The whispered questions about the Timbers will gain full voice after today’s 2-0 loss in Colorado, but given the similarities between the day’s two goals, most of the post-match talk will be about the two penalties two different Portland goalkeepers conceded late against the Rapids. In the 73rd minute, Donovan Ricketts saw straight read after his attempt to play a pass ended with his right boot in Deshorn Brown’s stomach. After Vicente Sanchez’s second conversion of the season, the Uruguayan drew another penalty two minutes later, with Brown putting home the rebound of his own shot to give Colorado their two-goal win.
Up until that point, the match had been a relatively easy one. A sluggish start for Portland gave way to a more controlling stretch before half time, with the teams playing on relatively even footing until mid-way through the second half. Then, in the 68th minute, the came changed with a Dillon Powers ball lofted over the Timber defense, one that forced Ricketts off this line.
Beating Brown to the ball, the veteran goalkeeper appeared set to clear the pass, but missing the ball entirely, Ricketts ended up kicking fellow Jamaican international Brown in the stomach. Referee Mark Geiger immediately pointed toward the spot and, after Ricketts spent four minutes on the ground injured, showed the Timbers keeper a red card. Sanchez’s conversion high into the middle of goal beat replacement Andrew Weber, giving Colorado a one-goal edge.
Two minutes later, after a bad giveaway by Pah Modou Kah, Powers send Sanchez behind the Timbers defense and into the right of the penalty area. Weber, charging off his line to challenge, saw Sanchez vault into a tumble that helped draw the whistle. Moments later, Brown was putting home the rebound of his penalty try, Weber having stopped his initial attempt into the left of goal.
It was a bizarre case of low-grade de ja vu, one that left the game with a slightly misleading final score. There wasn’t much that separated Colorado from Portland over 70 minutes. Then, a poor decision from Ricketts blew the game open.
Playing down a man, the Timbers quickly gave up a second. Had Ricketts managed to make contact with the ball, Colorado and Portland likely share points on Saturday.
Video of the first penalty’s above. Here’s the second:
