BEAVERTON, Ore. ā Caleb Porter barely had 30 minutes to celebrate the Portland Timbersā 3-1 victory Sunday over FC Dallas in the first leg of the Western Conference Championship before he was asked to look ahead.
Just what does the head coach plan on doing with Darlington Nagbe?
The dynamic midfielder had just put in an impressive shift at the attacking midfielder position normally manned by Diego Valeri, who was absent due to yellow-card accumulation. Valeri will be back for Sundayās second leg at Dallasā Toyota Park in Frisco, Texas (5 pm ET, ESPN, WatchESPN, ESPN Deportes in US, TSN2 in Canada).
āThatās pretty easy, just play him and stay out of the way,ā Porter said of the Nagbe conundrum. āI thought he was unbelievable [Sunday]. He didnāt score, but the amount of times he got out of pressure. Heās always a threat, always. Itās exciting to see.ā
Nagbe has been at his best this season after Porter switched him from the right wing to central midfield. With Valeri in the game, Nagbe has played a more box-to-box role in a 4-3-3 (or 4-1-4-1) formation.
Against Dallas, the recent US national team call-up was at the point of Porterās oft-used 4-2-3-1.
āHe was very good in Colorado when he played alone there,ā Porter said Tuesday at the team facility of the teamās regular season finale, a 4-1 win, when Valeri was also out. āHe was very good last game, he was very good really the last seven games when heās played in the center. So I think heās been good every game in the last seven; heās been outstanding. Heās gotten on the ball, and heās been tremendous.ā
Where Nagbe plays may not matter quite as much as what formation Porter elects to use.
Porter opted for the 4-2-3-1 against Dallasā explosive attack to give the back line the cover of two defensive midfielders. When Nagbe and Valeri have played together in the 4-1-4-1, thatās left only one defensive midfielder.
Rodney Wallace, who was also suspended Sunday, will be back as well, giving Porter another decision to make on the wings, with Lucas Melano and Dairon Asprilla having put in quality shifts against Dallas.
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Asprilla, of course, came up with the stunning long-distance goal that gave Portland a 2-0 second-half lead.
āFourty-eight hours after the game, and weāve already had some discussions: lineup, personnel, system of play and all that,ā Porter said. āWeāll figure it out, weāll roll it out, weāll train, and then weāll go to the game with a plan.ā
One playerās availability that is in question is center back Liam Ridgewell, who came off in the second half Sunday with a tight calf muscle. Porter said Tuesday that it was still ātight, soreā and that Ridgewell will be a game-time decision.
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.