Fatigued Timbers fall in San Jose, face bigger test in Orlando
Things don't get any easier for a Timbers squad searching for offense.
A 120-minute slog in San Jose on Tuesday night wasn’t exactly how Phil Neville wanted to start his week — especially with Orlando looming on Saturday.
Had the Portland manager gotten his way, his Timbers would have at least gotten a win to show for it. Instead, the Timbers were left exhausted after a 1-0 loss to the Earthquakes in the Open Cup’s Round of 16 in a game that may have more ramifications to it than just an early exit from the tournament.
By the time Jack Skahan scored the game’s only goal in the 116th minute, Neville had emptied his bench. Jonathan Rodriguez, who “can only play 20 to 30 minutes,” played 59 minutes. David Da Costa, who came off the bench into midfield, logged 48 minutes. Meanwhile, the backline — Dario Zuparic, Finn Surman, Kamal Miller and Claudio Bravo — gutted out the full 120.
It was a group that pulled blocks, saves and interceptions out of thin air against a constant San Jose attack, and one that played well enough to steal a win for Portland until a midfield turnover in the second half of extra time proved fatal.
“We were just let down by a lack of concentration — lazy defending — at the end when we didn’t sprint back in with our man,” Neville said. “We’ve come all the way to San Jose. We’ve put in a hell of a shift. And to get beat in the 117th minute, for me, is probably the worst I’ve felt all season — the most disappointed I’ve felt all season.”
It was a lot of minutes for a Timbers club that flies across the country to face the potent Orlando City on Saturday. Orlando is fifth in the Eastern Conference and has scored a conference-leading 27 goals this season. It’s not much of a reprieve from Tuesday night, when the Timbers faced San Jose's MLS-leading offense.
And if it weren’t for Maxime Crepeau, the outcome would have looked far worse.
Crepeau stopped eight shots in the match, including four credited saves after the 88th minute. He was vocal, controlled his backline and potentially saved a few Timbers from costing the team something worse.
After a Kamal Miller foul just outside the box in the 86th minute, Miller, Mora, Rodriguez and Juan Mosquera lit into the officials. Mora and Rodriguez were both given cards and looked on their way toward earning more before Crepeau came over to pull his teammates back to get order restored. Once Crepeau returned to his net, he calmly batted away Cristian Espinoza’s free kick attempt to keep the game scoreless.
While the Timbers’ Open Cup loss did not count in MLS standings, it did carry two of the same themes the club has displayed as of late: