If you ask any Sounders FC supporter which match he or she has been eagerly awaiting, most would point to this Sunday when the Rave Green will host its rival to the south, the Portland Timbers. Coming off their first road win, the Sounders look to keep the momentum going in their first Cascadia clash of the 2015 MLS season.
SoundersFC.com sat down with Jamie Goldberg of The Oregonian for this week’s From the Other Side. Goldberg covers the soccer beat for the paper, reporting on both the Timbers and NWSL’s Portland Thorns.
Dangerman
I think with Diego Valeri still out, I’d name Darlington Nagbe. He’s the player that will be creating chances for the offense. So far this season, he’s been the main catalyst on the attack for Portland and he’ll be the key to building chances for them on the road in Seattle.
Who to Watch For
In terms of offseason pickups, I’d definitely have to mention Nat Borchers and Adam Kwarasey. Both have proven to be big assets to the club. If you look back at the Timbers even just last week, one reason why they kept the clean sheet was because of them. Borchers and Kwarasey are important for the Timbers and a big reason why they’ve been putting in better defensive performances this season.
Nat’s a huge pick up for Portland. He and Liam Ridgewell are arguably one of the strongest centerback pairings in MLS. Ridgewell is a valuable DP and Borchers is a veteran of this league with years of experience with RSL. After having a shaky defense last season, that pairing is proving to be helpful for the Timbers in making them a far stronger defensive team this year.
Building the Momentum
The wins against New York and Dallas were big for them. Dallas was the team’s first win at home and at the time, they were able to take a team that was near the top of the standings down a notch. It was a decisive victory and has changed the momentum of the Timbers since then.
Favorite Stat of the Season
The number of shutouts: three. They’ve shut out Real Salt Lake, Sporting Kansas City and NYCFC. The fact that they’ve been able to do that so far this season is really a big deal for the Timbers. It really speaks to their upgraded defense.
This is a team that, right now without Diego Valeri, is trying to put together a very strong defense as its offense is still figuring out how to operate without him in his attacking role. The defense is performing consistently for the most part and that’s really important.
Rivalry Rundown
It’s going to be a physical, intense game and the Timbers are going to push as hard as they can. If they win, they’ll have won three of their last four. It’ll start pushing them higher up in the Western Conference standings and they’ll be well positioned when Valeri and Will Johnson come back in the next few weeks. They’re going to want to pick up these points on the road.
Three Thoughts on SEAvPOR
1) It’ll be interesting to see how the backline does against Obafemi Martins and Clint Dempsey. It’ll be key for the Timbers defense to shut those guys down early on in the match.
2) On the attacking side, who will perform? Nagbe has been creating plays but he hasn’t scored yet this season. The Timbers have found goals from a few different players, but who will score this week?
3) Can Adam Kwarasey put together the same kind of performance? I think a lot of Timbers fans are wondering whether his addition to the roster following the departure of Donovan Ricketts was a good move. He hadn’t been tested much before last week and that was really the first time we saw what he can do. It’ll be important that he has a good game, especially against a strong Seattle offense.
