Omir Fernandez finds his moment in Timbers' historic night
On a night celebrating 50 years of Timbers history, Fernandez steps out of anonymity and delivers a moment to remember.
Omir Fernandez was still finding his way in Portland.
The forward came to the Timbers in April from Colorado and has spent his time in the city jockeying for position on a team doing the same in the standings.
He’s 26 and been in the league long enough to know things, but not long enough to have many know of him.
With 15 goals in five seasons with New York, two goals last year with Colorado and none with the green and gold coming into Saturday, Fernandez has just kind of existed — not a bust, not a star, just another name on a roster.
Certainly not like those invited back to Providence Park on Saturday for Portland’s 50th anniversary bash.
A half-century of Timbers’ history would be there — the team’s all-time XI, dozens of players spanning decades and divisions, former broadcasters, employees and the largest media contingent since the season opener — all to see the rising of the largest Tifo in MLS history.
The night had been in the works for months, leaving the biggest variable for the party’s success down to the play on the pitch.
A bit risky, no?
The injuries had finally caught up with Portland, a club whose record-start to the season had evaporated into a summer where home-field discussions have turned into hopes of avoiding the wild card. The Timbers lost 2-1 at St. Louis on Sunday and followed it up with a 1-0 loss to Salt Lake at home on Wednesday.
And while Fernandez wasn’t the reason why the Timbers lost those two matches, he was challenged by his manager this week to stop being so anonymous.
“I think the last two games he’s played well below his level and he knows it,” Neville said. “This is not the Omir Fernandez that we signed and we want better.”
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Fernandez knew of Timbers lore.
“I’ve been in the league a good amount of time now,” he said. “When I was on the East Coast, I heard about the Portland Timbers all the time. Diego Valeri was still playing. Diego Chara was playing. Blanco was playing. You hear about all these great players and the history. It’s a special place.”
Fernandez could see that Saturday night. Before the match, a group of over-70 soccer players played inside the 18-yard box as Sebastian Blanco, Dairon Asprilla and other returning Timbers’ favorites looped around the park to the chants of supporters.
“Come back, Dairon!” yelled a group as Asprilla, now playing in Colombia, spoke with local media.
“I miss a lot of this,” Asprilla said. “This is why I came here the first time, and this is why I came back.”
Asprilla, along with Blanco, Valeri, Chara and others on Portland’s all-time XI were honored at halftime and given a standing ovation as fireworks ignited into the sky. That stayed on Fernandez’s mind in the second half, as the Timbers saw a 0-0 draw against a good Minnesota side turn into a 1-0 deficit in the 78th minute.
Down David Da Costa and Antony, and having scored just three goals in their previous four matches, the Timbers’ chances seemed dim as the minutes ticked away and Fernandez watched alongside Chara on the bench.
Chara, who had played with nine of the 10 other players honored at halftime.
Chara, who has been there for every up and every down this club has experienced since joining the MLS in 2011.
Chara, who alongside the other Timbers legends who returned to Providence Park on Saturday, will be remembered in this city forever for stepping up in moments just like this one.
“Having Diego next to me on the bench and seeing someone that is a part of that history, and how he was reacting, it was just like, ‘Wow, this is a really special place,’” Fernandez said. “I think this game meant so much to everybody and I started feeling like I was a part of it.”
Chara came on in the 75th. Fernandez got the call in the 86th, with his conversation with Neville from earlier in the week replaying through his head.
“‘We found you because of the way you make certain runs,’” Fernandez recalled his coach saying. “‘It’s important for us. Go back to that. Keep it simple.’
“So when I went in, it was like, those are the dying minutes and I don’t know if he meant it directly — ‘Do this’ — but that’s how I saw it. It’s the last 10 minutes of the game, you’re down 1-0, where is the ball going to land where nobody is going to expect it?”
In the 90th minute, Juan Mosquera ripped a shot off the crossbar that sent gasps through the stands. Two minutes later, Mosquera got the ball again just outside the 18 and served a cross in as Fernandez positioned himself for a run toward the far post. Fernandez got a step on his defender, lifted his left leg and volleyed home a shot into the top of the net.
For a moment, Fernandez didn’t know what to do. He sprinted toward the corner, pointed to his ear, leapt, then turned and ran toward his teammates, then toward the center of the pitch as the park reached audible levels rarely associated with securing a 1-1 draw.
“I think when I get home is when I’ll realize what happened,” Fernandez said. “Being picky, I wanted to score my first goal at Providence Park and score right in front of the fans because I knew that feeling was going to be amazing.”
Chara was pensive afterwards and admitted he had nerves on a night honoring 50 years of history he’s been such a part of. He understands his role in Portland’s story, but he also understands what’s facing the current team — with Saturday’s draw keeping the Timbers four points ahead of the Wild Card.
“I can say, it has been a great experience because in these 14 years I’ve seen up and down situations,” Chara said. “But at the most important, I think the players that we have — in the past and now — always find a way to go forward.”
Fifty years of the past are in the books. Here in Chapter 51, Fernandez became part of the story.
“When you join a football club, you need a moment,” Neville said.
Said Fernandez: “It's one that I'm really gonna remember and treasure for sure.”
— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor
Glad they got the draw but the Timbers really miss DaCosta and Antony.