MLS Week 5: Timbers Hold Off Late FC Dallas Charge, Win 3-2; Dynamo Beat Revs 1-0

With a season-high 11 matches being played last week that included six teams playing twice, maybe such dynamic movement should not have been a huge surprise. That there are now 10 teams sitting in our third tier does seem to speak to the unpredictable nature of the season to this point.

As has become the custom, I’ve turned it over to our editors to explain themselves in each tier:

They weren’t exactly dominant in either match, getting out-possessed and completing barely 61 percent of their passes in both of them, but they effectively used the counter-strike and were deadly on set pieces. There are still massive questions about their ability to defend or hold onto the ball, but it’s hard to deny that this team will be a real threat, at least at Jeld-Wen Field.

“Fantastic! Fantastic atmosphere, the fan base of Portland should be really proud,” FC Dallas coach Schellas Hyndman said after his team’s loss on Sunday. “I thought they came out and added some energy to the team, there’s no doubt that this team is playing with such inspiration because of that fan support. You can call them the 12th man or whatever, but I think when you win your first two games at home that just tells more and more things for the future.”

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↵It’s far too early to say just how good Gleeson may end up being, but if games like this are any indication, he’s got a bright future ahead of him.

Maybe it’s karmic justice, though, as the Dynamo had significantly outplayed the Revolution throughout the match. They held a roughly 69-31 possession advantage and out shot their opposition 27-11, hit at least three balls off the woodwork, had two shots cleared off the line (one of them probably had crossed the line).

As you can see from the image, it was very close, but the ball does look like it might be entirely over the line. Unfortunately for the Dynamo, though, there is no goal-line technology. Whether or not this was a goal, it is just the latest example of why MLS officials have expressed some interest in being one of the pilot leagues for FIFA as they explore the possibility of using this kind of technology.

The Dynamo continue to create chances, but have not been able to actually find the back of the net. They Dynamo have fired off 20 shots as of the 74th minute.

It wasn’t until the 83rd minute that Dallas found the back of the net with Ferreira. A couple minutes later Shea was able to also find the back of the net to set up a wild finish in the Rose City.

With the third goal of the game Dallas will have to continue to press on but the Timbers are doing a good job of cutting into the Dallas possession here in the second half. It may be the atmosphere at JELD-WEN Field or it is just a sign that the Dallas defense still has a long way to go here. Either way Dallas has a long way to go in this one.

Dallas will need to make some halftime adjustments to get back into this one. The chances have been there for the Toros but the finishing hasn’t been there so far today.

Dynamo starters: Hall, Freeman, Boswell, Hainault, Ashe, Davis (Cap), Palmer, Cameron, Cruz, Bruin, Weaver

Revolution starters: Reis, Alston, Soares, Barnes, Tierney, Coria, Perovic, McCarthy, Boggs, Schilawski, Lekic

Portland couldn’t have asked for a better start to the game to get their rowdy crowd into the game even more. It will be interesting to see if FC Dallas can find a way to respond to this goal or if it will be another long day for the Toros.

Miguel Lopez, who was probably only starting because of all the missing Galaxy players, had a hand in both goals. On the first, it was his feed to Barrett that sprung the forward loose. On Gonzalez’s goal, it was Lopez’s perfectly placed corner kick that found the head of the hulking defender. The assists were Lopez’s first points of the young season.

The big story to watch in this one is Dallas’ wingers against the wing players of Portland. Dallas has so much speed on the outside that it couse pose a lot of issues for a Portland defense that has been shaky at times this season. We’ll see exactly how they stack up today

Unfortunately, at least from a highlight-reel purpose, the ball went just wide. While the sequence didn’t yield any goals, it was still about as exciting as anything you’ll see.

Lopez is one of the players who is starting, largely because of those absences. He has helped create a couple good scoring chances and his pass to Barrett was the key play on the goal.

Galaxy starters: Ricketts; Hejduk, Leonardo, Gonzalez, Dunivant; Stephens, Birchall, Magee, Cardozo; Barrett, Lopez

Fire starters: Conway; Anibaba, Mikulic, Gibbs, Segares; Pappa, Videira, Pause, Paul; Puerari, Chaves

SKC was unable to create many chances before or after Rogers’ score, putting just two shots on target, although they did outpossess the Crew 52-48.

The Crew now sit at 2-1-2 and are tied for second place in the Eastern Conference with eight points. They never showed much ambition, but they defended well and continued to get results despite not looking particularly strong.

The play in question seemed a bit harsh, but was also understandable. It didn’t look entirely clear if Cesar meant to handle the ball, but his touching of it did prevent a clear scoring opportunity.

In the second half, Chivas were better. It wasn’t that they were thoroughly dominated in the first half, but they couldn’t create chances. They had some possession, but their best opportunity to score in the first half came on a tight angled header that was blocked. Things didn’t get a whole lot better though. The Goats had all but one of the corner kicks in the match, but they weren’t turning them into scoring chances. In all, it was a lot of activity leading to little achievement for the Goats.

Meanwhile, Vancouver added a few more chances in the second half. Chivas’ defense was better in the second 45 minutes so the Whitecaps didn’t have as many chances as they had in the first half, but they had a few, only to see the ball elude the goal time and time again. By the time it came to an end, neither team had tallied and the two sides were forced to take only a point, which might have been fair to Chivas, but not to the Whitecaps.