If you were to take our season, compress it into 90 minutes, shake it around a bit, and serve it up as a match, you'd have last night's snippy 1-1 draw with Portland on your hands. If ever I've seen a macrocosm of a season, this was it: end-to-end attacking action, some brilliant chances and resolute defending, a bad call or two, and a general lack of fluency from the home side.
45 minutes gone, we scored our first goal — a sumptuous chip from close range by Alvaro Saborio as he aims to hit playoff perfection — and at 90 minutes, we conceded our first goal on some sort of defensive error. To be honest, I've not really watched the replay of that one, as it really stung a bit, so I can't really say what happened to the defensive line. It did look like Nick Rimando took a kick to the head on the play, and while that didn't change the goal, I did find it distressing.
There were certainly a few positives to take from the match, but there were certainly some negatives:
- Will Johnson fought with his terrier-like workrate for 90 minutes and was incredibly close to scoring. It would have been lovely had he done so, but his work deserves praise.
- Fabian Espindola, Alvaro Saborio, and the one and only Javier Morales look to be forming a very interesting trio that takes us closer to a 4-3-3 than a 4-4-2 at times (ah, flexibility!) and it so nearly paid off on many occasions. But Portland, defending like they had to get a result, quashed most of our attacks.
- Some have questioned the decision to insert the perennially out-of-favor Arturo Alvarez into the mix late on, but on the face of it, it could have turned out well. AAlvarez should have been fighting for a chance to make his mark in the playoffs, so he should have been making startling runs and working himself into the ground. Now, he didn't have much time to do it, but I still didn't particularly see that. I'd hold Kreis accountable for the sub, but I think it was a good idea — insert some attacking possession-based play when we were well and truly lagging, and that's what you'd hope Arturo would bring. Ah, well.
- We didn't lose. See, that's something, right? We didn't lose another match!
- Javier Morales, Playmaker-in-Chief, is starting to look closer to his old self. His positioning and intuitive understanding of the game is incredible, and his passes — oh, his passes! — can be simply magical. He's still lacking some accuracy in the pass, but he's not particularly far off. He'll be essential in the playoffs.
- Yordany Alvarez is still having some trouble settling tactically into the side, but for a second-choice defensive midfielder, I think he'll be an excellent capture if we're to keep him.
- A draw wasn't the ideal way to end our season, but thanks to San Jose, we're going to be in third spot. Ah, the beautiful Bay Area strikes again!
Right, I hope you're all gearing up for the inevitable banter with Seattle fans. It's going to get fast and furious over the next week and a half, so we simply must band together!
'Til tomorrow, friends. Stick with the side, rain or shine, win or lose in the playoffs, and let's get on with the season!
Today's photo comes to you courtesy of my mother — it's of the Portland fans during their little flare-up. Heh heh heh.
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