pierres kicking off and trying to organize an attack.  Only minutes into the game,  it was clear that something different was happening. Old Nicks players were pressuring the Pierres attack and disrupting it.  Old Nicks forced Pierres to cough up the ball and then began their own attack.  Repeatedly,  the Nicks' pressure forced turnovers and as the moments clicked by, Old Nicks began to counter, distributing the ball across the pitch. 

Rocky and Jeff supported by good midfield play, made a concerted give-go-gone passing sequence which led to Rock putting the ball in the net.Not many minutes later,  another rush at Pierre's goal produced a second goal.  Nicks' players had to ratchet down their exuberance knowing that Pierre's was capable of storming back.   

Then Nicks, pressing hard, won a corner kick.   Glenn took the cross which sailed in high, was cleared but straight to Kim Bergenser who sent a rocket into the net.   The halftime score ended 0-3.   

We did not know what to do with such a situation.  Not only had we never scored three goals against Pierre's, we couldn't recall who else could have.  But we knew that this was a most dangerous situation.  They had 45 minutes to correct all their mistakes and win the match. 

As it happened, they almost achieved that goal.  They muscled their way to a first goal, Reggie using sheer physicality to get through and take the shot.  Shortly after,  they earned a PK which was finished precisely against our gimpy keeper. And then, late in the second half,  a blooper of a shot from the outer left side of the box into the top right corner put the game outcome in question.  

Not because Nicks had been taken out of the game by any means.  We'd had attacking runs into their end and had not been able to convert.  Balls had hit the crossbar and the post more than once.  The decisive moment came when Jeff Heilman was able to beat their defender and paste the ball into the net in a perfectly timed run.  The tally was 4-3 Nicks.

That was the final result.  We'd broken a long string of losses.  We'd played together as a team and had shown that we could play the beautiful game when we were at our best. Most importantly,  Tony and a substantial cadre of Pierre's joined us for beer after,  and acknowledged our win as well as asserting their intention that we not make a habit of it.