The conclusion of the Timbers Preseason Tournament on Sunday was an exciting and inspiring affair. I wasn't able to make the first leg of the double header, as my request for the day off at work was ignored, but San Jose totally embarrassed Chivas five nil. With a massively improved Vancouver side, Chivas looks to be a lock for the cellar this season. I managed to work out a double switch in order to make it to Jdub in time for warm ups; I was hoping to be joined by Will from work, but scalper prices were too high for his taste. As a result I sat in a slightly different place than normal, and was happy to receive that alternate perspective. I was disappointed by the group directly in front of me, as several young girls were totally disinterested and pointedly moved away from me (forcing their dad to stand in front of me and listen to my excellent singing voice).
John Spencer trotted out what looks to be a first choice line-up, one we could see on opening day against Philadelphia. Perkins started in goal, with Brunner and Mosquera ahead of him in the center of defense. Jewsbury and Chara started in the central midfield, and Kris Boyd got his first start alongside Jorge Perlaza at the top of the 442. It is extremely likely we will see this same backbone on Monday. On the left side of the shape, Chabala was at left back with Wallace ahead of him in the midfield. Palmer completed the backline on the right side, with Alhassan as the right wing.
The first half started out with a great combination that resulted in the new DP's first goal for his new club. Rodney Wallace played a brilliant cross field pass, leading Jorge Perlaza down the right side of the field. The Colombian one timed his cross perfectly, finding his Scottish counterpart's forehead as he cut in front of the marker to put the ball past Turina for his debut just seven minutes into his first match.
AIK responded well, maintaining control of the midfield and forcing Portland to play wide. Chara and Jewsbury had some difficulty dealing with the physical play that they Swedish side brought. This only played to our strengths, though, as Kalif and Rodney both had excellent games out wide. The left side of the shape was closer to me in the first half; I liked how Wallace and Chabala combined down that side of the pitch, with Wallace's speed and defensive capabilities letting Mike wander high up the pitch in attack.
The second half saw the home side come out aggressively, and they were rewarded by the creation of some nice chances. Kalif and Palmer were on display for me in this half, and I loved watching Alhassan take on defenders and consistently win one on one situations. He was clearly fouled in the box once later in the game, as his heel was clipped from behind, but the half was littered with chances he created for himself and others as he burned the left back over and over. Boyd nearly put in his second after Kalif danced around three defenders, but his left footed chanced was saved well.
Kris came out after 75 minutes with a goal and several good shots on target, a solid first outing for our new star striker. Bright Dike came in , and James Marcelin brought some defensive bite to the midfield when he replaced Diego Chara at 79'. Dike had a decent header saved, and Wallace put the rebound over the bar. Those types of chances have to be finished in the regular season. The game ended with a high tempo as Portland pushed to find a winner.
Both teams congratulated each other at the end of the game, with almost all the players switching jerseys with their opposite. It was nice to see the starting centerbacks and keeper maintain a clean sheet after one slipping past the defense in each of the first two fixtures. I think Kalif showed that he deserves his starting spot over anyone else at either outside midfield spot; Franck Songo'o might be the exception here but I haven't seen him play and he isn't in Portland right now, regardless. Rodney's play on the left side of midfield was great, and Mosquera showed much better paired with Brunner over AJB (surprise!).
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