BEAVERTON, Ore. – After the New York Red Bulls handed his team a comprehensive 2-0 loss on Sunday, a visibly disappointed Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said that he’d have to take some time to fully comprehend just exactly what went wrong.
Upon Portland’s return to the training pitch Tuesday morning, Porter said the loss wasn’t due to a lack of effort despite a lackluster start to the match that resulted in a 2-0 halftime deficit, but the execution just wasn’t there.
“Ultimately when execution doesn’t happen, it’s always the coach’s fault,” Porter said following a lengthy video session and then on-field practice at the team training facility. “Players need to perform, 100 percent, and they know that.
“But if there’s no execution, it’s the coach’s fault. Simple. So I need to do a better job of making sure the players execute.”
He said the Timbers didn’t deal well with New York’s possession game, folded under their high pressure when his side had the ball and were unable to get behind RBNY's back four – all things they prepared for in the 10 days leading up to the match – thanks to what he called a lack of “cohesion.”
Another factor in that, Porter said, was the return of several key players who hadn’t played in nearly a month. Both Will Johnson and Diego Chara, the Timbers' defensive midfielders, had missed their previous two games thanks to international duty and suspension, respectively. Also, center back Liam Ridgewell (suspension) and right back Alvas Powell (international duty) missed Portland’s previous outing, a scoreless draw Sept. 9 against Sporting Kansas City.
The last time those four players were in the lineup together was in a 2-2 draw with the Houston Dynamo on Aug. 21.
“So that’s 30 days,” Porter said. “And you could see that. Obviously, we weren’t in a rhythm, we didn’t look like a team that had chemistry. So I think that’s a factor, but none of that matters right now. We need to get the job done regardless of that.”
The Red Bulls enjoyed nearly 60 percent of the possession in the first half, overrunning Portland – a team that is almost always on the front foot in home games – in midfield, rendering their attack almost negligible. Porter said he counted one time all game in which his team was able to get behind New York’s back four.
“We lost the ball, we didn’t have possession mostly in the first half,” Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri said. “And when we don’t have the ball we can’t play like we want.”
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Porter said the film session Tuesday was especially prescient considering their upcoming matchup on the road Saturday against red-hot Columbus Crew SC, who, like New York, are a possession-oriented, high-pressure side presenting similar challenges.
With the Timbers’ hold on the sixth and final Western Conference playoff spot tenuous at best, with just a one-point lead over the San Jose Earthquakes and three over suddenly-surging Real Salt Lake with five games remaining, turning around their four-game winless streak is all but imperative.
“That’s why we spent so much time today, about an hour, which is the longest meeting I’ve ever had, going through tape, having a chat and talking about what we need to do this week better,” Porter said.
“Because if we execute better in the things that we need to do well vs. the Crew, unlike what we didn’t do well vs. New York, then I’m confident that we’ll get a good performance and good result.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
