By Niall McCusker

The Timbers scored 4 goals, got their first home win since Chicago visited on August 7th and secured a home game for the play-offs. It was not as pretty as the second half against LA, there were no long, intricate passing sequences, aside from Nagbe’s header the goals were deflections, own goals, handballs……. whatever, job done.

The home side started well, Adi and Ridgewell had dangerous headers even before Nagbe’s opening free kick. But after conceding a quick equalizer Portland had a bad spell when they couldn’t keep hold of the ball and could have gone behind. However, after regaining the lead they protected it better, keeping the ball more patiently at the back and making the Rapids chase the game.

Portland have had halves were they created many more chances and got nothing, but they went in ahead and at that point were sitting in second place in the conference. A Vancouver goal ended that hope, but the Timbers secured their result and third place with a couple more goals in the second half.

They put themselves in a very tight spot three games ago, but have fought their way out of it magnificently. The Timbers haven’t found the net against Kansas in 270 minutes this season – if they can finally do that and progress to the conference semi-finals anything looks possible.

Here are the individual ratings:

Adam Larsen Kwarasey 7: The keeper had no chance with the deflected goal but it didn’t seem like he had Doyle’s low shot from distance covered when it hit the outside of the post later in the first half. He was largely untested in the second half, but came off his line very well to punch a ball off Doyle’s head.

Alvas Powell 7: He had a confident start to the game dispossessing Badje early and getting into good forward positions. He still doesn’t translate those into dangerous opportunities often enough but continued to have a solid outing defensively.

Liam Ridgewell 6.5: The defender did well to set Adi up from an early set-piece and headed just over himself from the resulting corner. He swung two delightful full field passes to meet Powell on deep runs in the right corner, but sandwiched between those was a careless blocked down pass that led to Colorado hitting the post. He did most things right in the second half, including some nice low balls to Nagbe; but then an 80th minute clearance right to an opponent’s feet at the edge of the box was a reminder that he and Borchers just aren’t quite as solid looking right now as might be required for knock-out football.

Nat Borchers 6.5: The bearded one’s clearance could definitely have been better on Colorado’s goal but he would be right to point most of the blame at disorganization in the midfield. It was a pretty quiet game for him after that, one excellent tackle on Doyle toward the end aside, the second half became a chance to conserve some energy for the mid-week play-off.

Jorge Villafana 7.5: Another excellent game from Villafana, his effort on goal looked to be going wide before St Ledger deflected it into his own net, but he ended up getting the credit for it. He won’t argue with that, it’s what makes the other 50 overlapping runs no one ever notices worthwhile.

Having secured a home play-off with that goal he cemented it with some good defensive work near the end, a great double tackle in the 86th minute keeping the Rapids out.

Diego Chara (off in 50′) 5.5: The Colombian had operated on his own for the last few games and it was not a smooth transition back to having a partner. Colorado’s goal had an element of good fortune with a deflection off Ridgewell, but Badji was on his own at the top of the box for a long time before the ball fell to him. Meanwhile Chara was closing down on the right wing when Powell and Wallace already had that covered. There were a few bad passes, poor touches and even missed tackles before an injury forced him out of the game.

The Timbers will be hoping the injury was not serious and that he recovers to the form of the RSL and LA games, particularly if they shift back to the single defensive midfielder formation.

George Fochive 6.5: The youngster brings tenacity, hard-work and ball-winning to the side – but in this game he at times lacked the composure on the ball, close control and ability to create space for himself and get a pass away that is critical in this role. He and Chara needed to sort out their positioning and allow Portland to build some possession but instead over-enthusiasm to challenge opponents led to loss of shape.

Rodney Wallace 7: The Costa Rican found his way into the game by the middle of the first half and was Portland’s hardest working player in the high press. He had a nice touch in the lead up to the early free kick goal, but in the first half there was not much successful attacking down either Portland flank. Wallace and Melano switched sides after half an hour, but he was started on the right again and that position may not be his best.

His highlight of the game came in the 73rd minute with some nice play out of a tight spot in his own half to launch the counter from which Asprilla hit the post.

Darlington Nagbe (off in 87′) 9: While he was excellent in the second half display against LA last week, the whole attacking unit stepped it up in that match. This was a game were he was clearly the best player on the field and took it on himself to get the win for his team – not before time.

The first goal was decently struck but McMath wasn’t as bad as he looked, there was a slight deflection off the wall that took the shot back to the center of the goal as he moved right. The second came from making an attacking run into the box and then executing a very difficult header that he made look easy. After that goal he wasn’t resting on his laurels, chasing down and dispossessing Doyle in the 35th minute.

While Portland’s first MLS hat-trick remains elusive, Nagbe was not done in the attack. In the third goal he went in hard (yes, really) to win a poor pass from Powell then swapped passes with both Melano and Wallace along the top of the box before releasing Villafana for the shot. The great play continued until he was withdrawn with five minutes to go receive his ovation from the crowd and protect him from opponents whose frustration was growing.

Portland told MLS on Tuesday “”You almost have to watch his games five times to really see the subtle things he does that are world-class.” Maybe that is true, but it is part of his job to make those skills obvious to even the most casual fan week in week out.

Lucas Melano (off in 64) 6: He lost out in a challenge with Figueroa in the 19th minute as Portland were trying to clear a set-piece, nothing wrong with that, but then he completely failed to try to recover, instead stopping and allowing him to get off a shot. The Argentine was also anonymous on the offensive end, another heavy touch taking a Nagbe through-ball away from him after 25 minutes. He somewhat redeemed himself with a nice cross to Nagbe for his headed goal, but didn’t up his game enough in the second half to avoid his number going onto the substitute board.

Fanendo Adi 8: The Nigerian, regarded by some as inconsistent earlier this season, is becoming a true force to be reckoned with in the league, he now delivers every week. Sjoberg had a considerable size advantage but Adi got out in front to win balls into him with some authority. He had a header tipped wide in the 2nd minute before good hold-up play released Nagbe in the 4th to earn the free kick he would score. The two combined well several more times in the first half, maybe the 20 foot bungee cord suggested after the Columbus game has found it way into the training regime.

The good work continued in the second half and he deserved his goal, even if it was an awkward finish with a hint of handball.

Substitutes:

Jack Jewsbury (on in 50′) 6: The veteran perhaps brought a little more positional clarity to Portland’s midfield but it wasn’t his best game. He had a few off passes and lost balls that are not his usual standard and was caught arguing with the referee on the wing while Colorado took a quick free-kick and got a shot on goal. But his work at the edge of his box to break up an attack, find space and release a perfect pass with 10 minutes to go was a reminder of what he can bring to that position. It is just a tough spot to substitute into and that is something the Timbers will have to be careful with if they start with one defensive midfielder and then switch to two when they want to close out a lead down the line.

Dairon Asprilla (on in 64′) 6.5: The hard work was done by the time he came in, with Portland holding a 3-1 lead, so it is hard to directly compare his contribution. But he did make a case for himself, hitting the post with a powerful drive and putting Adi’s goal on a plate for him. He was the first Timber attacker to really give experienced EPL veteran Figueroa an uncomfortable time.

Maxi Urruti (on in 87′): Not on long enough for rating.