By Niall McCusker

On the back of a vital mid-week win, the Timbers rewarded the Urruti/Fernandez duo who had contributed very effectively to that result with another start. Despite only 3 days recovery time, the two, who had been more than adequately rested over the course of the season, put in another good performance.

The Timbers attack started quite well, but were restricted to a few efforts from distance. As the first half wore on they started to find a lot of room on the right side of Colorado’s defense, the goal looked to be coming and it was Fernandez arriving from deep who struck first, with his partner Urruti this time turning provider.

Colorado were given plenty of possession in the second half, this looked a viable tactic for the visitors, as the Rapids main avenue of attack was rather unconventional – passing the ball straight out of bounds.

They did not look dangerous at all and the second half was a pretty tepid affair up until the last ten minutes, when the home side pushed their 6’7″ Swedish center back Axel Sjoberg up front to see if their was any pillaging he could indulge in.

“If you don’t put them away Colorado hangs in there”

Thus spake the prescient mind of Marcelo Balboa about 15 seconds before the Rapids equalized. While not quite as profligate as last week the Timbers did have a few good chances to extend their lead instead of relying on Jewsbury’s late heroics. In truth they should have won both the last two games much more easily – but if that is worst criticism that can be leveled they will gladly take it.

Here are the individual ratings:

Adam Larsen Kwarasey 6.5: He did well to safely hold a downward header from Sjoberg near the end, but had no chance for the excellently struck goal shortly afterwards. Up until that time he had yet another comfortable outing with not much work to do.

Alvas Powell 6.5: Normally a more attacking player, the Jamaican sat back a lot more than usual in the this game and had an easy enough time securing his wing. If the coaches had a word with him before the game about conserving energy, given the schedule and altitude, they were wisely heeded. He did have one good burst out of defense with 20 minutes to go, linking with Fernandez who set Urruti up for a shot.

Nat Borchers 6.5: Colorado were so poor in their attack that he really didn’t have much to do in this game until near the end, when Sjoberg’s arrival as an auxiliary forward caused a few uneasy moments.

Liam Ridgewell 7: Sanchez looked lively in brief moments early on, Ridgewell pulled out wide left to close him down when Villafana was getting forward. Much like a good old fashioned London ‘bobby’ on his beat, Ridgewell is starting to make a habit of being in the right place at the right time. Colorado’s best move of the game in the 36th minute ended in an excellent cross – ‘not down my manor you slag’, he may or may not have been saying as he cleared it.

Jorge Villafana 7: The left back made some nice runs in the attack and with switching passes now arriving in a more timely fashion, the runners do not have to break stride and predictably pass the ball back up the line as they did earlier in the season. Perhaps slightly fortunate not be called for a penalty for hanging onto an attackers arm as a ball dropped at the far post, but he has been out-jumped in that position too many times, so it was good to see him win out by whatever means it took.

He could have been a little sharper on some countering opportunities near end, like a few of his colleagues, but overall a decent showing.

George Fochive 7: In his first start since the disastrous Orlando home game, in which he may have unfairly paid the price for some shortcomings in team tactics, the youngster put in a solid shift. Colorado’s Irish DP Kevin Doyle was playing quite deep, looking for shooting chances, but found no space between Portland’s defensive and midfield lines in which to work.

Even before his goal LaBrocca had been sneaking forward and looking for shooting chances all game – Fochive and Jewsbury could have been a little more proactive in looking out for that.

Jack Jewsbury 8: A little too conservative, a little too slow in setting the tempo and not enough runs to support the attack. These were among the reasons trotted out to replace Jewsbury with a returning Will Johnson as the Timbers sought a spark. Yet these were the very reasons why Jewsbury was effective in this game – frenetic pace and wasted ‘hustle’ are the last things needed when playing in Colorado.

Veteran energy conservation is exactly why he had the legs to break forward in the 94th minute and net the winning goal. He will have been relieved to get it as he had let LaBrocca stroll right past him a minute earlier to score his equalizer.

Dairon Asprilla 6.5: After an excellent game in midweek Asprilla did not bring as much to the table on the attacking side on this occasion. He had a great chance to hit the target from a close range volley when he got on the end of a Nagbe flick, but sliced it badly. In the last two games his runs have been effective in stretching defenses and he did get some good defensive work done in the second half. His tracking back has prevented teams from targeting Powell – which Toronto and Houston had both done to good effect in recent losses.

Gaston Fernandez 8: Two starts for “la gata” – two wins for Portland. Who needs Diego Valeri? Joking aside, it took an ankle injury to his returning compatriot to see Fernandez finally start in the 13th and 14th games of the season. Unfortunate circumstances often come with a beneficial side-effect and signs of a rapprochement between Porter and Fernandez can only be good for the team.

They will need to be judicious about the opponent and the tactics employed, but in the right circumstances Fernandez will put points on the board.

Just like Jewsbury his slower playing tempo attracts criticism from those who favor ‘hustle’, but letting the ball do the work is the way to go in challenging conditions. The Argentine dropped deep into midfield to start moves and then showed up at the edge of the box late to reconnect with the play – exactly the sort of player the Timbers defense often struggles against. Urruti dropped off too and the Timbers enjoyed some extra numbers in the middle as well as pulling the Colorado midfield and defense out of shape.

It was simple stuff, but enough to create the space for his goal, which he finished with a confidence belying a man who had been allowed to languish on the bench for so long.

Darlington Nagbe 7: It might not be sustainable in the long term to have a notoriously right-footed player on the left wing, but Nagbe had a good first half. As the forwards dropped deep overloading Colorado’s right side they looked for chances to spring runners on the left. Nagbe cut inside on several occasions, but even on his favored right foot could not muster enough venom in his shots, though he did flick one blocked effort on to Asprilla very nicely.

Nagbe was on the wrong end of a naughty two-footed tackle from James Riley 3 seconds into the second half – Riley did well to beat a certain Vincent Jones’ record of 5 seconds for a caution from a kick-off, though 25 years later the card color is normally red.

Maxi Urruti 7.5: He took up were he left off on Wednesday night: showing well, simple, one-touch play for easy linking with his midfielders. He seems to be relishing the chance to play with his more experienced compatriot and this time he provided the assist and the senior partner the finish.

He picked off a back pass on 55 minutes and should have found Nagbe charging through the middle – Portland’s early season counter-attacking form seems to have deserted them at the moment. But having an effective, team-wide, primary attacking strategy for the first time this season more than compensates for that.

Substitutes:

Rodney Wallace (on in 57′) 6.5: A good early substitute from Porter, Wallace worked hard and laid out for a crucial block from Cronin with five minutes left as the Rapids finally served a good ball into the box. He had a chance to score on the counter but took a touch when he normally hits those first time. If rediscovers his attacking mojo he will be a good late game substitute as he tries to find his way back into the starting line-up.

Fanendo Adi 5.5 (on in 72′) 5.5: As Colorado threw caution to the wind in the last ten minutes Adi did not offer enough in the way of an outlet. He did turn a defender well two minutes into injury time as Colorado sought a winner, he forced the foul but got back to his feet as the referee correctly allowed advantage (despite Porter’s colorful protestations) – sadly for him he could only find the side-netting. The DP will have to be content to come off the bench as the attack is looking better without him at the moment.

Ishmael Yartey (on in 88′): Not on long enough for a rating, but did a couple of good things as Portland pushed to regain the lead. He played an excellent ball up the left for Wallace and then a minute later was on hand to poke the ball across for Jewsbury’s late winner. He likely had a lot more fun out there than he anticipated when he came in as a late-game, time-wasting change.