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The Colorado Rapids extended their current losing streak to three on Saturday night, as hosts Portland tallied goals from Jeremy Ebobisse (45’) and Diego Valeri (65’), both assisted by Sebastian Blanco in a 2-0 win for the Timbers.

Here are three takeaways from the Rapids’ 2-0 loss:

Bassett makes MLS debut

A week after debuting with the first team during a 3-2 friendly win last week against United Soccer League side Tulsa, Rapids homegrown midfielder Cole Bassett earned his first MLS appearance. Bassett entered Saturday’s match as an offensive substitution in the 71st minute for defender Kortne Ford.

“I’ve spoken about Cole for a long time now, and I don’t want this to overshadow and serve as an excuse for the fact that we just lost the game, but he’s someone that we believe in and he’s done nothing yet,” Rapids head coach Anthony Hudson said. “We believe in him and I trusted him to put him out on the pitch, but you just never quite know. And I thought he was outstanding when he came on. He was under pressure at times and he did well on the ball, I was really pleased with him. He just now needs to be feet on the ground, patient, keep working hard — and it’s fantastic having him in the squad.”

At age 17, Bassett is the youngest player to get first-team minutes for the Colorado Rapids in the club’s history.

“I don’t really think about it when I’m on the field. I just try to help the team out,” Bassett said of his debut. “It’s definitely a proud moment for me and my family because I’ve worked so hard for this for so many years. I’m really proud to make my debut, but I wish it could’ve ended in a better result because we deserved more.”

In addition to Bassett’s debut, 21-year-old Rapids homegrown Caleb Calvert — recalled from his loan with the Charlotte Independence — also saw minutes. Calvert subbed in for Shkëlzen Gashi in the 55th minute.

Calvert completed 70 percent of his passes, but didn’t register a shot in just under a half of play.

Lacking in attacking

Colorado absorbed pressure for much of the game, particularly in the first half. Portland could have easily been up 2-0 in the first half hour with goals called offside from Ebobisse and Valeri in the 12th and 30th minutes, respectively.

“I think for large parts of the game, most of the first half and parts of the second half, at times I thought we were the better team,” said Hudson. “The contrast was in the final third. When they were in the final third, Tim had to make a save. And tonight, I don’t think we had enough quality in the final third and I don’t think we were a threat in the final third.

“Other than that, the overall game was very good and the players never stopped all the way to end. We were unlucky with the penalty at that moment and at the end I thought we could have potentially nicked on as well, we had a couple of chances.”

Portland outshot Colorado 18 shots to 10 in the match, but the Rapids held on to nearly 56 percent of the game’s possession, a positive statistic for MLS teams on the road. The Rapids lack of attacking threat exposed how thin Colorado is offensively at the moment, with Jack McBean and Giles Barnes getting the start atop Hudson’s 4-4-2. Attacking options Sam Nicholson (back injury), Niki Jackson (red card suspension) and Yannick Boli (hamstring) were all unavailable for this match.

Result may VAR-y

Portland found itself on the wrong end of the two offside calls, so could’ve easily been up 3-0 by the half. But calls also went against Colorado, mainly a call for a penalty which was initially awarded to the Rapids and then reversed in the 61st minute.

At that point in the game, Colorado could’ve tied the match and played for the road point, but the reversal shifted momentum in the Timbers’ favor for the remainder of the match.

“The mental part is 80 percent of the game,” said Portland midfielder Diego Valeri. “If the PK [decision] went for Colorado, maybe we’d be frustrated. I think all game we were concentrated. Sometimes, Colorado was aggressive but mentally and tactically we did a great effort. We began to play aggressive and after the second goal we matched the energy.”

The post Cole Bassett makes MLS debut during Colorado Rapids 2-0 loss to Portland appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.

Jeremy Ebobisse had a breakout performance in his first start at the MLS level last July, recording a goal and an assist to lead the Portland Timbers to a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. He finished his rookie season with a goal and three assists in just 317 minutes.

But despite a promising rookie season, Ebobisse saw just eight minutes off the bench in the first 26 games of the 2018 MLS season as Fanendo Adi and later Dairon Asprilla remained ahead of him on the depth chart.

After patiently waiting for his opportunity, Ebobisse finally seized his chance Saturday night.

Ebobisse scored the game-winning goal in his first MLS start of the season Saturday to lead the Timbers (12-7-8, 44 points) to a 2-0 win over the woeful Colorado Rapids (6-15-6, 24 points) in front of 21,144 fans at Providence Park.

“It feels really good,” Ebobisse said. “A lot of work has gone into this since the beginning of the season. It’s tough sometimes watching from the sidelines, but I knew the opportunity would come at some point and I’m just grateful that I was able to take it.”

After posting four-straight losses in August, the Timbers are now unbeaten in their last three games. Portland jumped to fifth place in the Western Conference standings with the win Saturday.

“I thought the team played very well today,” Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. “Defensively strong, offensively creating a lot of chances. We moved the ball very well and I thought it was a very good performance.”

The Timbers have lacked firepower in the attack ever since trading Adi to FC Cincinnati in July. After the Adi trade, Asprilla moved into the No. 2 forward role. But calls for Ebobisse to get an opportunity began to grow over the last month as Asprilla, who has scored just once this season on a penalty kick, struggled to find the back of the net.

Still, it was surprising to see Savarese start Ebobisse Saturday over not only Asprilla, but Samuel Armenteros, who has eight goals this season and has been the club’s starting forward since the end of May.

Savarese’s decision paid off.

“Everyone in practice has to be able to do the job to be able to have the opportunity and sometimes you have to go through steps,” Savarese said. “We felt and I felt that it was the right moment for JBo to be able to step on the field. He understood the opportunity. He didn’t disappoint. He played a very good game, excellent.”

Ebobisse appeared to score in the 11th minute when he put the ball in the back of the net off a free kick, but he was called offside on a controversial decision. The 21-year-old finally got his goal in the 45th minute when he slid in and scored off a cross from Sebastian Blanco to give the Timbers a big 1-0 lead.

Ebobisse continued to be an asset in the attack with his holdup play and distribution throughout the match. The crowd showed their appreciation for Ebobisse with loud cheers when he was subbed out of the game in the 75th minute.

“We trust him,” said Blanco about Ebobisse. “We’re happy for him because we need every player now because we only have seven more games before playoffs. We need every player ready.”

Despite a goal before halftime against a poor Colorado team, the Timbers struggled to put the game to bed early in the second half.

The Rapids were initially awarded a penalty kick in the 61st minute when Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark made contact with Colorado forward Jack McBean in the box. Referee Drew Fischer waived off the penalty kick after it was determined through video review that McBean had fouled Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell prior to the contact in the box. The overturned call may have changed the trajectory of the game.
“It’s a crucial moment,” Savarese said. “Soccer has those moments when the game can change the other way and when the referee pointed to the (spot) and then overturned it, that was huge for us. That was very important. Then our second goal came minutes after that and now, from a 1-1, we’re winning 2-0.”
Portland finally put the game out of reach in the 65th minute when Diego Valeri headed-home a cross from Blanco. Valeri now has a team-leading 10 goals and 10 assists this season.
“I’m excited about the guys,” Savarese said. “I’m excited about the effort today and even more so that we have other guys that can contribute and are continuing to battle to see who can play.”

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The post Portland Timber beat Colorado Rapids 2-0, Jeremy Ebobisse scores in 1st start of season appeared first on Pro Soccer USA.