Going into  Wednesdays Cascadia rivalry against the Timbers Wednesday night a Providence Park the Sounders had scored ten goals and allowed just on in their previous games.  Given the fact that  the Sounders had lost their last game to the Timbers 2-1 at CenturyLink Field  betting on the  visitor’s to come flying out of the gates was a sure bet.

EVERYTHING BUT A GOAL

And true to form the Sounders came out flying in the first half. The Sounders checked all the goal scoring boxes except the  most important one. That is to put the ball in the back of the next.  The Sounders controlled the majority of  the possession in the first half and had  quality chances.

LETHAL COUNTERATTACK

While the Sounders were running circles around the  Timbers the home side were true to their style of being patient on defense then counter attacking when  the opportunity arises. Opportunity came knocking for the Timbers in the 15^th minute when Jeremy Ebobisse picked up a loose ball in the midfield and hit Yimmi Chara with a slide rule pass Yimmi slammed into the  back of the Sounders net for the 1-0 lead. The Sounders continued their possession and shot dominance but the shots and passes never really threatened the Timber defense.

PEDESTRIAN SECOND HALF

The second half was more of the same with the Sounders having the majority of the possession but to no avail. The Timbers second half strategy of dropping all of their players ten yards deep  crowded the middle of the field and made it difficulty for the Sounders to break them down.

Seattle was never able to link consecutive passes or make that cross from one side of the field to the other that shifted the Timbers defense. The result was a second half  that was pretty much of a pedestrian slog. With no rhythm and pace.

POST GAME NOTES

• Tonight’s contest at Providence Park marked the 110th all-time matchup between Seattle and Portland (all competitions). In a storied rivalry dating back to 1975 in the North American Soccer League, Seattle is now 54-42-14 all-time against its Oregon rival.

• Since the rivalry advanced to MLS in 2011, Sounders FC is 12-10-6 in regular-season action against the Timbers, including a 5-7-3 record in the Rose City.

• Head Coach Brian Schmetzer made one change to the team that beat LAFC 3-0 on September 18, with Shane O’Neill coming into central defense for Xavier Arreaga.

• Following the league-mandated quarantine period after international duty with Sweden, Gustav Svensson made his return to Seattle’s midfield as a halftime substitute. Entering the game for Nouhou, Svensson played his first minutes for the Rave Green since August 30 in a 3-1 victory over LAFC.

• Tonight’s match marked the first time in league history that two sets of siblings played against each other in an MLS game. Alex Roldan entered the match as a 53^rd-minute substitute, pitting the brothers Roldan against Diego and Yimmi Chara, both of whom started the contest for Portland.

MATCH SUMMARY

Seattle Sounders FC 0 – Portland Timbers 1

Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Venue: Providence Park

Referee: Allen Chapman

Assistants: Kathryn Nesbitt, Jeff Hosking

Fourth Official: Farhad Dadkho

VAR: Ramy Touchan

Attendance: Closed Door

Weather: 61 degrees and cloudy

SCORING SUMMARY

POR – Yimmi Chara (Jeremy Ebobisse) 13′

MISCONDUCT SUMMARY

SEA – Nouhou (caution) 36′

POR – Pablo Bonilla (caution) 55′

SEA – Raúl Ruidíaz (caution) 56′

POR – Eryk Williamson (caution) 76′

SEA – Alex Roldan (caution) 90′

POR – Steve Clark (caution) 90’+6′

LINEUPS & STATS

Seattle Sounders FC – Stefan Frei; Kelvin Leerdam (Miguel Ibarra 84′), Yeimar Gómez Andrade, Shane O’Neill (Will Bruin 76′), Nouhou (Gustav Svensson HT); João Paulo, Cristian Roldan, Joevin Jones (Alex Roldan 53′), Nicolás Lodeiro, Jordan Morris; Raúl Ruidíaz

Substitutes not used: Stefan Cleveland, Xavier Arreaga, Jordy Delem, Joshua Atencio

Total shots: 19 (Morris/Ruidíaz, 4)

Shots on goal: 6 (Six players, 1)

Fouls: 8 (Lodeiro, 2)

Offside: 3 (Three players, 1)

Corner-kicks: 13 (Lodeiro, 11)

Saves: 1 (Frei, 1)

Portland Timbers – Steve Clark; Pablo Bonilla, Julio Cascante, Dario Zuparic, Jorge Villafana; Jeremy Ebobisse (Andy Polo 75′), Diego Chara, Eryk Williamson (Cristhian Paredes 86′), Yimmi Chara (Marvin Loria 75′); Diego Valeri (Larrys Mabiala 86′), Jaroslaw Niezgoda (Felipe Mora 71′)

Substitutes not used: Aljaz Ivacic, Larrys Mabiala, Marco Farfan, Andres Flores, Renzo Zambrano

Total shots: 9 (Three players, 2)

Shots on goal: 2 (Y. Chara/Paredes, 1)

Fouls: 11 (Williamson, 5)

Offside: 0

Corner-kicks: 4 (Valeri, 4)

Saves: 6 (Clark, 6