Providence Park was ready to hit that next gear.
For the first 37 minutes of the Portland Thorns’ 1-0 loss to the Chicago Red Stars, the thousands who filled Portland’s soccer sanctuary largely sat on their hands.
The Thorns (8-9-3, 27 points) came into the match riding a three-game losing streak in league play, and while the team was mostly healthy and rested after a week at home, the Thorns started Saturday’s relatively important contest stuck in the mud.
Sure, the Thorns dominated possession — largely in their own zone — but sloppy turnovers eventually cost them dearly when an errant pass went into the foot of Ally Schlegel, who banged it past keeper Mackenzie Arnold for the 1-0 lead.
But the crowd thought all of that would be a footnote when Christine Sinclair got the ball on her cleat. Just outside the 18-yard box, Sinclar intercepted a pass, looked in front of her, then to her left, and realized the odds were in her favor. There was one defender paired against the greatest goal scorer of all time and the best goal scorer in today’s game — Sophia Smith. And the crowd knew it as soon as Sinclair did, winding up into a near tizzy as Sinclair slid a ball over to Smith, who took a step, aimed and fired right into the shins of a Chicago defender.
The noise died.
The Red Stars cleared the zone. It was that type of night, as Portland picked up its fourth consecutive loss in NWSL play.
“We had a really great week of training. We came in and the mood was positive and, you know, one mistake. Sometimes football is like that,” Thorns manager Rob Gale said. “Away at Washington a late goal, here today one error, and then it gives the opposition life to bunker in, park the bus and defend for their lives.”
With the loss, the Thorns remain in sixth place in league standings, but now just stand a point ahead of Chicago and two points ahead of Bay FC for the league’s final playoff spot. And while there are still two months remaining this season for the Thorns to pull out of their funk, recent results haven’t exactly been encouraging.
And, frankly, there were few excuses for this one.
After falling 2-1 at Washington last week in the game’s final minutes, the Thorns had a week at home to prepare for the Red Stars. The team got healthier – Morgan Weaver came off the 45-day injury report this week after missing every game since May, but the damage was already done when Weaver, who signed a five-year contract extension with the club earlier this week, entered in the 65th minute. Weaver’s left foot on net off a Sophia Smith cross was one of the few Thorns highlights of a second half – that and a penalty save by Mackenzie Arnold in the opening stages that kept the Thorns in contention – that saw the Thorns push but never capitalize. The team has now scored just six goals in its last 10 matches.
“I’m pretty positive it’ll come around,” Gale said. “The effort and the performances are there. It’s now that final step, and that’s the mentality of the group. With the youth, with the new players, we’ve got to find a way to get the killer instinct, that little bit of extra mentality, because the positivity and the energy in the group has been first class.”
On a large scale, the Thorns are still very much in contention with six matches remaining. They also have a losing record for the first time since May and are riding the longest losing streak of a season that’s already seen the club change its manager. And things only get tougher immediately with their next four games – two league, two Champions Cup – on the road. Maybe, Gale said, that’ll do the trick.
“It’s an immediate chance to get back at it. That’s what you want when the knocking-on-the-door performances are there but the results aren’t coming,” Gale said. “You need that opportunity to go again, shake it off, don’t feel sorry for ourselves, pick ourselves up collectively and go try and get a positive result on the road.”
– Tyson Alger for The Oregonian/OregonLive