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Timbers work to fix lapses on defense

Colorado pounced on Portland's errors in season opener

By Paul Danzer, Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter
Published: March 24, 2011, 12:00am

BEAVERTON, Ore. — The Portland Timbers might be a young bunch, but most of them have played enough high-level soccer to understand that eight weeks of training camp isn’t enough time to develop the cohesiveness of a champion.

That was abundantly clear in the team’s Major League Soccer debut on Saturday.

The defending champion Colorado Rapids — starting the same lineup that beat Dallas for the MLS Cup — didn’t allow the Timbers much possession, and pounced on a couple of early defensive breakdowns in the 3-1 win.

“Our possession the whole night wasn’t up to par,” said Jeremy Hall, who started on the left side of midfield and finished the game at left back. “I don’t know if it was because when we got the ball we were tired from working defensively, but we weren’t making runs for each other off the ball to put ourselves in good spots on the field.”

Hall and his teammates know it will take time to develop the comfort level that established lineups enjoy, but they don’t see that as an excuse for underperforming like they did in Denver.

“Guys still are kind of learning the tendencies of one another,” said team captain Jack Jewsbury, who has been with the team for only three weeks. “At the same time, most of the guys have played in this league and we know what it takes to get results.”

This week’s challenge will come on Saturday in Toronto, where the opponent will be hungry for a turnaround after losing its opener 4-2 in Vancouver, B.C.

After Wednesday’s practice, coach John Spencer indicated there won’t be drastic changes to the lineup.

“These guys have played well from the start of the preseason. In all the preseason games, the guys competed and played well,” Spencer said.

Twenty rough minutes in Colorado didn’t undo eight weeks of good work, the coach said.

“(If) all of a sudden you wield the ax, it doesn’t show that I have much confidence or stability in the group,” Spencer said.

Shaking up the lineup also would hamper the growth of chemistry among teammates. Even Hall and left back Rodney Wallace — who were college teammates and friends at Maryland — need time to rediscover a strong on-field connection.

“It’s going to come back,” Hall said. “We know what style we want to play. Rodney’s a hard working kid who likes to get up and down (the field), which makes it a lot easier for me to have an outlet to go to.”

Such chemistry is bound to improve as the season unfolds, but the games count now so no one is in the mood to wait for results.

“We can get more comfortable with each other, see the different kinds of runs (players make), whether people like the ball to their feet or in space,” said Hall, who started 31 games over two MLS seasons with New York before he was traded to Portland. “(Chemistry) will obviously get better as we get games in, but we’re comfortable with each other.

“We’re all young players who like to play and are proven in the league. We’re looking forward to the challenge.”

NOTES — Defender Mamadou Danso has been recalled by the Gambia national team for its game against Equatorial Guinea on March 29. Danso will miss the Timbers’ regular-season match against Toronto FC on Saturday and the club’s U.S. Open Cup play-in game on March 29 against Chivas USA at the University of Portland.

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Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter