Well, Soccer Sunday Had a Happy Ending Anyway.

Well, the Timbers made me a happy fan, as they continued their hot streak and kept their unbeaten streak going up to 12 with a 4 to nil win over the Montreal Impact. It was a very nice day at PGE Park, with about 7000 fans taking in the sights and sounds, and it was a very good effort from the Timbers boys.

Allison provides a very good match report from the day's events, and I did get a few pictures and some videos of Keita's first goal and the goofy own goal. Well, I did get a good shot of my friend dublinx's arm for part of the goal, but trust me, there was an own goal in there. The specifics of the game were Timbers 4, Impact 0, and Mandjou Keita with 2 goals, George Josten with 2 assists, Brian Farber with a goal, and David Hayes with an assist, and Montreal with a goal that actually counts for us. Nice work.

Observations:

• The TIFO display was pretty nice at the beginning of the match, and I always look forward to singing a Monthy Python classic. Always look on the bright side of life, well, we haven't been beaten in 11 matches.
• I'm always amazed at the Timbers Army, who can sing the Canadian anthem as well as anybody. We are a well educated group, and knowing these things keeps our heckling at a fairly intelligent level. It's hard to be clever when you are clueless.
• Keita continues his hot streak with 2 more goals, which gives him 5 in the past 2 or 3 games. He is just on a tear, and having Josten up front seems to help him, as Josten will make some great shots, but he's also a rather unselfish passer as evidenced by 2 assists tonight. Sometimes, strikers have trouble being the passer and not the shooter, but Josten seems to be a very clever and unselfish players, and that's a really good quality to have with this group.
• Can't say enough about the job the defense and Cronin did tonight, keeping a very hot Montreal team at bay for most of the match, keeping them off kilter. They generated a few good chances, and got one goal in that was called back, but Montreal didn't seem to have a flow to their game, and I think the defense helped with that.
• Also, the midfield again played stellar. I can't say enough about Savage, Claesson and Farber, playing solidly, keeping the ball moving and really pushing the flow back and forth. Taka had another solid game in mid, and even Alex Nimo and Shawn Higgins came in and played well late. There were some late subs to keep the first team fresh for Wednesday.
• Normally, Sunday night crowds are terrible for the Timbers, but they drew well tonight, with getting over 7000. The nice day helped, but I also think the Confederations Cup brought out some fans of soccer to see American players play, and also, there's a bit of buzz for Wednesday, and some folks wanted to see the Timbers first before then.
• Wednesday is going to be insane, and the only thing I can hope for is more of the same, because not only do I want to win, but seriously, I want to see FC Flounder Green go down in flames on Wednesday.

Yes, folks, Wednesday night, it's Open Cup night with the Timbers facing off against FC Puke Green (aka Seattle Sounders FC) at 7 PM at PGE Park. I'll have a huge pre-match thing to talk about the match, but just know this as people will bear witness to the next chapter of the Portland - Seattle rivalry, and it will be epic!!