Matchday Preview: Timbers aim to get back on track vs. FC Dallas

PORTLAND TIMBERS vs. FC DALLAS
JELD-WEN FIELD, Portland, Ore.
August 5, 2012 (WEEK 22, MLS Game #212)
4:00 p.m. PT (NBC Sports Network, 750 AM The Game / La Pantera 940)

Just two weeks after the clubs met in an eye-opening contest, the Portland Timbers and FC Dallas meet again Sunday evening, this time at JELD-WEN Field. FC Dallas won that meeting in Frisco, a 5-0 rout that extended the Timbers’ road losing and scoreless streaks. The Timbers are coming off a fifth consecutive loss, a 1-0 home defeat by Chivas USA last weekend, while FC Dallas suffered a 1-0 home loss to the LA Galaxy last weekend.

PORTLAND TIMBERS
The Portland Timbers went down to a fifth consecutive defeat, falling 1-0 to Chivas USA on Saturday evening at Jeld- Wen Field. The Timbers are in ninth place in the Western Conference with 19 points from 21 games.

LAST MATCH
HIGHLIGHTS: POR 0, CHV 1

• The game's only goal came in the 68th minute. Chivas USA's Ben Zemanski flighted in a free kick from out on the left, and Danny Califf reached it first as Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins came off his line, heading it in for the eventual winner.
• Timbers interim head coach Gavin Wilkinson made six changes to the side that suffered a 5-0 defeat to FC Dallas at FC Dallas Stadium. David Horst and Steven Smith came into the back four for Mamadou Danso and Mike Chabala, Jack Jewsbury, Brent Richards and Darlington Nagbe came into the midfield for Kalif Alhassan, Eric Alexander and Danny Mwanga, and Kris Boyd started up top for Mike Fucito.
• PORTLAND TIMBERS (4-2-3-1): Troy Perkins - Kosuke Kimura (Danny Mwanga 86), Hanyer Mosquera, David Horst, Steven Smith - Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara - Brent Richards (Eric Alexander 74), Darlington Nagbe, Franck Songo'o (Kalif Alhassan 74) - Kris Boyd.

TEAM NEWS

• The loss set a new Timbers MLS club record with a five-game losing slide. The club had lost four in a row at the start of the season. The Timbers have lost seven of their last nine dating back to June 17.
  
• “I think we have made some strides in certain areas. You could see the system that we were trying to play tonight. You could see what we were trying to do, how we were trying to create things,” said interim head coach Gavin Wilkinson. “And again, I just think we missed that final product, but we will continue to reassess and find different ways to motivate the players.”
  
• While the Timbers have gone 697 minutes since their last goal away from home, they saw their overall current goalless run extended to 292 minutes. It’s the fifth-longest in MLS this season; Portland has the longest, 339 minutes, from April 21-May 20.
  
• For the fourth time this season, the Timbers were defeated by the game’s lone goal.
  
• “It’s my fault,” goalkeeper Troy Perkins said. “It’s just one of those situations where you see a big gap in front of you and that line just pops up and you just kind of make a quick decision. And unfortunately, it wasn’t the right one. Three inches and I make the play. It’s just one of those things.” Said Wilkinson: “What we talk about is discipline and making the right choices in the right areas. And that’s all I can say.”
• The Timbers did match their season-high with 19 attempts at goal, which they also had in their last win, the 2-1 victory against San Jose on July 3 in Portland.
  
• “I think we had a lot of chances in the second half, as well. We could have scored three, I think, in the first half, said Wilkinson. “We had a couple of good chances. I think Boyd had a few. It is what it is. It can be a cruel, cruel sport at times. I think some of the football we played was very productive, and ultimately you’ve got to finish your chances.”
  
• Striker Kris Boys had six attempts at goal, matching his individual season-high set May 5 vs. Columbus, and also matched his season-best with three attempts on target.
  
• “It’s a team game; we’ve all made mistakes,” said Boyd. “I’ll be the first to put my hand up and say I should have scored two, maybe three, maybe four goals tonight.”
  
• Timbers Home Grown Player Brent Richards made his first MLS start, playing 74 minutes in a wide right role up front. He had two appearances as a substitute in league play, and a third in a U.S. Open Cup tie.
  
• “I think right from the start, we were pressing. We played the three up top, and it was an honest three up top,” said Wilkinson. “Part of that was to stop them from playing out, and I think that the numerous chances that we did create in the first half were from us winning the ball in their half and looking to break quickly. I think we were pressing the entire game.”

FC DALLAS
FC Dallas couldn’t build on a breakout win, falling 1-0 to the LA Galaxy on Saturday evening in Frisco. FCD is in a tie for seventh place in the Western Conference with 22 points from 23 matches.

LAST MATCH

• The game's lone goal came in the 62nd minute. Robbie Keane controlled a bouncing ball at the top of the box and flicked it over a defender to Mike Magee. The Galaxy attacker was left alone in the restraining arc, and he curled a shot around a defender and into the lower corner.
• FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman made no changes to the team that posted a 5-0 win against the Portland Timbers in Frisco.
• FC DALLAS (4-4-1-1): Kevin Hartman - Zach Loyd, Hernan Pertuz, Matt Hedges (George John 46), Jair Benitez - Jackson, Daniel Hernandez (Julian de Guzman 78), Andrew Jacobson, Carlos Rodriguez (Fabian Castillo 46) - David Ferreira - Scott Sealy.

HIGHLIGHTS: DAL 0, LA 1

TEAM NEWS

• For the first time since back-to-back losses May 6 and 9, FC Dallas lost a game while being shut out. They had taken points from their last two offensive blankings – scoreless draws vs. Chivas USA and San Jose.
  
• “They seem to have outworked us, which is disappointing because I think it's the first time this year that we've been outworked,” said FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman. “I felt that we didn't create enough opportunities in the attacking third, we didn't hold the ball well and we didn't get enough opportunities to finish.”
  
• George John made his first appearance since May 26, coming on as a halftime substitute.
  
• “It’s nice to be back out there with the first team and get some experience on the field ... You guys could probably tell I was a bit rusty out there,” John said. “I’m a bit embarrassed with myself right now, but there’s next week and next game.”
  
• Rookie Matt Hedges had played every minute of 10 consecutive matches before coming off at halftime. “With George, it was because on the last two runs [Matt] Hedges made, he ended up straining his hamstring,” Hyndman said. “We thought it would be better to get him off the field. If it wasn't for that, he would have still been on the field.”
  
• Brek Shea was not among the 18 available players on gameday for a second consecutive match.
  
• “The decision is no different than the decision we made last week. We feel the best thing we can do with Brek is to give him a chance to remove himself from the pressure and kind of let him figure things out,” said Hyndman. “We're having almost daily conversations with him. So, we will see how this week goes. I can say that I feel like he's making great progress.”
  
• Fabian Castillo came back into the team after a one-match absence, coming on at halftime for Carlos Rodríguez.
  
• “What ends up happening is once you get players like Fabian [Castillo] on the field, you are going to start to see more individual performances. He is so electrifying going forward. That's all he thinks about,” Hyndman said. “Jackson at times was doing the same thing. It just seemed like, there at the end, we had two or three passing services into the box that we didn't get.”
  
• Castillo’s introduction was also aimed at turning the Galaxy’s containment line back toward their own end, and allowing the FCD fullbacks to get more engaged in the attack.
  
• “They pressed us pretty high whereas Portland gave us a little more space to work with,” defender Zach Loyd. “They did a great job of closing us down quickly. We had a little bit of success, but not what we expect to have on a regular basis. Going forward, we just need to be able to say that we improved each week.”
  
• Added Hedges: “Portland kind of sat back with their strikers and didn’t press us so we were able to swing it wide really easily. But against LA, both their strikers were pressing us so we had to try something different.”

REFEREE: Ricardo Salazar. SAR (bench): Corey Rockwell; JAR (opposite): Mike Kampmeinert; 4th: Tyler Ploeger
MLS Career: 155 games; FC/gm: 27.1; Y/gm: 3.5; R: 44; pens: 57

INJURY REPORT:

• PORTLAND TIMBERS – OUT: DF Chris Taylor (R hip surgery); PROBABLE: DF Eric Brunner (R knee LCL sprain); DF Futty Danso (L knee tendinitis)
• FC DALLAS – OUT: DF Ugo Ihemelu (concussion symptoms); DF Alex Lee (lower abdominal strain); MF Jackson (concussion symptoms); DOUBTFUL: FW Blas Perez (R foot sprain); MF Ricardo Villar (R foot strain); PROBABLE: DF Matt Hedges (R hamstring strain)

INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES: POR: Jake Gleeson (New Zealand; Olympic Games)
SUSPENDED: none
WARNINGS:

• SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: POR -- Jack Jewsbury, Lovel Palmer, Franck Songo’o
• SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: POR - Kris Boyd, Diego Chara, Steven Smith, Kosuke Kimura ... DAL - Jair Benitez, Daniel Hernandez, Julian de Guzman, Zach Loyd, Andrew Jacobson, George John

HEAD-TO-HEAD
ALL-TIME (4 meetings): Timbers 1 win, 4 goals ... FC Dallas 2 wins, 12 goals ... Ties 1
AT PORTLAND (1 meeting): Timbers 1 win, 3 goals ... FC Dallas 0 wins, 2 goals ... Ties 0

2012 (MLS)
3/17: DAL 1, POR 1 (Perez 22 – Nagbe 51)
7/21: DAL 5, POR 0 (own goal 16; Jacobson 26; Jackson 48; Sealy 69; Luna 81)

• The teams are meeting for the second time in three weeks. FC Dallas took a 5-0 win in Frisco on July 21, FCD’s biggest offensive output since a 6-3 win at the LA Galaxy on Sept. 12, 2009.
• In their first meeting this season, goals from Portland’s Darlington Nagbe and FCD’s Blas Perez left the teams in a 1-1 deadlock, March 17 at FC Dallas Stadium.
• The teams split their two meetings in Portland’s inaugural season, with nine goals scored in the two games. FC Dallas claimed a 4-0 win in Frisco on June 25.
• Coaches record: Schellas Hyndman vs. POR: P4 W2 L1 D1 ... Gavin Wilkinson vs. DAL: P1 W0 L1 D0

LAST MEETING (MLS)

• The home side were in the lead in the 16th minute, when Jair Benitez sent in a low, hard cross that Portland defender Hanyer Mosquera was unlucky to deflect past goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
• FCD doubled their advantage 10 minutes later. Zach Loyd laid off a David Ferreira pass on the right side, and Andrew Jacobson ran onto the lay-off and blasted a shot past Perkins from outside the box.
• FC Dallas made it 3-0 three minutes into the second half. Ferreira fed Jackson in the center of the park and he beat two Timbers before sending in a shot that deflected off Futty Danso and into the Portland goal.
• The score was 4-0 in the 69th minute when Scott Sealy was played through on goal by Jackson and slipped it past Perkins from the heart of the area.
• The rout was completed in the 81st minute, when homegrown forward Ruben Luna scored his second career goal, turning home a Jackson cross from close range.
• FC DALLAS (4-2-3-1): Kevin Hartman - Zach Loyd, Hernan Pertuz, Matt Hedges, Jair Benitez - Daniel Hernandez, Andrew Jacobson (James Marcelin 74) - Jackson, David Ferreira (Julian de Guzman 53), Carlos Rodriguez - Scott Sealy (Ruben Luna 76).
• PORTLAND TIMBERS (4-4-2): Troy Perkins - Kosuke Kimura, Hanyer Mosquera, Mamadou Danso, Mike Chabala - Kalif Alhassan (Jack Jewsbury 54), Diego Chara (Brent Richards 74), Eric Alexander, Franck Songo'o - Danny Mwanga (Kris Boyd 57), Mike Fucito.