By Niall McCusker

Given the suspensions of Diego Valeri and Rodney Wallace the Timbers decision to switch back to two defensive midfielders seemed obvious and the front four pretty much picked themselves. But the home team still came out in attacking mode and it was obvious a lot of fine-tuning had been done in the 2 weeks off since the semi-final. There was a nicely designed tactical approach to the game and every player had a good understanding of his role.

Portland have been working on fast transitions all year and it paid off in the first 20 minutes. The main pattern was recovered balls being funneled to Chara who looked for Adi coming deep to near the halfway line, as has been the case recently the big man’s lay offs were excellent and Nagbe was always hovering nearby to be the beneficiary. Adi having pulled the defense out, created space behind for Melano to exploit with his diagonal runs. Asprilla was also lively, playing as a more orthodox winger. Only the finish remained elusive, but it finally arrived after twenty minutes from a corner.

On the defensive side Portland weren’t standing back admiring the visitor’s build-up. Chara, Jewsbury and Villafana all gave up free-kicks in dangerous areas, but with Michel sitting on the bench they were not punished. Dallas eventually came to terms with Portland’s attack and started to come into the game more, but when Portland’s second arrived with a wonder-strike from Asprilla the tie looked to moving away from them. Fortunately for the visitors they were able to take advantage of an enforced defensive change and score just after Ridgewell left the game injured. It was the home team’s turn to look shaky for a spell but they recovered and had a strong finish forcing a crucial third goal from another corner in the final minute.

The last ten minutes summed up the game, it was still end-to-end and fast, neither team settling for a controlled approach. More often than not high stakes games are not played in such an open way and if the second leg follows the same pattern it would seem to favor the side holding the lead and being able to counter.

However, Portland need only think back to the 4-2 lead they took to Honduras against CD Olimpia last season if they need a reminder of how ephemeral a first leg lead can become with any hint of complacency.

Here are the individual ratings:

Adam Larsen Kwarasey 7: His last game at home this season was just like many of the others – not many saves to make behind this solid defense. However, sometimes it is about the saves the keeper doesn’t have to make because of good positioning. As Hollingshead broke into the box in the 57th minute his quick advance and good positioning gave the church-building Californian nothing to aim at and forced the wide effort.

The keeper handled crosses confidently and was always looking to spring the quick counter attack.

Alvas Powell 7: The right back won his first ball of the day after 15 seconds to begin the attack that ended in Melano’s early effort. He had Barrios to deal with in the first half and Castillo in the second – both dangerous propositions. They created a few dangerous moments, but Powell held his own and got forward himself to give them something to think about defensively. He needed to curb his enthusiasm a little in the last ten minutes, frenetic runs into traffic, leaving holes behind him at a crucial phase, were not advisable. Then again, one of those did earn the corner that led to Portland’s third goal.

Nat Borchers 8: Dallas have not been relying on their center forwards to score many goals this year, they come from the attacking midfielders. But Borchers did win any headers that came into his box and as well as his late scrambled goal, also got a header on target following a first half set-piece. In the second half he stepped across on several occasions to make good challenges when Castillo looked to come inside Powell.

A solid performance from a veteran who is no stranger to the pressures of this part of the season.

Liam Ridgewell 7.5 (off in 61′): He finally got his goal, good timing after countless jogs up-field all season to join in attacking set-pieces. When Portland did look to change the pace of the game and do a little RIP (Rest In Possession) the Englishman’s confident ball-handling is at the center of that and he patiently waited for chances to hit the forward pass. Texeria worked a shot from a long throw in the first half, but other than that was well contained until Ridgewell was forced out of the game. The medical staff will have a busy week working on that calf.

Jorge Villafana 7.5: Dallas tried Castillo on his wing on their first visit to Portland at the start of the season and had no more success then than they did on this occasion. The left-back got in plenty of interceptions and tackles and timed his forward runs nicely, taking the space as Melano tucked into the center. He picked up a caution for a strong tackle on Diaz as Portland adopted a more physical approach than normal.

In the second half he had some more trouble down his wing as Watson pushed forward to support Barrios who had swapped with Castillo. On occasion (like for the Dallas goal) it seemed he could have used some more help from Melano. His look across his defensive line and a well timed step-up to play Barrios offside with 20 minutes to go point to his continued improvement in the defensive arts.

Jack Jewsbury 7: Some expected Johnson to return to the line-up but Jewsbury got the nod and started the game well, operating slightly deeper than Chara and helping establish an early possession platform for the home side. He had a harder time as the half wore on and Castillo started to come inside to join in central attacks with Diaz. Like several of his colleagues, forced to give up some fouls in dangerous positions, but overall did his job in helping keep Dallas reasonably quiet.

Diego Chara 8: The Colombian was the link-man to Portland’s front four and unlike some games early in the season he never allowed them to become too isolated. He still found the time to get back and keep his defensive shape, stopping Diaz as best he could with a full variety of legal and illegal tactics. If the referee doesn’t want to book you until the last ten minutes then why not take advantage of it?

After Portland allowed Dallas into the game following their goal, Chara was instrumental in reasserting control and driving them forward in the final ten minutes.

Lucas Melano (off in 93′) 6.5: The Argentine seems to be a ‘moments’ type player rather than someone who is consistently involved in build up play. He took early advantage of the space behind Adi with well timed runs that terrified the Dallas defense. But, as been the story since his arrival, when the ‘moments’ find him he doesn’t quite deliver.

He also started the game working hard off the ball, chasing down a clearance in his own half to set Nagbe off on 3 vs 2 counter attack in the 14th minute. But even before their goal Watson started to sneak up the wing and get behind him – maybe he is only tasked with tracking a certain distance back in order to be available for the counter-attack and the runner should be picked up by a defensive midfielder. But in the case of the goal it certainly looked like he switched off for a second, then again Diaz’s through balls are of sufficient quality to expose anyone.

A decent performance, but considering Asprilla’s, he might be the man to give way to Wallace.

Darlington Nagbe 7.5: In Valeri’s absence he was higher up the field with less defensive responsibility, in the first 5 minutes he had already released Melano twice with through-balls and worked a nice passing exchange with Asprilla. As Portland continued to load the right wing he found Villafana on the left with a couple of nice switching passes around the tenth minute. But in the 14th minute, when leading a potential 3 vs 2 break, his final ball to Asprilla was too long – showing how Valeri is still missed in that position.

After running the show for the first 20 minutes, Dallas began to close him down better and forced him off the ball several times in the second half. His set-piece deliveries often looked to hang in the air for too long, which normally gives the advantage to the defense, but on the third goal it worked in Portland’s favor as Paparatto attacked the ball aggressively.

Dairon Asprilla 8.5: The young Colombian was on the ball in the final third more than any other Portland player. He got some good crosses in but could have been a bit more selective in his final ball at times. That said he did use his considerable ability in the air to provide the assist for Ridgewell’s opening goal. Oh and there was the small matter of his magnificent second half strike.

After that Hollingshead actually started to get behind him at times and it was a good battle between the two wide players. He did everything he could to earn another start, but he might yet lose out if Porter wants to leave Melano stretching the Dallas defense while allowing the return of Wallace’s defensive capabilities to preserve their lead.

Fanendo Adi (off in 85′) 8: When Adi comes deeper for the ball, those ‘long’ passes become that much more controllable, his lay-offs to Nagbe and others were again top notch in this game. He also turned quickly and made strong secondary runs to the edge of the box to follow up his initial work. After operating further up the field in isolation for many games this year there is now real understanding of how to use him and he and Nagbe are starting to develop an intuitive relationship.

While he didn’t have any shots on goal in this match he was still a crucial part of the attack.

Substitutes:

Norberto Paparatto (on in 61′) 6.5: The Argentine has had limited opportunities this season, but has been solid when called upon. He was unfortunate to perhaps be caught a little cold by Texeira’s good run and finish right after he came in for Ridgewell. But he recovered well and his towering header at the end led to the all important third goal for Portland

Maxi Urruti (on in 85′): He was not on long enough for a rating, but got a foot to the ball that was eventually prodded home by Borchers in the last minute scramble.

Will Johnson (on in 93′): After a couple of good games for Canada in World Cup qualifying he might have expected to play a bigger part in this game but Jewsbury got the nod. There is some speculation these few minutes may have been his last in a home game for the Timbers.