Sounders vs. Timbers - Round One 2013

View from stadium ramp pre-match

I attended the annual "derby" between the Seattle Sounders FC and Portland Timbers FC this past weekend in Seattle. For those of you not in the know, the two teams are in the Major League Soccer league and play each other anywhere from 1-3 times a year. In 2013 it's three times - two in Seattle, one in Portland. Last year it was the reverse. This time, 40,000 people attended inside Century Link Field in downtown Seattle.

While the Sounders own an edge in wins and losses over the decades that the teams have been playing each other in different incarnations, the animosity by Portland fans towards Seattle is clearly at a higher level that that of Seattle fans towards Portland. And indeed, this was evident last weekend by the behavior of the Timbers Army, the hard core support group for the Portland team. But more on that later.

Meanwhile, the game ended as a 1-1 tie. Seattle put in a spectacular goal in the first half, and then missed on at least two point blank shots on goal in the second half...leaving at least one goal unscored that could easily have been.

Portland had opportunities early, but missed. Then...in "stopage time," they narrowly snuck one into the Seattle goal to pull even.

Seattle Sounders vs. Portland Timbers - March 16, 2013 in Seattle

Two observations about all that:

1) Ties ain't fun, but they add up. Many people hate that matches in soccer can end in a tie. Yes, it's a bit unsatisfying for many, including me. But, the way MLS and virtually every soccer league in the world measures how teams are doing is on "points" rather than wins and losses directly. So, for example, a team gets three points in the standings for a win, one point for a tie and zero for a loss. The team with the most points at the end of the season wins the division. Teams below them are placed in order based on how many points they've earned. SO...a tie is not as odious as it seems on the surface. Both teams get a point. The season is long and even those add up.

2) "Prevent" play only prevents you from winning. Often in American football (NFL, college), when a team has a lead late in a game it suddenly stops being aggressive, goes very conservative on offense and plays "prevent" defense. This is meant to try and kill clock and preserve the win. However, equally as often, the team that is behind on the scoreboard tries extra hard and...because the other team is letting them...they can manufacture opportunities to score TDs or field goals. Well, the same is true in soccer. Teams with a lead often go conservative near the end to salt away the clock and get the win. This is what the Sounders did in the last 10 minutes or so of the match last weekend. Their offense basically stopped and their defense sagged into their own end...enabling Portland to pour it on and get shots on goal. And they put one in. So, give it to Portland for scoring, but equally so...shame on the Sounders for letting it happen.

Finally, back to the fan support groups - particularly Portland's. OK, right up front I will say that the Timbers Army showed up motivated and loud. Give them credit for that. Yes Portland, you have a vocal and dedicated core fan group. We believe that you love your team. And we certainly can tell you don't like Seattle. Great. But...you also have an extremely lewd, rude and embarrassing fan supporter group. If the purpose of the Timbers Army is to showcase how moronic Portland fans are, then mission accomplished. I can only deduce that we were witnessing the drunken and juvenile spasms of a MASSIVE little brother complex felt by Portland fans about anything Seattle. Of course, it's ironic that the Timbers' sponsor is Seattle-based Alaska Airlines. That means every player and fan wearing a Timbers jersey is walking around supporting a Seattle company. Also ironic is that the beloved urban combat kilts I see many Timbers fans wearing are, you guessed it, produced by Seattle-based Utilikilts.

Anyway, exhibit A is the ongoing chant they executed quite well during the match that featured calling Seattle "shit" and baiting Seattle fans with the accusation that they, the Timbers Army, "don't hear a fucking thing." Because they were in unison and chanted this stuff over and over again many times, the stadium was treated to that quite clearly. Classy. Ladies and gentlemen...Portland.

Exhibit B is this picture. See how many Portland fans you can find giving the middle finger to the Seattle crowd. My favorite? The short guy who looks like a leprechaun giving the bird with authority.

Timbers Army in Seattle - March 16, 2013

Now, I'm not saying that a fan base has to be nice to their rivals, but come on people. Really? Chanting the F-word, flipping the bird most of the game and generally being lewd? What comes across is that you actually hate Seattle far, far more than you care one iota about your team. This does not reflect well on your group or your city. Seriously, it doesn't. You look like a-holes.

One last thing on Portland fans. As loud and obnoxious as they are when they're safe in their own supporter area, they're very tame out on the concourse when getting beers or food. And, they arrive and depart as a group directly to/from their buses. Both these behaviors are fear based. Sure, they've got the big beards, utilikilts and all the Timbers garb you'd expect from Portland fans. And sure, they're going to rant profane cheers and flip off the crowd from their seats. But, once outside of their cheering section, all of a sudden...silence and security guards. Why? Despite their pride in Portland, they know that in Seattle they're in "the big city" and they fear what they might actually run into.

So that sounds pretty harsh towards the Timbers Army, it's supposed to. I was not impressed.

As for the various Seattle supporter groups. I am 100% sure there is boorish and lewd behavior there too, and it's equally as bad. But, as a whole...Seattle fans do not openly and uniformly have a reputation as "a-hole." And, they don't hate Portland, the city. Most people I know in Seattle (including Sounders fans) really like Portland.

For example, you can read about my foray down to Portland last season to catch a Seattle v Portland match HERE. I had a great time.

There are two more games in this rivalry this season - one more in Seattle in August and the last in Portland in October. I'm going to try to make both those matches and - if so - will report what I see!

Notes on Sounders FC from a Novice Fan

First, let me say I love Sounders FC. I am a fan and will loyally be one win, lose or draw. Indeed, I enjoy having a local team that's in the top league for soccer in the U.S., and overall am quite pleased with their first 2+ seasons in MLS. This is all doubly true since the NBA Sonics were stolen out of Seattle and moved to Oklahoma City.

In particular I love how the Sounders have won a number of critical games in dramatic fashion, consistently reside in the upper third of the standings, have made the MLS playoffs twice in their two seasons and won the U.S. Open Cup twice in a row. I also really like the game atmostphere at home games. Not bad for an expansion team. Not bad at all.

Perhaps it's because I just witnessed them losing a home game to Dallas last night, but I'm now increasingly frustrated with this team - mainly for it's inability to score goals (that's pretty important as it turns out), but also for sloppy play (I know...easy to say when you're a fan) and - given these two problems - also what seem to be 1-2 fatal breakdowns in defense every game.

Lets take a look at these together because I think they're linked. And it all starts with...

Sloppy Play
Look, I get it...this is not English Premier League talent out there. I'm fine with that. And, I know two key players are out with injuries. However, even before those inures happened, I am consistently amazed this season by what appear to be very frequent lazy or way-off passes that either go out of bounds or directly to an onrushing opponent. This is particularly bad in the midfield, and it seems that this season the great majority of the "full 90" is spent in the middle third of the field for the Sounders as they muddle around trying to get possession of the ball.

Naturally, this sloppy passing turns into more opportunities for the other team to possess the ball, move it forward and attempt to score. And they do. I know at least one game - the opener vs. L.A. - was decided specifically on the fact that a Sounder defender kicked the ball DIRECTLY to a Galaxy player deep in the defensive end of the field and the Galaxy player booted a goal past the Sounders keeper. Just one example, but a good (or actually bad) one. Seems like each game the opponent gets a couple quality goal chances because of this type of thing.

Meanwhile, the Sounders don't seem to. In fact they appear to have a chronic case of the...

Inability to Score
This manifests itself in two ways. First, limited opportunities. Because they are fiddling around trying to get possession in the midfield and playing defense, the Sounders do not seem to put together aggressive pushes forward or artful runs that can result in chances on goal. Other MLS teams seem to be able to do this regularly. I've seen it - both against the Sounders and in other matches unrelated to Seattle. Add to that the sloppy passing element, and you've got what to my eye and experience amounts to fewer and poorer goal opportunities overall. You can't score if you're not near the goal with the ball - simple as that.

The second way the Sounders inability to score goals is manifested is in just simply flubbing around with the ball at critical moments in front of the goal. This seems to happen over and over and over again in each game. I know the players are not trying to screw up, and I know scoring a goal in soccer is not easy, but how many times this season has one of them been directly on goal or with an open chance and instead of directly shooting it they try and settle or dribble around...ultimately either firing off a lame shot, having it blocked or being dispossessed? Many times. Far, far too many times. Put the ball into the net in the most direct and quick fashion possible please.

The combination of sloppy play and the inability to score exposes the team to...

Fatal Breakdowns on Defense
These happen. Even on good teams. It's just the way it is. But, when your offense cannot score goals and this happens...opponents score, and you just lost the game 1-0 or maybe 2-0. Just one breakdown and you're done. That's all it takes.

This past game really put each of these points in sharp relief. The Sounders possessed the ball pretty well actually, but still were sloppy in the midfield, misfired on some key pass opportunities and managed to screw up a LOT of quality goal scoring chances as usual. Meanwhile Dallas opportunistically scored their one goal on a "fatal breakdown" on defense. And that was the game. At the time of the goal I said to my buddy, "well, this is going to be 1-0 or 1-1...that's it." He agreed. We both knew the Sounders were not going to score or if they did it would be eeking one out in desperation at the end. We were correct. They lost 1-0.

So that's my novice assessment of their season so far - predominately sloppy play, ample wasted goal scoring chances and other teams capitalizing on fatal breakdowns on defense. Right now, that's earned them a record of 4-5-5. That's decent, but not good. I think at least one of these three issues will need to change for them to improve their position in the standings. If not, they'll probably squeak into the playoffs, but how far can you go with that style of play? Not too far. Here's hoping for improvement!

By the way, if there are some more insightful and intelligent soccer fans out there who can enlighten me or think I'm off base, I welcome the input. I'd love to know what I'm missing or if I'm just plain wrong on some of this (seriously).