SEATLLE ā After Saturdayās 1-0 Cascadia Cup defeat to the Seattle Sounders at CenturyLink Field, Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter was frustrated that referee Mark Geiger did not award at least one -- and potentially two -- penalties during the second half.
First, midfielder Darlington Nagbeās shot appeared to deflect off Chad Marshallās outstretched arm in the 54th minute, though Geiger opted not to award the PK.
Then came shout for a handball on Osvaldo Alonso later while defending Fanendo Adi, one Porter admitted may have been less clear-cut.
āProbably two handballs,ā Porter said. āDefinitely one. Definitely one PK.ā
Geiger gave his explanation for the Marshall call after the designated pool reporter submitted a question about it following the game.
āWhen considering the speed, distance and the fact that Marshallās arm did not go to the ball, this was not considered a handball offense,ā Geiger wrote.
Porter was actually complimentary of Geigerās overall performance, calling the match āone of the better games he has had in the games Iāve coached with him in the middle.ā
But the Timbers boss added that the two non-calls on Marshall and Alonso loomed large.
"The key plays, thatās when you make your money as an official, whether you call them or donāt call them,ā Porter said. āIām probably not as salty about it if it wasnāt for a few calls that we havenāt gotten or [had called] against us. Weāve given up PKs and red cards that I havenāt thought were PKs or red cards. But then, now, if the same play happens, I want that call. Thatās the frustration more than anything.ā
Porter also said you could count him among the coaches who are looking forward to the implementation of Video Assistant Referees, which he said is the best way to settle the type of 50-50 call the Timbers were on the wrong end of Saturday.
All MLS matches will implement the VAR system following the All-Star game in August.
āI canāt wait for VAR to come because all I want is fair calls,ā Porter said. āThatās it. If we have a bad call against us, I swallow it, no problem. I just want to make sure the calls get right.ā
As for his players, Porter said he was pleased with his teamās performance, despite a fifth straight match without a victory. If Portland continue to play the way they did on Saturday, he said, theyāll eventually get the breaks.
āItās undeniable to me that we were the better team on the day,ā Porter said. āYou look at every category, in terms of chances, possession, any metric you want to measure, we were the better team.
āItās tough to swallow but it leaves you with a lot of optimism and hope moving forward.ā