Sunday, Aug. 15: Sounders 6, Timbers 2

Published 12:00 am Sunday, August 15, 2021

The goals: Fredy Montero gets to a loose ball in front of goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic and defender Larrys Mabiala and chips it in from close range after Ivacic made one big save. (1-0 Sounders, 13th minute).

Montero curls a 19-yard shot that Ivacic got a touch on with his right hand but didn’t get enough of to keep out of the net (2-0 Sounders, 29th minute).

Sebastian Blanco makes a run out of midfield to an open area in the box, receives a pass from Felipe Mora, and has his shot deflected off a defender and over goalkeeper Stefan Cleveland (2-1 Sounders, 32nd minute).

George Fochive scores with a difficult half-volley, bouncing his shot beyond Cleveland after the Seattle goalkeeper made a strong save on a shot from distance by Claudio Bravo (2-2, 52nd minute).

Raul Ruidiaz delivers a rope of a free kick from 18 yards (3-2 Sounders, 55th minute).

Ruidiaz gets to a rebound after Ivacic dove to stop a Nicolas Lodeiro free kick but spilled the rebound right at the feet of the hustling Ruidiaz (4-2 Sounders, 72nd minute).

Jimmy Medranda rockets home a full volley from a Joao Paulo corner kick (5-2 Sounders, 77th minute).

Benezet breaks in alone behind the defense and scores with an assist from Cristian Roldan (6-2 Sounders, 90+4).

What it means: The Timbers are 7-9-2 (23 points) and for now remain in the seventh Western Conference playoff spot. The Sounders are 10-3-6 (36 points), second behind Sporting Kansas City (the team the Timbers face on the road on Wednesday, Aug. 18).

Takeaways: The record six goals Seattle put up against the Timbers is the latest evidence that the Timbers are bad defensively. Yes, three of Seattle’s goals were high-quality stuff. But Portland’s defending in transition was bad, leading either directly to goals or to dangerous free kicks that resulted in goals. Goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic, after saving the Timbers in their midweek win over Real Salt Lake, had an off night at a bad time for it.

Portland was the better team for the first 53 minutes — and might have been in control if not for missed chances and strong goalkeeping from Stefan Cleveland (who finished with seven saves). But, Portland then switched off. Seattle answered Fochive’s quality goal to tie it with a wicked Ruidiaz free kick three minutes later and the fight soon went out of Portland from there.

Coach Giovanni Savarese said the Timbers’ plan was to pressure high, win possession and create chances, which they did successfully for the first 55 minutes or so. The coach knew that Seattle’s speed and skill on the counter-attack would be a threat, and it certainly was. Five of Seattle’s six goals happened as a result of the Sounders winning possession in midfield and hustling forward.

“We play to be dominant on the field. We play to try to keep possession, to be proactive, to pressure higher, to create opportunities to keep the ball,” Savarese said. “We played to try to be the dominant team today. And we knew that part of playing like that, we have to be good also in managing their counters.

“The reality is that we knew that the way we were going to play today that their counter was going to be a possibility. We just needed to be better.”

Savarese spent the first few minutes of his postgame media session thanking the fans for their support and apologizing for the result. With the next five games on the road — where Portland is 1-6-1 — one wonders how engaged the fanbase will be on Sept. 15, the next Timbers home match.

Rodney Wallace recognized — Former Timbers midfielder Rodney Wallace was honored on the field before the game. Wallace signed a one-day contract to retire with the Timbers. After the match, Wallace climbed onto the capo stand to thank the Timbers Army for its support.

Sellout — Sunday’s crowd of 25,218 was the first Providence Park capacity crowd since March of 2020, pre-COVID.

Up next: Portland at Sporting Kansas City, 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, Aug. 18.