Sporting Kansas City begins a two match road trip tonight against the Portland Timbers with pregame coverage at 9:00 p.m. CT on 38 the Spot and SKCTV across the Midwest. To preview #PORvSKC, we spoke with Timbers beat writer for the Oregoninan Jamie Goldberg.
Jonathon Feyerherm: What's the Timbers form heading into this match?
Jamie Goldberg: I think they've been playing very well. In their last two games they had plenty of opportunities to score and the offense has really come alive. I think that has to do with Diego Valeri getting back to top form and being able to integrate Lucas Melano. I think the biggest thing for them is they haven't finished their chances in the last two games and haven't made the most of their opportunities. Despite having two really good performances, they haven't been able to get the results they wanted. I think they're playing well but they have to start finding a way to turn that into results.
JF: Former Kansas City player Jack Jewsbury has provided some key goals for Portland. Can you talk about this role for the Timbers this year?
JG: He's a guy that has done a lot for the Timbers. Over the last two years, he hasn't always been in the starting lineup but everytime there are injuries or something changes and he finds his way back into the lineup. He's played really well for the Timbers on the field. He's been really crucial this year because with Will Johnson's injury they've needed a guy to step in. They had a few games where they tried George Fochive but he kind of showed his youth and Jack Jewsbury ended up being the guy while Will Johnson was recovering from his broken leg that they had in there. He's come up big for them twice with two game-winning goals. He's almost an unsung hero because he's not always in the starting lineup and often looked over but he's done really well for them and made the most of his opportunities.
JF: This match features two of the best attacking midfielders in MLS (Diego Valeri, Benny Feilhaber). How important is Valeri to the Timber's offense?
JG: He's very important to the team. When he's not performing, the offense isn't going to do as well. I think we've seen that this year because he's been out due to injuries and when he has been in there he hasn't been the Diego Valeri of past years. But in the last two games one of the reasons they've started to create more chances is because of Diego Valeri. I think he's finally gettng back into a rhythm. If he's on his game, he's a huge difference maker for the team. He runs the offense. If they can get him to start creating chances and producing, the Timbers are going to be much more dangerous in these final seven games.
JF: What are you looking forward to seeing from this match?
JG: I'm interested in looking at both backlines. It's going to be a little better for Kansas City with Matt Besler returning but I think there's going to be changes on both sides. The Timbers have done well on offense so I'm interested if they can finally improve their finishing and convert chances. I'm interested to see if the Timbers defense can handle Kansas City's offense. Kansas City has some really potent players up top and the Timbers are going to be making two changes including a pretty major one with Taylor Peay coming in for Alvas Powell. I'm wondering if this is going to be a wide open and high scoring game or if the defenses on both sides step up.
