USA Tour 2015: Portland Timbers

By James Keep

 

Portland Timbers 2 v Newcastle United

Tuesday, 21st July - 7.30pm kick-off local time

Providence Park, Portland

 

For the final stop on their pre-season tour of America, Newcastle United take on Portland Timbers 2, the MLS side's new USL team.

In a city often referred to as Soccer City USA, the Portland Timbers' matchday experience is something to behold.

The people of Portland have truly embraced soccer, as they have done ever since the Timbers' first iteration back in 1975.

Playing at Providence Park, a former baseball stadium and a truly beautiful venue in the heart of the city, the Timbers have sold out every regular season home game at their 21,144-seater stadium since entering MLS, a figure that, as off the start of July, stands at 78 consecutive matches.

Their passionate fans are known as the Timbers Army and can be seen standing for the full 90 minutes in the stadium's North Stand, singing songs and often unveiling eye capturing tifo displays prior to the start of games.

Their love of soccer extends far beyond just the Timbers as well, with the Portland Thorns - the National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) side - attracting an average crowd last season of 13,362 and setting a new single game record of 19,123 last August, figures well above those of the other teams in their league.

Attending a match at Providence Park will also be one of the few times you actively root for the opposition to score a goal, as this will result in one of the most unusual, yet interesting, routines you will see in football.

Their mascot, Timber Joey - an actual lumberjack - will then proceed to fire up his chainsaw and slice a slab from a fallen tree for the goalscorer.

 

History

While the Portland Timbers entered MLS in 2011, the team has existed in various guises since 1975, when a side featuring a number of English players enjoyed great success in the original NASL.

However, in their current incarnation, the team existed in the USL prior to being awarded an MLS franchise and have had mixed results since stepping up the pyramid, reaching the play-offs in two of their four seasons, winning the Supporters Shield under current head coach Caleb Porter in 2013, and struggling in the other two, finishing among the bottom teams in 2012 as the John Spencer and Kris Boyd era at the club came to an end.

Last season they held an affiliation with Sacramento Republic, designed to aid in player development but have this year abandoned that in favour of fielding their own side, Portland Timbers 2, in the USL instead.

The Timbers 2 will be United's opposition on their trip to Portland and are designed as the clubs development side, offering a chance to field potential future players in a competitive environment as well as, on occasion, giving some of their ailing stars playing time as they recover from injury.

In their first season, the Timbers 2 currently sit seventh in the USL Western Conference, just outside the play-off places.

The Portland Timbers share a fierce rivalry with their fellow Pacific North Western teams Seattle Sounders and Vancouver Whitecaps.

The results of their regular season encounters are aggregated with the most successful team crowned the winner of the Cascadia Cup. With both the Sounders and the Whitecaps also fielding teams in USL as of this season, the rivalry has now also worked its way down to USL.

 

Head Coach

Much like Caleb Porter, head coach of the Timbers' MLS side, the USL's Timbers 2 head coach Jay Vidovich made his mark coaching in the US college soccer system.

He coached Wake Forest for 21 years, leading them to 225 wins out of 343 games, drawing a further 87.

The college side had a hand in developing a number of future MLS stars, including former US international Michael Parkhurst, and that no doubt played a big part in the Timbers' decision to hire Vidovich as head coach of their USL side, with Porter suggesting he was "an ideal fit" for their organisation.

 

Players

Five key players to keep an eye out for straight away would be goalkeeper Jake Gleeson, defenders Taylor Peay and Andy Thoma, and midfielders Schillo Tshuma and Nick Besler, as these five are currently on loan to the USL side from Portland Timbers.

Nick Besler also happens to be the brother of US international Matt Besler, who performed so admirably in the World Cup last summer.

After that, look out for Blair Gavin and Danny O'Rourke, both of who have spent time with various MLS sides, and finally, 22-year-old striker Kharlton Belmar, who has scored eight goals in 15 appearances for T2 this season.

 

Things to do

Portland is weird - and that's a good thing.

It is a city that prides itself on doing things a little bit differently but there's still plenty to see and do in the city and surrounding area.

Things to take in include the city's many local breweries and eateries, of which there are plenty of great options to choose from, and there are often outdoor events held in the Pioneer Courthouse square and along the waterfront.

Just beyond Providence Park, you can take in the Japanese Garden and famed Rose Gardens. There's the standard selection of museums and Portland is also home to Powell's, the world's largest independent book shop.

If you want to take in some scenery you can visit the Forest Park to the North-West of the city or head east and visit Multnomah Falls, taking in the views along the historic highway as you go.

It's also worth visiting Mt. Hood and the Timberline lodge, great for those into skiing or who simply love their movies, as the exteriors of the lodge were used during the filming of the Shining.