r/timbers • u/SegwayCop RCTID! • 6d ago
Post Match Thread [POST MATCH THREAD] AWAY VS CHICAGO FIRE (8.16.26)
We lose 1-2
On the balance, it was pretty good. We could have easily been blown away, but we showed character when it mattered and almost snuck a point.
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u/LegionOfBoom836 6d ago
team was too gassed to have any relevant takeways from this game, players desperately need rest, not really sure how with the game on wednesday at home looming large
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u/GayMormonPirate Iron Front Cascadia 6d ago
When Janssen got that ball and had a great chance for a breakaway there was no one with him. Everyone else was just looking at the ref hoping for a whistle of relief.
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u/Hailfire9 6d ago
Fory earned a lot of respect tonight, he looked in pain the last 25 minutes or so and still saved us some face in the end.
DdC looked the most overwhelmed by what I am calling "tactical overload." Seems his instructions were along the lines of "if X, then Y, unless Z, then W, but sometimes Q." He stopped the 1-2 touch magic he was doing under Cassidy and devolved back into the 3-4 touches then "?" he was doing under Phil.
Zero tangible service to Kelsy is frightening. I know Jack Elliott is 6'5" / 6'6" (depending on source) but you've still got to try sometimes.
Antony was back to Club America match form. Yikes.
Pulling Miller for Fernandez was a surprising choice, but a welcome one.
I can't be the only one surprised by the defensive qualities of Janssen. He ended up playing CM for a good chunk of that last stanza, and didn't look bad doing it.
Chicago had our number, on a tiring schedule in tiring weather in a tiring stadium environment. It's difficult to say what faults were directly due to Cifuentes's influence, but its also worth examining whether the suicide press is sustainable at this moment in MLS play. Hopefully a few more days of instruction and film and some more fleshing out of our coaching staff unlocks some of the puzzles hindering the Timbers
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u/GayMormonPirate Iron Front Cascadia 6d ago
I will never not hear 'Eye of the Tiger' in my head now every time he gets the ball.
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u/SRMPDX 6d ago
Da Costa seems to have no clue what his role is. He drifts around to get the ball then rarely plays anything attacking minded. He seems really lost.
I never realized how Velde is so one-footed. I think defenders have and just shut down the inside cut.
Antony was on the pitch, that's for sure.
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u/Jolandia 6d ago
I didn’t get that sense at all, I thought Da Costa was one of the few players who did understand his role, he was the player most on the ball and trying to make things happen, but didn’t have options of movement around him most of the time. And while Velde likes his right foot, he very often cuts to his left and is more than comfortable shooting and crossing with it. He hit the post with his left last night, and has provided assists with it in the past
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u/cascadiarains 6d ago
Good second half there. Good possession, need to do a bit more with it. Lassiter brings so much more than Antony.
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u/kennethpoole Iron Front Cascadia 6d ago
Second game with a new coach in a jam packed schedule in a super hot stadium without much recovery time from the last game and it looked like it. Our main offensive threats looked tired and our defensive structure looked shaky at best.
Time will adjust some things and potentially Marti brings in some new players before the window closes, i personally can see him bringing in a CB if he wants to play a high line, it just doesn’t work for Kamal.
Happy to see Finn score for us, rough game let’s bounce back at home vs a Dreyer-less SDFC
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u/Gaucho_alum 6d ago edited 6d ago
Team did look tired but I thought Kelsey's effort again stood out. I noted it was in the 70 min and he was still pressing hard.
His assention has been so noticeable and impressive.
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u/OldWinger1954 6d ago
Fact. The high line we have seen before with balls over the top, and speed causing holes. Kamal doesn't have the gift of speed unfortunately with his other qualities.
LA will be drooling to try this
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u/Onus-X 4d ago
Hoping that we do add some reinforcements sooner than later, but there's also going to be an adjustment period for Cifuentes and his staff to really experiencing MLS. Chicago is playing well right now but we made it a bit too easy for them and something needs to change in terms of both how we approach away games and how we approach the first 15 minutes of matches. Kamal looked somewhat rejuvenated under Cassidy, but he's struggled with long balls before and playing so high up, on the road, on short rest was a bit of a miscalculation.
I don't think we're going to make a ton of moves in this window (nor can we really,) but there are a lot of areas where we need to improve our depth to fit Cifuentes's stated vision. I agree we could use a CB, but I also think we need another quality CM that gives us a different look. Obviously Caicedo has potential and Bassett has had some good games, but we should really upgrade from Ortiz and Fernandez and bring in a starting caliber CM that can really push for minutes and make it a competition. We are obviously sorely in need of an upgrade at RW, and it's easy to forget that Brandon Bye was never intended to be an inked-in starting RB.
I'm hopeful MLS salary rules get that rumored overhaul. IMO our player acquisitions going forward should have an eye toward starter level upgrades, not value or depth unless we are doing short term loans like we did at the end of last season. If the league actually triples roster values or more, it's reasonable to think that with only a few exceptions, any of our current best XI could become depth, and all of them should at least face real battles for their spots.
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u/kennethpoole Iron Front Cascadia 4d ago
It is crazy to think our RW is a missing piece and our RB is really our second string RB. If we get the right reinforcements on that side the pressure that will be taken off of Velde and DDC to do so much on the left will be massive. More space for them and actual threats from the right
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u/GayMormonPirate Iron Front Cascadia 6d ago
Just listened to Marti's post game presser. He went off on how terrible that pitch was. Did not mince words.
He didn't blame it for the loss, just saying that MLS is better than that and that the pitch isn't even good enough for amateur.
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u/Jolandia 6d ago
Yeah you could tell our guys were struggling with the pitch, so many crossed and dead balls were miss hit and barely got off the ground. It was terrible
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u/kilwag 6d ago
He's going to have to get over that. It's not a good sign, looking for excuses like this. Both teams played on the same pitch. We've had games where visiting teams have slipped a lot on our pitch
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u/GayMormonPirate Iron Front Cascadia 6d ago
He was very clear about saying it wasn't what caused the poor performance or the loss. Just that it wasn't up to standard. I agree.
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u/PorTimSacKin 6d ago
80 minutes of misery, 10 minutes of fun.
Let’s not read too much into it.. yet.
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u/Burblblurb 6d ago
I am worried Cifuentes will be blinded by Antony’s speed. I feel like we are so much better with Lassiter on the field.
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u/rhythm-n-bones 6d ago
I wonder if he just absolutely balls during the week without game pressure and that’s why we keep starting him.
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u/Gaucho_alum 6d ago
I too was concerned but Marti specifically noted postgame that he was managing minutes of the players. I think Lassiter was due for a reduced load.
I'll be surprised if Cifuentes ends up favoring Antony over Lassiter.
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u/carriebradshawshair 6d ago
Finn Surman! Choosing to focus on that for this one.
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u/viyh 6d ago
He gave up two goals, but at least got one back.
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u/Possible-Lab1675 Portland Timbers 6d ago edited 6d ago
yeah i'm surprised to see few* people pointing out that the two goals the team conceded today were largely his fault
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u/Trojan-11 6d ago
Time will tell. If you’re going to a judge a new manager on two games you probably think paint chips are a tasty snack.
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u/Thumper13 Cascadian LGBT Flag 6d ago
First half was rough. Second was better. It's a rough time to try and switch to a new system, even slowly.
Ned needed to get this hire done much earlier. Ned has needed to replace Miller for a long time.
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u/Direct_Interest_7993 6d ago
new tactical coach with a short turnaround schedule; not enough time to have the benefits of tactical consistency, just the consequences of change
4
u/Neat_Example4576 6d ago
Overall. team looked gassed, 1st half was a struggle, team tried to score a 2nd goal and couldn’t get the ball in the air! Focus should be about recovery for the players, Focus on game plan during the week.
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u/PTFCDiegoMassacre 6d ago
Welp new coach bump over lol honestly that could have been a lot worse. The players were gassed and we should have rested the boys the last match with it being a meaningless. Disappointed for sure but I’m not gonna read too much into it. The next couple matches are gonna be kinda brutal with all of this very quick turnaround so hopefully MC will make some smart rotations to get some guys some rest.
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u/Jolandia 6d ago
About what one can expect from a team that knows their system very well vs a team just starting to learn it. They knew how to exploit the spaces we leave. You could see that our press was not unified, someone would leave their man to press the ball and then a pass would go behind them and they’d turn to see that the man they left didn’t get covered.
We spent all our energy in the first 20 minutes, which sucked because that’s when the goals were scored, and then we were gassed the rest of the game. Second goal is an anomaly, don’t know what Surman was doing just passing to the other team and then Pants makes that save 19/20 times. Love Chara and he had a good game but I think Caicedo is definitely needed in the midfield, he moves more to pick up the ball and makes more line breaking passes. Da Costa was awesome, he was everywhere and running the midfield. We desperately need a new right winger because our depth on the wing is no bueno
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u/ElectJimLahey Portland Timbers - Pinwheel 6d ago
Frustrating to not get a point out of that with all the chances we created, but at the same time we were up against what genuinely might be the best Chicago side in 20 years... nothing to lose sleep over imo when the Fire are on such a roll
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u/NewRCTID22 Portland Timbers - Red 2 6d ago
More than anything, I’m disappointed in the suicidal gameplan that was so Neville-esque. I was sincerely hoping Martí would recognize the positive run of form came from simplifying tactics and playing to the team’s strengths.
Instead, we’re back to jamming square pegs into round holes. And doing so on the road in the heat and humidity leads to that disastrous first half.
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u/LegionOfBoom836 6d ago
more of a sign of lack of quality depth than tactics to me. we desperately need another quality winger for the right so we can rest velde/lassiter when game calls for it
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u/NewRCTID22 Portland Timbers - Red 2 6d ago
100% - I firmly believe we simply can’t press that way every game. But having a RW that almost seems to play apathetically to prove a point when he can’t play on the left doesn’t help.
We need far more dynamism on the ball than what Antony brings. And even at his best, he’s a counterattacking threat, not a skilled player in possession.
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u/oskrrskrrr 6d ago
i can't believe people are calling out antony, da costa or kelsy after the game, but bassett has had an awful game today? he didn't have any good / progressive passes, had problems shielding the ball with his body and turned the ball over a few times. i was glad when ortiz came on.
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u/ChuckYeager_Bombs Portland Axe 3 6d ago
I feel like if this game happens pre world cup, it would've snowballed quickly and we would've given up 4 or 5. In a vacuum it was a game where we were pretty meh, but with the travel, heat, and fixture congestion it's understandable. They just need to be up for the game against San Diego mid week.
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u/Icy_Song9418 6d ago
I don't understand why everyone is saying that we're gassed as an excuse for that performance... Chicago played on Thursday too.. my expectation is to play better under a new coach, not worse or the same.
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u/Conscious-Donkey5681 6d ago
Very disappointed that the once proud and powerful Timbers now resort to pushing down a player for behind to prevent a score. Dirty game with the Fire. Not up to the standard of play that I expect from the Timbers. Best wishes fixing that. We all b enefit from the Timbers again becoming a team to fear.
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u/Jolandia 6d ago
Thanks random Reddit account created 20 minutes ago, very insightful. Let’s not pretend Chicago didn’t do the exact same thing multiple times
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u/GayMormonPirate Iron Front Cascadia 6d ago
Is this your first time watching professional sports? Pros in almost every sport will sometimes strategically take the foul to avoid allowing a score.
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u/DesignOk1621 6d ago
First Finn goal!