Timbers Preview: Portland vs. the Montreal Impact

This is a new Montreal team with a new coach, yet despite last week’s upset victory, this Impact squad isn't expected to be one of the league’s leaders this year.

But as with the Timbers’ match-up against San Jose Earthquakes in the pre-season, this game is set to be one of the starkest early trials of Timbers coach Caleb Porter’s strategy of involving nearly the entire team in the attack. 

This year’s Montreal is a counter-punching team: Their offense relies heavily on breaking up offensive plays at or near midfield and then pushing an advantage back to the goal. For obvious reasons, counter-attacking teams typically fare well against teams whose offense is over-committed.

Defender Mikael Silvestre—whom Porter has said he expects to be the rock bolstering the Timbers' back line—remains suspect after a long series of unfortunate events in the first half of the 3-3 season opener against the New York Red Bulls on March 3. Silvestre showed marked improvement in the second half of that game, but all three first-half goals against the Timbers bore Silvestre’s fingerprints, at least in part.

But while Montreal’s defenders are both seasoned and reliable—racking up 20 pass interceptions against Seattle last week—midfielder Diego Valeri, along with forwards Darlington Nagbe and Ryan Johnson, have shown themselves to be an fast-moving, dangerous combination down the center of the pitch.

This could be trouble for an aging Montreal defense with a reputation for slow legs, especially in the latter part of the game. With these three players leading the Timbers offense, Portland's shots on goal were in the double digits against both New York and against Swedish team AIK in the preseason. Expect this barrage to continue.

Midfielder Will Johnson, whom WW had predicted to be a more “undercover” presence in our season preview, was no such thing against New York. He was a tenacious and vocal player, and was especially pivotal during that game’s second half in short-circuiting Red Bull attacks before they crossed the midfield line. Johnson’s play will need to provide similar cover in this game to avoid potential mismatches in the Timbers backfield.

In many ways, this game seems destined to be a battle of goalkeepers: Montreal’s Troy Perkins vs. Portland’s Donovan Ricketts. It will be a bittersweet fight for Timbers fans still smarting from the Timbers’ one-for-one trade of Perkins for Ricketts in 2012. By the numbers, Ricketts allowed fewer goals per game and had a higher save percentage than Perkins did during that Timbers season. But Ricketts also did not have to withstand the endless high-percentage shelling dished out on Perkins during the early parts of that season.

Expect no changes in the starting line-up since March 3. However, Sal Zizzo will be absent in the reserves after recent knee surgery. 

This is a winnable game for Portland, as long as the defense avoids obvious mistakes that leave Ricketts completely exposed.