Against visiting fourth place AC Boise, Portland Hearts of Pine thought that a 74th minute Diego Gonzalez goal was enough to earn them a 1-1 draw. Thomas Amang had something to say, striking in the last minute of stoppage time to take the full three points back to Idaho.
In a lineup missing several stalwarts – Titus Washington, Masashi Wada, Oli Wright and, for a second straight game, Serigne Mbacke Faye – Portland put up a decent performance against an AC Boise side near the top of the table. Though Hearts were out possessed, they weren't often overmatched, finding moments of creativity especially later on in the second half to nearly earn a win.
Individual errors, this time in the form of lapses of concentration and decision making, were the story of the game. One would directly lead to the first goal, while the another would come shortly before the game decider.
While Portland Hearts of Pine may have been eliminated from playoff contention before kickoff, they've got things to play for still.
Let's break it down.
Lineup
Portland makes two changes to the Starting XI. Mo Mohamed - back from international duty with Somalia - takes over at fullback for an injured Eiji Hata, while Felipe Rodriguez Gentile replaces Walter Varela further up the field.
Timeline
46' POR 0-0 ACB: Sub. Poon-Angeron enters for Letayf Escutia.
54' POR 0-1 ACB: Goal. Boise find the net first after Rodriguez Gentile leaves Tumi Moshobane alone in 3 yards of space to take the ball down and score faster than anyone can react.
72' POR 0-1 ACB: Sub. Barbosa comes on for Kamara.
74' POR 1-1 ACB: GOAL! Diogo Barbosa makes an instant impact, assisting Diego Gonzalez to equalize for Portland!
80' POR 1-1 ACB: Sub. Varela in for Rodriguez Gentile.
90'+4 POR 1-2 ACB: Goal. Thomas Amang hits paydirt late after several missed opportunities to steal all three points away from home.
Three Thoughts
Masking Midfield
One major critique I've had of Portland this year has been their inability to suffocate central midfield. Teams have been able to have their way, slicing straight through the most important part of the field.
This match, they did a pretty good job preventing that - forcing most of Boise's positive play to come from wide areas and long balls.
Take a look at this clip from the 6th minute.
Moussa Ndiaye – former Vermont Green FC player and teammate of Hearts' own Diego Letayf Escutia – has the ball and was forced backward toward his own goal.
With a four-man pressing structure, they've managed to not only keep a player central, but sit high enough up the field to keep their own midfield and attack connected. Kidd and Drack, pushing inside, are blocking out deeper passing lanes.
This kind of thing bears out in the average positions of the team.
Portland – blue – can be seen clumped tightly together in the middle of the park. The double pivot of Diego and Matteo paired with Camara, Gonzalez, and Kamara took up positions that just didn't give a Boise side known for good passing range any space to dictate play through the center.
Though the strategy didn't end up bearing fruit this game, they came close to securing a result after an 84th minute golden chance from Abu Camara that would've given Hearts' a 2-1 lead.
Concentration Lapses
Falling asleep at the wheel has unfortunately been a massive feature of the season for Hearts. Though generally playing relatively compact defense against a strong AC Boise side, the goals would end up coming down to individual mistakes, not systemic ones.
Check out this clip from Boise's first goal.
Moshobane is wide, wide open. Let's take a look at how we got here.
Felipe Gentile Rodriguez – generally having been a positive, energetic presence this season and scoring a couple goals along the way – unfortunately is at fault on this sequence.
Marking no one, he had dropped off Moshobane, possibly to attempt to double-team the man Josh Drack is already marking... leaving Moshobane in space. As a wide forward, it's his responsibility to watch for late arriving runs near the top of the box and trust his teammates to take care of their own marks.
Though he tries to make amends with a re-press as the ball bounces out to Boise, it would be a deflection off him that catches Hunter Morse off guard and ends up putting Portland behind early in the second half.
It wasn't just on the goals, though. Mo Mohamed, while having a pretty good night mostly taking care of danger man Nick Moon, would end up nearly collapsing his side in the first minute of stoppage time.
Kemali Green can be seen battling two defenders on a cross on Morse's right. Further outside, Kostyshyn is wide open in acres of space. Either of those areas would be natural areas for Mo Mohamed to assist in as the fullback.
As one of Kemali's men drifts centrally to get open, Mohamed converged on the one man Green already had covered, leaving two men open. Kostyshyn would end up with the ball, and with time to pick out a shot flashed it only just wide of the far post - an extremely dangerous situation.
Part of these mistakes have to do with the team not being able to rotate much. Part of them come from the fact that they've been missing their biggest attacking difference makers, putting further pressure on their defense which can cause more forced errors than desired.
Either way, it's something that Bobby Murphy is going to need to find a way to address going into the final two matches of the season and in 2027.
Something To Play For
There'll be no playoffs for Bobby Murphy's men in their second season, a bit of a sophomore slump arguably of their own making but in no small part forced by injuries to absolutely crucial players.
While many are playing for contracts, much of the team are on deals that wrap in November, the squad as a whole has a goal, still.
While U.S. Open Cup Qualifiers are going on in New England for Open Division teams, not all USL League One sides are safe themselves.
The United States Soccer Federation announced earlier this fall that while five seeded teams from the top of the USL Championship would get a bye to the Round of 64, only 32 other sides from USL Championship, USL League One and MLS Next Pro will be granted entry to next year's tournament.
All three independent Next Pro sides will make the tournament, leaving just 29 spots for the remaining 38 USL professional sides. Though we do not know exactly how spots will be allocated, it's safe to say the higher Portland can climb in their last two games, the more likely it won't be left without a chance at revenge after an upset elimination vs USL League Two's Vermont Green FC earlier this spring.
