Union fall to Portland in season opener

The Timbers had a strong home record in 2011 of 9-5-3, and they showed again how hard it is to win in a sellout crowd at Jeld Wen Field. The first half was mostly dominated by the Timbers and their offensive attack. MacMath had to make a leaping save in the eight minute. He also ran out of his box in the 21st minute to get the ball from a charging Kris Boyd. The Union eventually captured some offense in the later part of the first half, but the chemistry was off with this new team. There were times where players passed when they should have taken the shot and taking shots when a pass would have been the better decision. The scoreboard finally changed in the 51st minute on a free kick from new arrival Gabriel Gomez.

But the lead was short lived.  The Timbers came back in the 54th minute from Jack Jewsbury's indirect kick, which Andrew Baptiste headed in for the equalizer. The ball bounced in front of MacMath once and then squeaked under his arms and into the back of the net. The Timbers were not done yet, in the 66th minute the Timbers offense was back. Khalif Alhassan sent a ball into the box, where Kris Boyd headed it into the far side of the net, a tough shot for any keeper to make. The Jewsbury Alhassan combination made another appearance in the 76th minute. Jewsbury, around 35 yards out, passed to Alhassan at the top and to the side of the box. Alhassan took it and ran, entering the box and then chipping MacMath from just outside of the six. The final whistle sounded in the 94th minute with the final score Portland three, Union one.

Even though the score indicated that MacMath played a poor game, he actually showed moments of brilliance. MacMath also had to face 17 shots on net, and seven corner kicks while making four saves. That's 12 more shots than the Union had, six more corner kicks, and the Union had 14 fouls compared to Portland’s eight.

Timbers vs. Union Preview

The MLS season is back and the Union take on the Portland Timbers in their first match of the season tonight at 9:30 on ESPN2. A lot has happened to the Union's roster since their departure from the postseason last year. Sebastian LeToux is on Vancouver, Justin Mapp is in Montreal, Paunovic is no longer playing, and the young Zac MacMath is the new starting Keeper. In replace of some of these players are Panamanian midfielder Gabriel Gomez, Costa Rican forward Josue Martinez, and defenseman Porfirio Lopez. These players bring in a lot of speed and talent that will help the Union's offense pick up where it left off. But they are going to have a tough task tonight in Portland.
Tonights forcast for portland is in the low 40's to high 30's with constant showers, making the turf and the ball slippery. Portland had a strong home record last year, 9-5-3, which helped them make a postseason push. The last time the Union played at Jeld Wen Field they lost 1-0, and when the Timbers came to PPL Park the game finished in a draw. Portland has also made offseason aquisitions by picking up Scottish forward Kris Boyd. Kris played with the Rangers in the Scottish Premier League and scored over 100 goals from 2006-2010. The Timbers also have a strong fan base who will give the Union no help in tonights match. Danny Mawanga even said that Portland is his least favorite stadium to play in, in an interview on Comcast Sportsnet.
The Key for tonights match, and for the season, is to step up. Peter Nowak has made a lot of changes in the offseason, and let fan favorites leave, the best way to make the Philadelphia fans forget about the departures is to score and win, and become the new fan favorites.