FC Cincinnati goes into its final stretch of the season with their inaugural away trip to Providence Park, a cathedral of American soccer, to face the Portland Timbers.
In terms of away days, few could be better spent than Portland; traveling fans will see a team that boasts a long history, with raucous supporters’ section—the “Timbers Army”—behind them.
THE TIMBERS
In the offseason, the Timbers bolstered in multiple areas. Ariel Lassiter was a depth addition at wing from Chicago, Joao Ortiz was a midfield addition from Independiente del Valle in Ecuador, a familiar face in Kevin Kelsy was signed permanently from Shakhtar Donetsk, and David Costa was signed to be the team’s Evander replacement. To help themselves down the stretch, they are finalizing a few more deals—two could be possible debutees: Kristoffer Velde, a DP winger, and Felipe Carballo, a central midfielder who played for the Red Bulls.
They are in their junior season under Phil Neville. He isn’t exactly popular among their fanbase, but their results, more than halfway through this season, has quelled some of that disapproval. They currently sit in 6th place, four points off a top 4 spot and a comfortable place in the playoffs.
The Timbers are high on attempts, averaging 11.28 shots per match. But what their actual stats show is more mediocre; they keep a slim majority of 51% of possession per match, concede 1.36 goals per match, and score 1.32 per match. This coincides with a rather mixed record of 10-7-8.
Neville’s tactics are, as the stats show, rather rudimentary, focused on keeping the ball and creating opportunities through passing. He is not a tactician, nor is he the type of manager to allow his players to play completely freely. But this has been useful for a squad that performs better without structure.
Unfortunately for them, the Timbers find themselves on a two-match slide. They were eliminated from the Leagues Cup in penalties against América, and in their return to league play, lost 0-2 to Dallas.
Having not played a league home match since the beginning of July, they will be desperate for a result that can keep them firmly in that playoff conversation. And their crowd will be behind them.
THE ORANGE & BLUE
The Orange & Blue went into the Leagues Cup near the top of the Supporters’ Shield standings. Their campaign in that tournament started with a high-flying 3-2 win over Rayados, but they sunk in defeat on penalties to Juarez, and were all but eliminated when they lost 2-1 to Chivas with a team of mostly reserve players. Their return to league play was 1-0 loss to Charlotte in which they controlled, but a red card caused them to lapse and concede a late goal that they never responded to.
In terms of availability, Kevin Denkey has recovered from his leg injury and could start, although Coach Noonan did state that Denkey is on a minutes restriction. As for Luca Orellano, his status is “day-by-day” after leaving their last match with a hamstring injury. Yuya Kubo will not see the field, awaiting an expected return to group training on Tuesday. Obi Nwobodo is nursing an injury and Brian Anunga is suspended, giving an advantage to Portland as no true defensive midfielder is available.
To their advantage, they have seen much success in away matches, losing just 4 of their 14 trips. Judging by this, Portland’s atmosphere—one of the finest in the league—shouldn’t be much of a challenge.
With eight matches left in the stretch, every point means one step ahead in the race for the Shield. It is necessary for this group to overcome their recent form, getting back to a wider trend that was much more positive.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Evander is Cincinnati’s player to watch. The main storyline in this match is his return to Portland. He had 5 goals and 3 assists in the month of July alone, and carried the team through the Leagues Cup with 2 goals and 2 assists. Will he keep up his MVP-level performances against his former club?
Portland’s attack hasn’t been clinical lately. David da Costa is their only forward who has stayed in form, with a goal contribution in each of their Leagues Cup matches. How will he fare as the player signed to replace Evander?
WHAT TO EXPECT
Portland will be expected to hold a majority of possession, but as we’ve seen, that is by design for Cincinnati. They have often preferred to sit on the back foot, waiting for opportunities to counter or score an individually brilliant goal.
Despite the stale form lately, Portland’s four-headed attack will still be hard to contain. How Cincinnati’s defense performs will determine their own result; if they do well, it would springboard the attack, as we have seen so often.
MATCH INFO
WHERE: Providence Park
WHEN: 10:30 EST
WATCH: MLS Season Pass on Apple TV+
LISTEN: ESPN 1530 w/ Tommy G and Kevin
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