San Jose vs. Portland: 3 Takeaways

The San Jose Earthquakes cruised to a 3-0 victory over the visiting Portland Timbers after shaking up their lineup.

Raise your hand if you expected that scoreline.

While most San Jose Earthquakes fans predicted a win or a draw against the Portland Timbers, many suggested it would be a cagey, scrappy affair. Imagine their delight and surprise, then, when they absolutely trounced the Timbers for a full 90 minutes.

While the Timbers were obviously disappointed to be so thoroughly beaten, there can be no dispute that the Quakes earned all three points in style.

Let’s look into what this game tells us about both teams.

Portland Needs Defensive Quality

We all know what the Timbers can do in attack, but when expected starter Gbenga Arokoyo went down injured during the preseason with a torn Achilles, the search began for a new center back that could step into the starting lineup.

After that dismal defensive display, Portland fans will want that player brought in quicker than ever, as each member of Portland’s back 4 tonight had some fault in at least one goal. Vytas provided too much freedom on the cross for the first goal, and Lawrence Olum botched a would-be simple clearance into an attacking player. After bouncing around the box, Hyka hammered home.

The next goal saw Liam Ridgewell and Olum at fault, as they left one of only a few players to ever score more than 100 league goals in MLS, Chris Wondolowski, barely pressured at the edge of the box. Powell, meanwhile, managed to hold the same player onside for the third goal while not paying the least bit of attention to active play.

While the Timbers brought in MLS veterans Roy Miller and Lawrence Olum in the offseason, they were specifically targeted as depth, and the Timbers need a new starter immediately.

Beyond needing a starting player, however, the Timbers could really use a leader on that back line. While Ridgewell is the team captain, sometimes the armband is the only thing that signifies that. He doesn’t seem to help organize the defense that well, and even when he does attempt to, he is often guilty of defensive lapses as well—just like on Wondolowski’s first goal.

Any championship team has a leader that is barking orders and keeping the backline tidy. John Terry, Vincent Kompany, and Sergio Ramos all immediately spring to mind. Obviously, all of those players are (way) above the Portland Timbers’ payroll, but they’re vocal, aggressive, and intelligent. Unfortunately, I struggle to think of a player on the Timbers defense that consistently checks more than one of those boxes.

4-3-3 the Key for Quakes

Call it a 4-4-2, 4-2-2-2, the Empty Bucket—whatever you like. The setup that the San Jose Earthquakes were running before their game in Minnesota played to almost no one’s strong suits. If Dominic Kinnear wants to keep his job as San Jose’s Head Coach, then he’ll want to forget that he ever considered that a viable option for his squad.

Coming into this game, the Quakes had been fairly anemic in an attack, scoring only 9 goals in 9. When playing at home, that number improved to 6 goals in 4, but those numbers simply aren’t good enough for this team.

The San Jose Earthquakes now look much more dangerous on attack and can control new parts of the midfield. Portland missed a few key players, and that will affect what a team can reliably do, but the Quakes bossed the midfield battle, starving Fanendo Adi of almost any service.

The 4-4-2 that the Quakes had been playing meant that there was a lot of open space in the middle of the park, but with so many teams playing a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 in MLS, that afforded the opposition plenty of opportunities to pick their passes. With the 4-3-3, however, there’s far more fluidity between defense and attack. While the initial unveiling of this formation against Minnesota United didn’t yield much in the terms of results—the winner came from a setpiece—this win will certainly reinforce that this is the way forward for San Jose.

The formation change isn’t the answer to all of the questions that San Jose has, but it’s an excellent start to kicking their season into a higher gear, especially now that they’ve picked up eight points from their last five games.

Both Teams Are Playoff Material

Regardless of the Portland Timbers’ drubbing at the hands of San Jose Earthquakes last night, both of these teams still look headed for the playoffs.

The Timbers currently sit 3rd with 17 points from 10 games and appear comfortably perched in the upper tier of the West. While the Quakes’ position is slightly more vulnerable,—5th with 15 points from 10—both will feel relatively confident going forward this season, because, as of this writing, there are currently five teams in the West that have 10 or fewer points, most of whom have played at least 9 games.

San Jose is still undefeated at home, despite welcoming some very attack-minded teams. Now with 11 points from their five home stands, the Avaya could be a very difficult place for visitors to play indeed. After their first offensive breakout of the season—disregarding their win against Vancouver that saw Whitecaps keeper David Ousted sent off—teams will be wary of the reinvigorated Quakes’ forward line.

Next: Blanco: The Player Portland Wanted in Melano

For the Timbers, missing players of both Darlington Nagbe’s and Diego Valeri’s quality would cause any team to struggle, especially when (most of) the rest of the team decided to take the night off. That’s not a way to excuse the loss or diminish the Quakes’ quality on the night, but it does serve as a partial explanation. Assuming that both Nagbe and Valeri are not out for extended periods, it’s hard to see teams outscoring the Timbers regularly enough to keep them out of the postseason.