50/50 Ball: Sporting – Timbers
This match up pretty much went the way that I expected it to go, just not quite the result I expected. I guess it was the result I expected, but not the way I expected the result to turn out. Sporting came into this having won their first seven games but after their previous match were looking really tired. Portland was coming off a hard defeat against the galaxy and were looking to make up for it. Well Sporting was able to hold off the Timbers attack, but couldn't seem to hold off their own defense from putting the ball into the goal for the Timbers.
TIMBERS
- Was great on the knowledge that they knew they should have kept attacking and that they did and probably should of been able to score on their own, but at least they kept from allowing Sporting to go on their own attack very often.
- The defense really only seemed to come up when they absolutely had to. Which was good enough to get the win after the own goal from Sporting. Had Sporting not been exhausted from not having a break and having just played a match a few days before then I think you could say that this match could of gone a completely different way.
SPORTING
- Knew that they wouldn't be able to play the same way they had for the entire match like they had to start the season, so they came out trying to get an early lead, but the Timbers were able to hold off the early attacks.
- Obviously the own goal caused Sporting to lose their first match of the season, but you could tell that every player was bordering on exhaustion and were doing everything they could to try and just hold off the Timbers, which for the most part they did.
McBeth