Houston Holds Off Portland 2-1

Portland Setup:

Portland set up in a variation of a 4-4-2 with two holding midfielders in Jewsbury and Chara. Chara and Zizzo would take turns moving forward partnering with Nagbe in the center behind Johnson. Zizzo played wide right and Nagbe played wide left but could often be found central with Cooper moving out wide to the left. Johnson played centrally and was substituted for just before halftime. Cooper played with back to goal and would play balls back to Nagbe and Jewsbury who would look to distribute to Zizzo and Johnson. It was effective when Cooper was able to successfully hold the ball up but often his 1^st touch failed him. He did not have his best match whatsoever and squandered two great goal scoring chances late in the second half that could have netted the Timbers a tie.

For the Timbers back four, their two outside backs pushed up field, and Chabala played many dangerous crosses to Cooper who unfortunately for Portland was unable to do anything with them. Brunner and Horst partnered at center back.

Houston Setup:

The Dynamo also set up in a 4-4-2. They were looking to play from out wide to create scoring chances through crosses created from overlapping runs off of give and go’s. Davis and Clark played wide right and left and Ching partnered with Costly up top. Cameron and Moffat played the two holding midfield roles. Houston was arguably most effective when Cameron pushed up the field while Moffat sat back to defend. Cameron made many nice runs, and created a great scoring chance for Ching that may have trickled just over the goal line past Perkins, but either way Ching should have buried it to leave no doubt in the mind of the referee. Ashe was dangerous, often using his speed up the left flank to work with Ching and Davis, but Palmer of Portland gave him trouble all game long.

1st Half:

Portland opened the match with creating several scoring opportunities. Johnson was clearly much faster than either Houston center back, and it was unfortunate for the Timbers that he was taken out with an injury, after he had nearly scored a goal off of a nice pass from Chara in the opening minutes. After Moffat let loose a shot out of a cannon from about 40 yards to give the Dynamo a 1-0 lead, Houston started to take control of the game. Just 10 minutes later, with Clark all the way on the left, he partnered with Davis and Ching to create a goal for Ching to give the Dynamo a 2-0 advantage. Houston was particularly attacking from their left wing through Ashe, Ching and Davis. The only possession that Portland had in the first half was in the midfield, and nothing came of it as they were unable to adequately deal with the Houston pressure.

2^nd Half:

Portland had some success when Cooper was able to hold up the ball and play it back to Chara and Jewsbury and Nagbe, but because he struggled with his first touch a big part of Portland’s game was ineffective. With Johnson already having to be taken off, Coach John Spencer was unable to replace Cooper as he may have otherwise done. Zizzo created Portland’s only goal in the 56’ minute when he beat Ashe down the wing and floated a cross to Nagbe that he headed back to Jewsbury. he shot it straight out of the air and it was deflected past Hall to cut Houston’s lead to 2-1. It was a nice run by Zizzo that created the goal. After this goal Houston was clearly trying to hold onto the ball by playing low risk easy passes to eat away some clock. It worked for much of the second half, but Portland started to come alive in the last 10 or 15 minutes. Cooper had two clear goals scoring chances off of two balls from Chabala that he botched, and Portland walked away with no points.

Conclusion:

Portland played a very unusual formation, and it may have been better for them to just play a 4-5-1 and replace one of their strikers (probably Cooper) with another midfielder like Alhassan. It would have given them more width, and Nagbe more room in the middle to create for himself and his teammates. It would be surprising to me to see Cooper start next game. He did not look in form and it leaves one to wonder whether he is carrying an injury.

Houston played an excellent match, and had to walk away pleased with their performance. With Will Bruin still out injured, Weaver, who replaces costly in the second half would probably be a better partner with Ching. Costly had little impact on the match and his movement off the ball was poor at best. Davis and Cameron continue top play at an all-star level, and as long as they keep it up they will have a chance at the playoffs, especially being in the Eastern Conference.

Thoughts on the match? Portland’s Formation?

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