Streak OVER! After nine games without a win, Portland Hearts of Pine finally found a way to overcome adversity after Aboubacar Camara retook the lead late with an excellent trap-and-finish to earn the full three points for his side.

Out the gate, Portland started the match slowly. It didn't take terribly long for them to start earning a respectable share of possession, though, which culminated in Diego Gonzalez finding a decent chance from deep, then Matteo Kidd forcing a handball to earn a penalty. Gonzalez – taking the kick in place of Ollie Wright – didn't blink to take an 11th-minute early lead.

Despite easing into the game, it was clear that Westchester was just a bit sharper --more organization, better first touches – which manifested in a flurry of chances not long after the goal. What they were able to create, they looked dangerous on; consistently winning aerial duels on set pieces.

Halfway through the first half, Portland finally managed to find the game. Matteo Kidd played well during this period with a couple of great dribbling moments and re-presses, while Camara's holdup and link play had been vital to reaching the final third, though Hearts couldn't quite open the door to it through the scrap-heap.

Through the end of the first half, Westchester continually repeated the same play, looking to head on at the near post, then shooting at the far post as a way of creating danger. Portland failed to adjust, conceding opportunities several times. Hunter Morse stood tall with help from a 36th-minute Mbacke Faye open-goal block to hold the scoreline.

The second half began as more of the same. Occasional chances for Hearts, slightly more for Westchester. Mbacke Faye took the space he was given in the 49th minute and dribbled far upfield before being dispossessed, granting Westchester a higher-quality chance going the other way through the almost entirely vacated midfield.

In the 66th minute, the active Mbacke Faye came barreling in to try to quell and attack, swinging and missing the ball. Westchester are able to touch past him, then take an easy shot to equalize from close distance.

Ollie Wright and Barbosa begin to make a difference. Wright showed nice technique on the ball that Portland fans have come to love, while Barbosa seemed to provide a little more structure and occupation of the midfield than Hearts managed prior in the match.

In the 74th minute, tempers skyrocketed after the ref let a couple of rough plays go after an initial knockdown of Diego Letayf. Portland eventually ended up with the ball, but Westchester were beside themselves after Portland rightfully tried to take the ball after being awarded the free kick.

Gonzalez's ensuing take nearly converted, but not long after, Jay Tee Kamara combined nicely with Camara to re-take the lead for Portland for the second time in two games.

Hunter Morse took the last meaningful action of the game in the first minute of stoppage time. Saving perhaps his best goalkeeping action of the night for the end, he made an amazing kick save while going the other direction to hold onto Portland's narrow margin to take home his side's first regular season win in over two months.

Lineup

Hearts of Pine returned 9 players to the Starting XI after their last game out vs. Charlotte Independence. Konstantinos Georgallides and Camara both make their first starts in a short while in place of Lagos Kunga and Tyler Huck. Ollie Wright once again starts on the bench after a short injury absence.

Key moments

5’ POR 0-0 WES: Danger! Westchester heads on off a corner. Westchester’s Loura sticks the ball BARELY wide of the right post in what looked like a goal.

8' POR 0-0 WES: Chance! Diego Gonzalez picks the ball up deep, takes a touch to set up his shot and rips a rocket that wasn't far off, sending the keeper diving!

9' POR 0-0 WES: PENALTY! Matteo Kidd puts a cross in high, to be met quite obviously by Westchester's Jennings' arm.

11' POR 1-0 WES: Goal! Diego Gonzalez takes penalty duties from rotated Ollie Wright, sending the keeper the wrong way to place the ball on the ground right of center.

31' POR 1-0 WES: Save! Hunter Morse gets to the ball first through traffic. The ball gets out of his grasp and there's a brief moment of danger before he gets down and claims the ball before anyone can get a shot off.

36' POR 1-0 WES: BLOCK! Westchester's combination play breaks down Portland's backline, catching Morse at the near post. Mbacke Faye makes himself big and manages to get in front of an open shot to keep their lead!

52' POR 1-0 WES: Chance! Georgallidis snags the ball off a bad goalkeeping distribution, dribbles forward, cuts right and takes a shot that's a bit over and wide, but close enough to draw noise from the crowd.

66' POR 1-1 WES: Goal. Faye comes barreling in to try to quell an attack, swings and misses the ball. Westchester touch it past him, then take a shot from relatively close that Morse can't really react quite in time for.

67' POR 1-1 WES: Subs. Georgallidis and Poon-Angeron come off for Ollie Wright and Barbosa.

70' POR 1-1 WES: Chance! Wright takes a free kick at the corner of the box well, but it's right at the keeper.

72' POR 1-1 WES: Sub. Jay Tee Kamara in for Matteo Kidd.

74' POR 1-1 WES: Scuffle! Tempers skyrocket after the ref lets a couple of rougher plays go after taking down Diego Letayf then a player falls into the back of him. Portland end up with the ball, then got clearly fouled. Westchester are beside themselves. There's a long wait while refs figure out who needs to get carded.

82' POR 2-1 WES: GOAL! Jay Tee Kamara forces a ball vertically to Abu Camara, who trapped, turns and rifles a shot straight past the keeper!

90+1' POR 2-1 WES: SAVE! While going the wrong way, Hunter Morse makes an incredible kick save the other direction to hold onto the narrow lead!

90+4' POR 2-1 WES: Sub. Camara out for Huck.

90+5' POR 2-1 WES: Sub. Gonzalez out for Lopez.

Reflections to Ponder

Empty Midfield

Though Portland have now managed to find the back of the net twice for the second time in a row, they're still a bit of a sieve. Relying on Hunter Morse is generally an OK game plan, but it's not enough to buy you wins.

Part of their problem comes from their midfield shape. Take a look at this clip from the 49th minute:

Mbacke Faye's dribble forward is fun. What isn't is the 20 (or more) yard gap between the ball and the next closest midfielder once its turned over. Even less fun is Portland's lack of ball pressure to slow down the play to allow guys to get into shape. No one gets within 5 yards of Westchester's ball carrier until after he's already played the ball in behind for a decent look.

This is unfortunately a pretty typical occurrence for Hearts. I'm not sure exactly what their plan is, but they certainly need something to change. This can look like a change in focus by asking holding mids Poon-Angeron and Letayf to fill space centrally and ensure there is never much distance between themselves, the defense, and the attacking band.

It can also manifest in either adding another midfielder to the lineup in a shift of formation, or even asking a fullback to tuck inside during rest defense and possession, essentially adding another shield allowing the true pivots to range slightly further away to slow the ball up. Bobby Murphy's got options.

Running is Hard

Attackers can get tired easily. There's a lot of running involved, especially including leading the press during defensive moments, something Portland has been having a lot of lately. The easiest way to reduce energy output and keep guys on the field longer is to possess the ball. The second best is to run smartly.

Often opting to press with a single man – whether that be Camara, Huck, or Gonzalez – Portland expends a lot of energy doing not a whole lot. Pressing with one can be useful in moments, though this is generally limited to times when your line of defense is quite low and you already have guys near the easiest horizontal passing options.

Here in the 59th, you see Gonzalez leading the press by himself, running nearly 15 yards to meet Westchester's center back. However, they have options: neither player to his left nor right are covered, meaning those are entirely wasted yards, allowing them to shift the ball side to side while they wait for Portland to make an organizational mistake to progress forward.

The next man isn't high up the field, taking a long time to press the right-sided defender, who is able to freely pick up his head and choose a pass forward.

There are solutions here, too. One option could be to press with greater intensity: The second the ball is passed back, that's a cue for 2, 3, or 4 players to pick a side to swarm, each picking a man and forcing the play to the other end where the deeper midfielders and defenders have already shifted over to, ready to defend and fully facing forward. The field is large, and you must choose to concede certain areas.

Another option could be to press with an extra man: one directly presses the ball, while the other seals a passing lane to one side or another. This is a proactive step, forcing the opposition to the side of your choosing where, again, you can let the players further from the ball fill spaces as needed to shore up gaps.

Eliminating extra running keeps starters on the field longer and keeps the level of play higher for longer.

Show For Him

See something wrong with this moment in the 45th minute?

No passing options. Look at that giant gap of space between the attacking line and where the midfield should be. Hearts often get stuck in situations where their attackers get stuck in horizontal lines, waiting for the play to reach them. This results in a lack of options, and generally a pass backward or turnover. No triangles, no passing angles, no fun.

Here's another example from the 64th minute:

Not a single Hearts player inside of what's essentially a 20-yard circle in the center of the park.

That's gotta change. While the first reflection was meant to detail some defensive shortcomings, it feeds into this offensive shortcoming: a lack of midfield movement and recognition of where to be spatially means your team can get overrun or overwhelmed by players with a higher work rate, or by an opposition who chooses to have more numbers in midfield.

I won't go re-hash the same ideas detailed above on how to fix this. The crux of the problem is that someone needs to be in the center of the park, be it the holding midfielders themselves, someone dropping deeper, someone pushing inside, or the formation being changed from the outset to add another dedicated player centrally.

Not to say Portland didn't have good moments. This is better from Diogo Barbosa.

This is the right spot and right spacing to be an asset in possession. He's got great awareness to know he can turn immediately upfield and complete the line-breaking action, even if it didn't directly culminate in a goalscoring opportunity.

Portland Hearts of Pine return to Fitzpatrick Stadium this Sunday, September 13 at 6:00 PM to face AV Alta FC, where they'll have a chance to use their momentum to turn this win into a streak.