BEAVERTON, Ore. – The Portland Timbers have never struggled much on the offensive end in the Caleb Porter era.
Without Diego Valeri, however, 2015 has proved to be a different story. Portland have scored just three goals in four games, resulting in three draws and a loss. And after sticking with his trademark 4-3-3 (or 4-2-3-1) formation through the first three games with Darlington Nagbe in Valeri’s attacking midfield position, Porter tried something new Saturday against the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Nagbe shifted back out to his traditional right wing position, and Porter went with a 4-4-2 with striker Maximiliano Urruti coming into the starting XI alongside Fanendo Adi up top.
It resulted in an impressive offensive onslaught against the ‘Caps, albeit with only one goal to show for it in a 2-1 loss. But was Porter happy with the shift – result aside – as he looks to adjust to life without Valeri for another month or more?
“We don’t accept losing, ever,” Porter told the media following Tuesday’s training session at the team facility. “But the performance was very good, and I think if we play that way, nine out of 10 times we’ll win the game. So we’re going to stay calm, we’re not happy with the result but we have to move on. … The best medicine for what we’re feeling is a win.”
It’s unclear which direction Porter will go in Saturday’s home meeting with FC Dallas (10:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE), but the reasoning behind the lineup tweak had everything to do with getting more offensive production. He said Adi and Urruti are among the team’s top goal scorers, with Valeri out, so it made sense to have them on the field together at the same time, rather than Urruti coming on as a late spark.
“I think it was about getting an extra goal scorer on the field, which allowed us to put pressure on their back four, both sides of the ball,” Porter said. “So pressure defensively but also pressure in terms of getting that extra number in on the back four, looking to pull on the shoulders and run in behind and get on the end of crosses.”
Portland fired off 15 shots, five on goal, and an astounding 48 crosses, all while recording season-high marks in possession (66 percent), passing accuracy (88 percent) and accuracy in the attacking third (77 percent).
And a lot of that, Porter said, had to do with allowing Nagbe to slide back out right as more of an inverted winger.
“He’s been playing well, but I thought this was maybe his best game,” Porter said. “He was able to float inside, in between the layers, and find space. He’s hard to pick up when he plays that way.”
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The final portion of the equation in Porter’s mind is the ability of right back Alvas Powell to get box-to-box, allowing the freedom for Nagbe to float without sacrificing penetration on the flank. And, Porter reiterated, the results were good, outside of the all-important finishing.
“Like I said, the performance was very good, we created a lot of chances and we were very good in possession as well,” he said. “And yet we lost the game, so bottom line it’s not good enough.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
