Old woes returned after Portland concede another late goal one minute into second half stoppage time, dropping two desperately needed points in what's continuing to be a steep uphill battle to the playoffs.
The opening period of the match was quite physical and continued to bear out throughout the game, with 24 fouls committed between both sides.
Star winger Ollie Wright – in his first start in over a month – went down with a non-contact injury in the 10th minute, clutching at his right knee. The mood nor tempo picked up much afterward, as both teams seemed content to funnel the ball wide and avoid the idfield entirely - clearly draining on the players as the tempo stayed slow.
No shots were put on target until Abu Camara took it upon himself to hit a driven shot along the ground right at Chattanooga's keeper in the 38th minute. This seemed to wake up the team, as early substitute Felipe Rodriguez Gentile found the opening goal just a minute later.
Hunter Morse got the remaining bit of action in the first half, being called upon 3 times in the final 6 minutes of first half play.
The second half was relatively neutral heading through its first fifteen minutes. Portland would slowly find itself receding deeper into its own half for longer and longer periods, eventually forcing keeper Hunter Morse into a few more saves - the best of which came in the 67th minute on Chattanooga's Lombardi.
The Red Wolves would continue to see more of the ball as the game grew to a close - reflective in their possession stats: 50/50 through 45 minutes, and 62/38 in the second half.
Though there wasn't much danger through most of it, Chattanooga would create a nice opportunity with a tricky slip-pass into Omar Hernandez, who found the equalizer in stoppage time to salvage something for the hosts.
Lineups
Portland continues their streak of consistent lineups. Head coach Bobby Murphy made just one change, bringing Ollie Wright into the starting lineup for Diego Letayf. Wright made his first start since August 16th vs. Forward Madison.
Key Moments
13' CHA 0-0 POR: Sub. Ollie Wright goes down with a non-contact injury in the 10th minute, clutching his right knee. Felipe Rodriguez Gentile enters as his replacement.
17' CHA 0-0 POR: Chance! Evans hits a scorcher from a far-out free kick that doesn't go more than a a couple feet over the bar.
38' CHA 0-0 POR: Chance! Camara settles the ball around the right side of the box and takes a low shot for Portland's first shot on target, but it was safely grabbed by Chattanooga's keeper.
39' CHA 0-1 POR: GOAL! It's Felipe Rodrigez Gentile! Kidd creates a bit of separation wide left to loop in a cross. Felipe deftly settles the ball in heavy traffic, takes a set-up touch and hits the ball high and left to meet the net!
44' CHA 0-1 POR: Save! Hunter Morse goes up to punch a floated cross away from danger.
45+2' CHA 0-1 POR: SAVE! A diving two-handed save to the far side by Morse was all that stopped Chattanooga from equalizing.
45+5' CHA 0-1 POR: SAVE! A ridiculous volley from close range forces Hunter Morse into action once again, making a blink-and-you'll-miss-it block low to his left to send the game into halftime.
62' CHA 0-1 POR: Danger! Lombardi scuffs a look that sends the Portland shotstopper scrambling to his right post, watching it trickle only just off-frame for a goal kick.
65' CHA 0-1 POR: Sub. Camara comes out for Letayf.
67 CHA 0-1 POR: DOUBLE SAVE! Morse just might be short for More Saves! The Hearts of Pine keeper makes a reaction kick save as far as he can stretch with his right foot on Lombardi, then gets airborne to grab a sailing shot-cross with both hands to keep his side in the game.
80' CHA 0-1 POR: Subs. Bobby Murphy makes a triple substitution, bringing in Kunga, Green, and Jones-Riley for Kamara, Gonzalez, and Hata.
90'+1 CHA 1-1 POR: Goal. Omar Hernandez equalizes, slotting the ball far enough wide that Morse likely thought it wouldn't squeeze inside the post.
90'+5 CHA 1-1 POR: Stop! Faye makes an excellent lunging tackle just outside the box to get the ball away from the box and relieve some pressure.
Quick Thoughts
Defensive Scrambling
Well, reactive play broke Hearts in and around the box again. While no longer nearly as vulnerable on set pieces as a few games ago, Portland still struggle with quick switches of play near their own net.
Unfortunately, one of those moments resulted in the goal that costed them two points early in second half stoppage time.
All it took was one ball going where it wasn't expected to have all Portland heads spinning and take them off proactive defense. This can happen in a crowded box - from a good pass from an opponent to a weird bounce or deflection.
Hearts still have a bit of work to do to in their defensive structure. Bobby Murphy and his team may need to do some clarification on his defenders' roles to find improvements.
It also might mean shifting the defensive scheme from a zonal to a man-oriented setup during low defensive blocks to keeper players tighter to their opposites; limiting moments where everyone is spending a split second processing what might happen next and who they need to keep an eye as plays develop.
'U' Shall Not Pass
It's hard to say whether it was part of the game plan to avoid the midfield in entirety, but that's what happened for both sides on the evening.
In possession, each team would find themselves passing around the back, then sending multiple players wide to advance the ball up the sidelines before crossing the ball centrally to attempt a shot.
If the data was available to us, we'd likely see a sort of 'U'-shaped pass heatmap, with the middle of the field empty on most plays, and very few passes attempted in the attacking boxes.
When this failed, both sides resorted to tried-and-true Route 1 soccer - bypass the midfield with longballs and hope their man up top can make something of the play.
On one hand, this meant that both teams did a decent job during passive defensive phases stacking numbers centrally - keeping eachother away from goal, out of the most dangerous part of the field. It also means that Portland's opportunities to create dangerous moments were severely hampered.
Sometimes games can play out that way, especially against good sides. The Red Wolves currently sit in sixth, after all, and are just two points away from mathematical impossibility of being caught by Portland. It's also especially hard to create moments of danger when your best player is forced out early in the first half.
Still, a different possession scheme – as discussed in previous weeks – of adding numbers centrally by formation or by asking players to place themselves differently during buildout phases likely would allow Hearts a few more opportunities in better positions to score.
Jumping Ahead Early
Scoring matters. Controlling the game state matters even more. One of the easiest way to do so is scoring first; putting your opponent on the back foot and forcing them to commit more numbers forward to get anything from the game. This in turn gives your own players more space to play with and a better chance of scoring a second.
Portland have begun proving this rule - In five of the last seven matches, it has managed to score first, posting a record of 2W-1L-2D in this stretch. Hearts will need to continue to push the envelope early in games if they're to keep racking up points and keep their playoff hopes alive.
Lucky for them, they're already tied on 30 points with Sarasota Paradise (11th) and sit seven points back of the final playoff slot with 15 points up for grabs in their final five matches.
The math's not looking great, but they're not out of the fight yet - Portland have the best form in their last three games (2W 1D) of any team in USL League One directly above them in the table until reaching 5th place Athletic Club Boise (also 2W 1D) who are mathematically out of reach at 15 points above, and are impossible to reach with 6 wins more than Portland - the first tiebreaker.
Player Spotlight
Congrats to Felipe Rodriguez Gentile on scoring his first goal for Portland, securing them at least one point.
This night's honors, however, belong to goalkeeper Hunter Morse, who stood tall throughout the entire game to make five saves on six shots on target. Without him, Portland almost certainly don't return home with a decent road draw.
I mean, check out this save in the 67th minute.
With him in net, Portland will be in the game regardless of opponent. Hearts will need him to stand tall once again if they're to get three points next match, as they return home to face Sarasota Paradise, who sit one place above them in the table, on Saturday, September 26 at 5:00 PM.
