By Niall McCusker

The last few minutes were lively, a pair of goals put a shiny veneer on what otherwise had been a terrible game. Until that point Diego Valeri’s excellent strike had been a lone beacon of quality in a swelling sea of, to use a nice word, mediocrity. Some might prefer a shorter and more alliterative end to that sentence.*

In the 87th minute two rare events combined to give Portland their second goal. First Darlington Nagbe took on opponents in their box instead of on the halfway line and second he laid it back to a defensive midfielder who was making a late run. The Timbers could use more of both those things.

In the first half nothing happened except two red cards, up to Valeri’s goal the second half was much the same. Portland are no longer a ball holding team, but not winning a single 5 minute increment (MLS stats page divides it up like that) of possession in the second half when numbers were even was taking it a little too far. Kansas looked like getting an equalizer until the home team finally broke out with their late goals.

Not pretty, as is usually the case between Portland and Kansas, but a vital three points.

Here are the individual ratings:

Jake Gleeson 7: It was not quite a Kwarasey 2015 lawn-chair type game for Portland’s keeper but Kansas did not overly trouble him, hitting their best chances over (Zusi) and wide (Peterson). But he still had to be alert to keep out a header from an unmarked Diego Rubio with ten minutes remaining and make a late kick-save from Ike Opara to preserve his clean-sheet.

Alvas Powell (off in 71′) 7: The Jamaican defender was having a nice game before having to come out with twenty minutes left. He had a couple of strong runs forward early in the second half, one of which was interrupted by a yellow card foul from Espinoza. He made a nice tackle on the dangerous Saad Adbul-Salaam just before coming out. Those sliding tackles in his own box look dangerous, but he always times them well.

Jermaine Taylor 7: He does a generally dependable job at center back for defensive ‘jack of all trades’. He doesn’t get sucked in, finds a man to mark and does the basics right. He had a nice block on Dwyer in the last minute after Okugo had tried and failed to steal the ball from the front.

Amobi Okugo 6.5: He was part of a defense that kept a clean sheet and cut out a lot of crosses. However, he is too ready to commit to ball winning, which if you don’t succeed is a dangerous trait for a center back. A tendency to be pro-active and want to step out to cut out passes and shots is good, but only if you get it right.

Vytautas Andriuskevicius 7: If you have a ten syllable name you should make people use all of it. “Just Vytas” is letting Taylor Twellman and co. off the hook way too easy. In limited minutes the magnificently monikered Lithuanian has thus far looked like a tidy footballer. But 180 minutes in four days is a lot to ask from a player who has just been on vacation. He had a few errant passes in his own half that didn’t look great and was a little too eager to dive into challenges. The jury is still out on his defensive solidity, but he did swing in a cross that led to Valeri’s goal. For the statistics minded, OPTA recorded that it was an ‘unsuccessful open play cross’, for people who watch the game it looked like a dangerous cross. That red line in the ‘box score’ is so judgmentally definitive in a sport delightfully full of gray areas.

Diego Chara (red card in 12′) 2: If Baldrick from Blackadder was a football pundit instead of an idiotic minion (what’s the difference I hear you cry) he would normally describe Diego Chara in terms like – ‘as sneaky as sneaky fox who has just been appointed Professor of Sneak at Oxford University’. We all have our off days.

Jack Jewsbury 7.5: In Chara’s absence the veteran had to step up and he did so very well. Kansas had a chance to press their advantage when they were a man up for thirty minutes, but they showed a severe lack of ambition in this period. Portland deserve some credit as well, marshaled by Jewsbury, they got into a nice compact shape that tacticians call the ‘come at me bro’ formation. Kansas, much like every bar room warrior, chose not to do that with any real menace. Maybe threw a couple damp beer coasters and some stale popcorn.

A nicely timed run into the box to deliver the ‘coup de grâce’ earned him a log slice.

Diego Valeri (off in 86′) 7.5: He wears the captain’s armband well, when your most skilled player is also your hardest worker others can’t help being inspired. His goal was well struck, but his bravery in bringing Portland back to even numbers might have been more important.

No doubt he saw Mustivar’s steam-train run from the corner of his eye, he didn’t hesitate for a second and perhaps might even have anticipated the chance to get the referee to reach for his back pocket again. He might have done a little more to help Portland hold onto the ball though.

Darlington Nagbe 8: After Chara’s early dismissal he had to drop in deep beside Jewsbury and did a very nice job. Most Portland player’s passing maps in this game (of only 28% possession) looked like a 5 year old drank an entire bottle of ketchup (the good stuff with plenty of e-numbers) and then got loose with a random group of crayons. Nagbe’s was its normal accurate green self.

He has five assists this year, four of which came after penetration into his opponent’s box. Let’s see him in there a little more often.

Fanendo Adi 7: Apparently Caleb Porter had told him he was giving him some help up front to prevent him from getting ‘gang-banged’. I would provide a link for that quote but I’m much too scared to google anything even close. The help didn’t last long as McInerney had to retreat into midfield when Chara got sent-off.

He kept plowing his lonely, isolated furrow in the manner of a hard-working peasant in an early van Gogh and reaped rewards at the end. A powerful run on the right set the stage for Jewsbury’s goal and he took his own at the second attempt soon afterward.

John Seamus McInerney (off in 79′) 6.5: If Vytas should use his full name then so should ‘Jack’, great Irish middle names that rhyme with famous are not just for St. Patrick’s day. He did some decent work after dropping back, but an earlier readjustment with an actual midfielder might have been an idea.

Substitutes:

Taylor Peay (on in 71′) 6: Abdul-Salaam had switched to the left wing by the time he entered the game, Peay kept him fairly quiet but had a couple of unadvised passes around his own box.

Ned Grabavoy (on in 79′) 6: He could have been on a little earlier as Portland needed someone to put their foot on the ball and calm it down. But he managed some good work and was involved in both late goals.

Lucas Melano (on in 86′): Not on long enough for a rating, but on just long enough to know his price tag will not continue to buy him starts if he doesn’t produce consistently.

* the alliterative word would be shit.