Timbers shut down powerful Seattle attack with 1-0 shutout

Timbers shut down powerful Seattle attack with 1-0 shutout
June 23, 2002 at PGE Park, Portland, Oregon
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Preston Burpo and McKinley Tennyson collide in the box

GOALS

24' - Portland: Fadi Afash (McKinley Tennyson)

Coming off two disappointing performances in the past week, the Timbers knew they had their work cut out for them when league-leading Seattle came to visit PGE Park on Sunday afternoon. But the Timbers were up to the challenge, as Fadi Afash's 24th minute goal stood up, and the Timbers earn their biggest win of the year, a 1-0 shutout of Seattle in front of 3,890 at PGE Park.

The Timbers came out in a 3-5-2, with Greg Howes playing as a withdrawn midfielder, and the lineup was clearly designed for attacking football. In the first minute of the match, the Timbers would set the tone when after a bad clearance by Seattle goalkeeper Preston Burpo, then a weak cross back to him by a defender, Fadi Afash nearly got to the ball first for chance to go 1-on-1 with Burpo, but Afash stumbled before getting to the ball.

Both teams tried to outwork each other at midfield, and each team pushed forward along the flank a few times during the next fifteen minutes or so, but neither team threatened until the 18th minute when Seattle's Leighton O'Brien cut across the top of the box and took a hard shot from 20 yards out, that appeared to hit his own player before it could get to the net.

Then, in the 24th minute, the Timbers made their new aggressive attacking style pay off when a ball was chipped into the run of McKinley Tennyson, who got to the ball just before a charging Burpo, and headed it over the Seattle keeper and into the box, where a charging Afash dove into the ball from a mere five yards out, and despite being kicked in the face as he did so, got enough of the ball to put it into the net, and the Timbers had an early 1-0 lead.

For most of the rest of the half, the Timbers were controlling the match, and just one minute later, they nearly doubled the lead when a cross from Tennyson to Afash was headed just over the bar. Two minutes after that, a cross from the left side from Jake Sagare across the top of the box was met with a very obvious handball from Afash, who knocked it into the net, but received a yellow card for the flagrant handball.

Jake Sagare goes over Viet Nguyen for the header

The Sounders had their best scoring chance of the first half in the 29th minute, when a free kick from Andrew Gregor appeared heading for the right side of the net, but a diving Matt Napoleon made the save to keep the Timbers lead secure. One minute later, a cross from the right side from Portland's Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar was met with a half-scissor kick by Afash, whose shot was deflected just wide of the left post. For the next ten minutes or so, play turned more physical, with both teams receiving a yellow for rough play. The Timbers had one last good chance in the first half, when Howes hit a dipping shot from 20 yards out that appeared headed for the lower right corner, but a fine diving save from Burpo kept the ball out of the net, and the Timbers went into the locker room with a 1-0 lead.

The Sounders came out in the second half determined to get an early equalizer, and would control the run of play for the first 15 minutes or so of the half. In the 51st minute, a nice chip from Seattle's Brian Ching from 15 yards out just barely went over the net, though Napoleon seemed to have the shot covered all the way. Six minutes later, Ching was again threatening, when he fought through a few defenders to get to a cross, but headed the shot over the bar. The Timbers nearly caught the Sounders on a counterattack in the 59th minute when Tennyson beat an offside trap, and got to the ball just before Burpo, who had come out of the box to attempt to clear, but Tennyson's chip from 35 yards out went over the net, and Tennyson took a good knock to the face from Burpo in the collision that took place just after he released the shot.

The Sounders probably got closest to tying the score in the 65th minute, when after a shot was deflected in front of the net, Jason Farrell headed the ball up and over Napoleon, but Alcaraz-Cuellar was there to head the ball out from in front of the Timbers net, and the threat was over. Just one minute later, the Sounders had another good chance when Viet Nguyen hit a hard shot from 20 yards out the forced a sprawling save from Napoleon, who was unable to control the rebound and the ball sat dangerously at the six yard box for a second or two before Portland defender Gavin Wilkinson took control and moved the ball along the endline and out of danger.

Gavin Wilkinson and Brian Ching go for the header

In the 66th minute, another Timbers chance went unfinished when a nice cross from the left by Sagare was right into the path of Tennyson, who left his feet to attempt the header into an open net, but the ball barely eluded his head and trickled out of bounds. In the 68th minute, it appeared the Timbers had added another goal when Afash blasted a shot into the net after Tennyson had tapped the ball across the box to him, but Afash was ruled offside on the play.

In the 79th minute, a cross into the box by Seattle's Gregor resulted in a collision in the box, and Napoleon had to take a few minutes to recover from an injured right knee. Two minutes later, Seattle's Kyle Smith hit a low hard shot from 25 yards out that managed to elude all of the Portland defenders, but fortunately for the Timbers, it trickled just barely wide left. The Sounders had their last good scoring chance of the match when Ching took a full volley inside the box, that hit off Wilkinson's face before the shot ever got to the net, and the Portland defender was able to control and clear the ball.

In the last five minutes of the match, the Timbers had two breakaway chances to widen the score as the Sounders had pushed everyone forward. In the 86th minute, Tennyson and second half substitute Chugger Adair were in 2-on-1 on Burpo, but Tennyson shot instead of dropping the ball to an open Adair, and the shot was smothered by Burpo. Then two minutes later, another good chance was missed when Tennyson managed to tap the ball around a charging Burpo who had come ten yards out of his area, but by the time Tennyson got control the ball, close to the sideline, Kieran Barton had dropped back into the goal mouth, and stopped the ball on the endline.

But the Sounders would not threaten again during five minutes of stoppage time, and the Timbers had their biggest win of the season, a 1-0 shutout of the league's top team.

Matt Napoleon punches the ball out of the box just before Scott Jenkins can head on goal

MATCH INFO

Time: Sunday, June 23, 2002. 5:05 pm PDT
Venue: PGE Park, Portland, Oregon
Weather: 78 degrees, clear, humid
Attendance: 3,890
Referees:

MATCH STATISTICS
Portland		Seattle
8	SHOTS		4
1	SAVES		4
16	FOULS		17
4	OFFSIDE		2
6	CORNERS		10

CAUTIONS
Portland		Seattle
Afash (28') Blatant Handball		Ching (38') Tackle from behind
Somoza (40') Push		O'Brien (89') Interfering with restart
Sagare (47') Hard Tackle
Winters (62') Hard Tackle