PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers’ 2-1 win over Los Angeles FC gave the team a chance to further some emerging narratives around the squad – those of a team that’s turned a corner, as well as one that’s reclaiming the contenders’ status they built through 2017 season. Among the other stories lingering from the team’s fifth-straight win, though, was a recasting of a major preseason angle, when the club’s four Targeted Allocation Money additions were fully in focus.
On Saturday, each of those acquisitions were back on center stage playing a significant part in Portland’s latest victory. From Julio Cascante’s early entrance in place of Liam Ridgewell to Samuel Armenteros’ dramatic game-winning goal, the fruits of Portland’s offseason were in the spotlight against Major League Soccer’s newest club.
“All the guys who have come in, they have added something special,” head coach Giovanni Savarese said after his team’s latest result. “Today, we saw that.”
Timbers fans have become accustomed to the contributions of Cristhian Paredes and Andy Polo, offseason TAM buys who have carved out regular places in the team’s starting midfield. Saturday turned out to be a standout day for both, though, with Polo’s ability to win possession and connect play a key to his team posting a 21-10 edge in shots.
“I’ve settled in really well with team,” Polo said, explaining how he’s been able to claim a such an important role. “My teammates have made it easy to fit in, and so has the coach, and that’s translated onto the field.”
For Paredes, his 52nd minute goal not only opened the day’s scoring but also opened his MLS account, with a few special people in the Providence Park crowd to witness his historic moment.
“My father, my two sisters and my girlfriend were all here, today,” he said, saying performing well in front of his family “was maybe equal to scoring my first goal” for the club.
LAFC’s own major offseason acquisition, Carlos Vela, pulled the visitors back in the 74th minute, but the final word would be Armenteros’. For the third-straight match, the Swedish international came off the bench to influence a game-winning score, only Saturday was the first time he was given a chance to deliver the final blow.
It was his first goal for the Timbers since preseason, one he celebrated in memorable fashion, sprinting up the capo stand and into north end to embrace join the Timbers Army’s corps.
“It’s been a long season, so far,” Armenteros explained, alluding to his time in Italy, before arriving in Portland, “but I’m just happy to get [my goal-scoring] started. As a striker, it’s always good for your own confidence, to get those goals in, and obviously, the last couple of weeks have been good.”
All of Armenteros, Paredes and Polo have seen regular playing time, to varying extents, throughout the Timbers’ winning run. Cascante, however, hasn’t always been selected to the game-day squad, let alone seen the field. Coming on for an injured Liam Ridgewell in the sixth minute, Cascante got his first time since appearing late against Chicago, helping his team hold one of MLS’ best attacks to only one goal.
“You always have to be ready for these moments,” the Costa Rican defender said, after his home debut. “I have been working a lot, and working alone, at times. Today, I felt so great, because it was a hard time waiting for this moment.”
The contributions from a variety of sources showed the type of team general manager Gavin Wilkinson envisioned when the Timbers loaded up on allocation money this offseason. While replacing midfielder Darlington Nagbe was never going to be easy, the resources the team received from Atlanta United FC for the U.S. international enabled them to build this depth. Cascante (24 years old), Paredes (20) and Polo (23) are all long-term plays capable of contributing now, while Armenteros (27) showed what the prime of his career is capable of bringing to Portland’s squad.
“They’ve adapted very quickly,” Savarese said of his team’s four big TAM signings, “not only to MLS, but to Portland, to the team. They grow, every game, more and more, and they make it more difficult for me, because now there are other guys outside (the starters) that want to play and are doing very well.”
The Timbers are a much different team than last year, but in their current five-game winning streak, we see the potential to be even better. If that potential comes to fruition, the depth acquired with this winter’s TAM spending will be a major part.
