In the words of Charles Dickens, adapted to FCC’s first visit to Providence Park, Portland Timbers’ home stadium, “It was the best of halves it was the worst of halves, it was the age of dominance, it was the age of desperation.”
The Orange and Blue had a very disappointing result with Charlotte at TQL six days before. The race for the top of the Eastern conference is tight as well as for the Supporters’ Shield. Dropping points can mean the difference between hosting multiple games in the playoffs or just one. There are still seven games remaining in the schedule for FCC before the playoffs, but bringing home three points from Portland was critical to place the team in a stronger position to win silverware this year.
Portland, on the other hand, had won only one game in the last five, with their previous match a 0-2 away loss to FC Dallas. They wanted to make a statement at home against one of the top teams in the league and continue in the hunt for a playoff spot. The Timbers were sitting in sixth place of the Western Conference but as with the Eastern Conference, the margins of error are getting tighter and also could not afford to leave any points on the table.
First Half
Given the injuries and suspensions, Pat Noonan and his staff needed to be creative in fielding a starting lineup that not only reflected these realities but also sent a message that FCC was going to be aggressive. Their opponents are vulnerable in the back, having received 34 before their game against FCC. But Portland have very creative midfielders and wingers so Noonan also needed to have players that would slow them down or stop them.
The results were very encouraging in the first half. After a near miss from former FCC forward Kevin Kelsy that hit the upright, the team moved quickly up field. Pavel Bucha took the ball from midfield all the way to the Portland’s left side of the box, crossed the ball towards his left where Evander was positioned, and who intelligently let the ball pass directly to Kévin Denkey’s feet who, after a controlling it, shot low and with pace to bury the first goal in Portland’s lower right hand corner of the net.
FCC continued its dominance as 15 minutes later. Evander put a through ball to Bucha at the top of the box who then dribbled in and shot the ball with a strong pace into the upper right-hand corner for the second goal. Just ten minutes later, as Portland was trying desperately to stop the barrage from FCC, an attempt at clearing from Portland was intercepted by Matt Miazga at midfield who promptly passed it to Evander. The ex-Portland player, who had been booed all night, ran with the ball and then buried the shot from outside the box into the upper right-hand corner.
The Orange and Blue were ahead 3-0 and in control. Or so it seemed.
The Timbers were starting to find space in the midfield as they adjusted to FCC not having a natural defensive midfielder. Just one minute later, a breakdown in FCC’s midfield and left side led to Portland’s first goal. A quick pass from Kevin Kelsy to Portland’s midfielder Ariel Lassiter had Portland inside FCC’s box with confusion in the backline as to who was covering whom. This gave time for Kelsy to move to the outside of the box, receive a pass from Lassiter, dribble into the box, cut back around Engel and Robinson, and shoot low and fast past Roman Celentano’s outstretched hand to score Portland’s first of the night. The lead was now cut down to 3-1 with Portland energized by the score and their home crowd.
The last 9 minutes of the half were spent with both teams trying to control the midfield and creating opportunities.
Second Half
The second half was a different game from both teams’ perspectives. Portland had momentum, with their midfield finally taking control. The combination of Pavel Bucha and Stiven Jimenez in the midfield was being overrun by the pace and abilities of Lassiter, Cristhian Paredes, and David Costa, with continuous pressure from Antony and Juan David Mosquera on the wings.
There were opportunities for both teams as FCC tried to take back control of the game. Denkey had a shot deflected by Maxime Crépeau, Portland’s goalkeeper, early in the second half while Lucas Engel shot wide and close to the net in minute 56. But it was Portland who was creating more dangerous opportunities through breakaways, buildups in FCC’s half, and set pieces. In minute 56, Lassiter on a breakaway shot from outside the box and was inches from scoring on a lunging Celentano, but the shot went wide. In minute 64, Lassiter again shot from outside the box, making the ball dip in front of Celentano who managed to push the ball upwards in a volleyball-like move to clear the danger.
But the dam finally broke in minute 66. As Portland again crossed into the box, a scramble ensued with FCC desperately trying to clear the ball. Jimenez went after the play and challenged Mosquera, who had been aggressively attacking the box, and brought him down for a penalty kick (PK). Kelsy converted the PK and had his brace.
The score had gone from 3-0 with FCC in full control with 3-2 and Portland now in control. The rest of second half was spent mostly on FCC’s side, but the Orange and Blue did have one other opportunity to seal the game when substitute Kei Kamara, who had come in for Denkey in minute 59, hit the upright on minute 85. The Sierra Leone MLS veteran keeps getting denied scoring for FCC. With eight minutes of added time there was frantic play from both sides as Portland kept creating opportunities and FCC’s backline kept blocking shots, disrupting play in the box, and occasionally attempting breakaways.
FCC’s backline again withstood constant pressure from Portland but were able to finish the game without allowing another score. As the whistle blew to end the match, FCC found itself at the top of the standings both in the Eastern Conference as well as the MLS. Pat Noonan had very representative things to say about the game. Among his answers to questions during the post-game press conference were the following:
“I’m really pleased that we were able to walk off the field with the win, very strong first half, second half, that was in Portland’s favor and in their control.”
“That was a playoff environment. Credit to the fans tonight, the energy in the stadium was outstanding.”
“Steve (Stiven Jiménez) was really strong, did a really good job I thought, in possession, good movement.”
Now the team will have one week to get ready for visiting New York City FC to continue the sprint towards the playoffs.
QUICK RECAP
SCORING SUMMARY: 1-2-FT
POR: 1-1-2
CIN: 3-0-3
POR: Kevin Kelsy (Lassiter) 38’, Kevin Kelsy – PK 68’
CIN: Kévin Denkey (Bucha) 10’, Pavel Bucha (Evander) 25’, Evander (Miazga) 36’
LINEUPS:
CIN: Roman Celentano, Lukas Engel, Miles Robinson (Teenage Hadebe 78’), Matt Miazga (C), Nick Hagglund, DeAndre Yedlin (Alvas Powell 90’), Stiven Jimenez (Gerardo Valenzuela 90’), Pavel Bucha, Evander, Ender Echenique (Kenji Mboma Dem 58’), Kévin Denkey (Kei Kamara 58’)
Substitutes not used: Evan Louro, Gilberto Flores, Brad Smith, Stefan Chirila
Head Coach: Pat Noonan
POR: Maxime Crépeau, Jimer Fory, Kamal Miller (C) (Dario Župarić 82’), Finn Surman, Juan Mosquera, Ariel Lassiter (Omir Fernandez 82’), David Da Costa, Antony, David Ayala (Felipe Mora 85’), Joao Ortiz (Cristhian Paredes 58’), Kevin Kelsy
Substitutes not used: James Pantemis, Eric Miller, Diego Chara, Ian Smith, Gage Guerra
Head Coach: Phil Neville
STATS SUMMARY: POR/CIN
Shots: 26 / 11
Shots on Goal: 5 / 5
Saves: 2 / 3
Corner Kicks: 6 / 3
Fouls: 10 / 12
Offside: 2 / 1
Possession: 56.6 / 43.4
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY
POR: Kevin Kelsy (Yellow Card) 13’, Cristhian Paredes (Yellow Card) 60’
CIN: Miles Robinson (Yellow Card) 45’+3
OFFICIALS
Referee: Rubiel Vazquez
Ast. Referees: Kali Smith, Kevin Lock
Fourth Official: Allen Chapman
VAR: Kevin Stott
AVAR: Brian Dunn
NEXT MATCH
MLS Regular Season: vs. New York City FC, 7:30 p.m. EDT August 23rd, TQL Stadium, Cincinnati, OH; AppleTV+, iHeartMedia (ESPN 1530, WCKY)
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