Portland Timbers vs. Alpha United
2014-15 CONCACAF Champions League
September 23 | 10 pm ET | Providence Park
TV: Fox Sports 1, UDN
The Portland Timbers can take sole possession of first place in Group 5 with a win Tuesday night over last-place Alpha United. Portland wrested control over the group with a 4-2 home win over Honduran champion Olimpia last week. Olimpia and the Timbers are currently tied with six points apiece, but the Timbers have a game in hand. Alpha United have fallen in all three of their CCL matches, including a 4-1 home loss to the Timbers on Aug. 19. They’re coming off a 6-0 away loss to Olimpia on Aug. 28 that eliminated them from the tournament.
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SPOILED FOR CHOICE: Tuesday’s match will represent Portland’s fourth game in two weeks, but they’re no worse for the wear. Head coach Caleb Porter used an almost entirely different lineup in last Tuesday’s CCL match against Olimpia (highlights below) from their previous match Sept. 13 against the Colorado Rapids. Porter rotated his squad again for Saturday’s 3-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps, so he should have plenty of rested bodies to choose from for a game in which the Timbers will be heavily favored.
ALPHA UNDERDOG: The Guyana champions have been outscored 11-1 in their three CCL matches. And following a 6-0 rout at the hands of Olimpia that eliminated Alpha from the tournament and then a 4,700-mile trip to Portland, the longest trip in CCL history, things have the potential to get ugly at Providence Park. Portland will also be looking to pad their goal differential to make their final group match Oct. 21 away to Olimpia a more favorable matchup. Let’s hope the Timbers are friendly off-field hosts, at the very least.
ONE STEP CLOSER: In their very first CCL, the Timbers have a very good chance to advance to the quarterfinals. No matter the result against Alpha on Tuesday night, the Timbers can advance to the quarterfinals with a draw in Honduras thanks to holding the first tiebreaker, which is head-to-head record between the two teams involved. Of course, when it comes to quarterfinal seeding, every point and goal counts in the quest for an advantageous draw.
LEARNING EXPERIENCE: Though Alpha haven’t had much success on the field, head coach Wayne Dover said his group has learned from the experience.
“I’ve learnt how easily you could be dismantled if you are not organized in your games,” he recently told CONCACAF.com. “I’ve learnt how important it is to take your chances when you create them. I’ve learnt that there's no room for mistakes at this level. You must be disciplined tactically for more than 90 minutes at this level.”
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PLAYERS TO WATCH:
MAXIMILIANO URRUTI, PORTLAND – The Portland striker scored a goal the last time out against Alpha and also added a brace last week in their win over Olimpia. He came off the bench in the Timbers league match Saturday, so he’ll likely start against Alpha.
BARBOSA MURILLO, ALPHA – The defender had the highlight of the tournament thus far for The Hammer, scoring on a great free-kick goal right before halftime against Portland. Could he go for two?
