Jingle Bells, Portland smells

The Seattle Sounders made the trip down I-5 to take on the Portland Timbers, and for the first time since August 15, 2021, they come away victorious. Thanks to goals from Cristian Roldan and Raúl Ruidíaz, the Sounders beat the Timbers on their home field 2-1.

Things were action-packed from the start, with Seattle moving down the field and putting themselves in dangerous positions several times in the first 10 minutes. It was the Timbers who got on the board first, however, as Jonathan Rodriguez managed to make a run between center backs Jonathan Bell and Jackson Ragen without being collected. He lofted a ball from fullback Eric Miller into the path of striker Felipe Mora, whose shot beat Stefan Frei to open the scoring in the 15th minute.

This lead only lasted a few minutes thanks to Cristian Roldan. In the 19th minute, Roldan collected a pass from Albert Rusnák, took a few touches and fired a shot from 20 yards that deflected off Kamal Miller and put it out of reach of goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau. Both teams continued to push the attack, but neither found a breakthrough for the rest of the half.

The Sounders clearly saw an opportunity at hand and came out of the half strong, first with a dangerous attack that saw Obed Vargas send in a lovely cross that would have set up Jordan Morris at the far post without a good touch. ‘a defender. put it in for a corner in the 48th minute. Two minutes later it was Vargas who set the table again, this time with a short pass at the top of the box to set up an early left foot from Ruidíaz that left Crépeau beating as Seattle took a 2-up lead. 1.

Neither team really managed to add another goal to the total, but thanks to a combination of predictable tensions in a Portland-Seattle clash and the decisions of referee Allen Chapman, the game still had a bit of life. There were big tackles and small clashes. Whatever Brian Schmetzer and his team did to prepare for this game, the Sounders clearly brought the appropriate rivalry energy to this game.

The Sounders will be back in action with a chance to continue their momentum when they travel to face Real Salt Lake on Wednesday night at 6:30 p.m. PDT.

Key moments

3 – Nouhou evades a defender on the side and sends a dangerous ball for Raúl Ruidíaz, but it is blocked and sent for a corner.

6 – Ruidíaz gets a dangerous shot from the top of the area, but it’s a simple save from Crépeau which finds the top corner.

15 – Goal, Timbers. Felipe Mora finishes from close range as Jonathan Rodriguez sends him the ball after ghosting between the CBs. 1-0 Portland

19 – GOAL! Cristian Roldan lets a long-range shot escape which deflects, placing it too far to Crépeau’s right for him to stop it! 1-1

29 – Cristian Roldan hits a dangerous cross from the backline which almost finds Jordan Morris at the far post but a defender manages to touch him.

32 – Ruidíaz takes a dangerous look at a corner, but his shot through traffic takes a few deflections to send it for a corner.

45+1 – Nouhou makes a risky tackle in the penalty area, but manages to recover the ball transforming a dangerous attack into a corner.

48 – After some clever passing to advance the ball up the pitch, Obed Vargas sends a cross to the far post which is simply too far past Morris.

50 – GOAL! Ruidíaz from the top of the box! Seattle circulates the ball in the final third and Vargas hands the ball to Ruidíaz who volleys it home. 2-1 Seattle

85 – Portland receives a dangerous look from Santiago Moreno at the top of the box, but Frei covers the far post as the shot goes just wide.

90+2 – Cristian Roldan makes a big sliding tackle on Dairon Asprilla in midfield that slows down an attack enough to take the lead, but takes a hit in the process.

Quick thoughts

he can‘I can’t keep getting away with this: Sounders have a repeatability problem. Scoring goals in soccer is difficult, it’s a complicated task, but successful teams find a way to score repeatable goals without becoming predictable. The Sounders are predictable in their approach play and have struggled to score what could be called repeatable goals. Perhaps a symptom of this is the fact that Raúl Ruidíaz has yet to score a goal from inside the penalty area. The strange thing is that he seems to repeatedly score irreplaceable goals, his latest coming on a first-time left-footed shot from the top of the box to beat Crépeau and give Seattle the lead. Seattle needs to find a way to create repeatable scoring chances, because even if they continue to do so, a team can’t live alone with Ruidíaz’s golazos.

Use of the bench: On a hot afternoon in Portland, Schmetzer used all five substitutions to earn a huge road win and snap the Timbers’ six-game winless streak. With a busy schedule, it’s fair to wonder why the substitutes didn’t arrive sooner, with the first changes for the Sounders coming in the 76th minute when Cody Baker and Danny Musovski came on for João Paulo and Ruidíaz, but it still seems notable who the staff turned to with three points on the line. Four of the five replacements were former Sounders academy players who spent significant time with Tacoma Defiance, as Paul Rothrock (81st minute), Danny Leyva and Dylan Teves (90th minute) all came on to help close out the match. It was a Sounders victory, from start to finish.

Exhale: Let’s get a few things out of the way real quick: with 13 points from 12 games played, the Sounders are still three points out of the playoff spots in 10th place; a single result does not equal a turnaround; There are still plenty of concerns about the team’s offense, and the goal they gave up came from the kind of defensive lapse that has plagued them all season. That said, you can let go of the breath you’ve been holding. We’ve written and spoken extensively on this site leading up to this game about how these matches have provided a spark for the winning team in recent years, serving as a catalyst to help turn around a season. The victory puts the Sounders on a three-match unbeaten run in the league and makes them undefeated in four in all competitions. There are still things to sort out, but the team is putting together something resembling fitness with Pedro de la Vega hopefully back on the pitch soon. We are not necessarily out of the storm, but it seems that there is a break in the clouds.

Remarkable quote

Man of the Match

Cristian Roldan – Roldan struggled at the start of the season to reach the level we are used to, but that wasn’t a problem today. Playing in Portland brought out the best in him. Deployed in a double pivot with JP, he not only scored the equalizing goal, but led the team with 85 touches, completed eight passes in the final third, finished 2/3 on successful dribbles, was active in defense and made nine recoveries.