Timbers perfect
• • •
for a half
Down 2-0, mighty Cosmos,
Chinaglia charge back
It could have been a perfect night.
Timber Jim, the Portland Timbers' energetic
cheerleader, returned from a brief retirement with his
chain saw humming. The weather was perfect
And so was the home team in the first half, as the
Timbers dominated the first half and took a 2-0 lead
against the mighty New York Cosmos That was before
the Cosmos roared back to win 3-2 Wednesday night
Perfection
At halftime the Timbers left the field to a standing
ovation — the mighty Cosmos had been humbled
Unfortunately for the Timbers, all that noise awoke the
sleeping giant — Giorgio Chinaglia
The North American Soccer League's version of
Super Man admitted he thought he and his mates had
been had as he took his halftime breather At halftime
I would have been happy if we could have just gotten a
bonus point (goal) out of this game,’’ recalled Chin
aglia. after he had led a ferocious charge which gave
the Cosmos the win in Portland
After spending most of the first half tangled up
with Portland s Young Jeung Cho. Chinaglia shocked
the Timbers and their 15.233 fans with an incredible
goal 64 minutes into the game With the ball appar
ently heading wide off the head of teammate Steve
Moyers, Chinaglia threw his legs into the air and
volleyed the ball into the top of the Timber net.
The Timber defenders were still shaking their
heads 3:27 later when Chinaglia. prowling like a
hungry cat, took a short pass from Andranvik Eskan
darian and rolled the ball just inside the right post tor
the equalizer
Ironically, the play began with Cho coughing up
the ball in the penalty area, leaving the shaken
Portland defense in a state of panic When the ball
came to Chinaglta all he had to do was turn and push a
fast roller past scrambling Portland goalkeeper Bill
Irwin
The Timbers, who had been trying to hang on and
protect their lead since the intermission, tried desper
ately to rev up the offense again. But with the Cosmos
in high gear, the Timbers had trouble getting out of
reverse.
Chinaglia, who now has nine goals on the season
to lead the league, appeared to have netted a third
goal when he broke free and drilled the ball into the left
corner of the net with about 10 minutes left to play But
the linesman called offsides, and the Timbers had a
reprieve.
“I thought it was a good goal,” Chinaglia said in
the victors' locker room "But that's the way this game
is, sometimes you getthecalis, sometimes you don't "
As the league's all-time leading scorer with 164
career goals, it is easy for Chinaglia to be philoso
phical about bad breaks It is also easy to see why he
received the undivided attention of the Portland
defense, allowing midfielder Richard Chinapoo to
roam free as he latched on to a Steve Wegerle pass
and put it away for the game winner with 2 15 left
Dejection
"The Timbers dominated the whole first half They
deserved to be ahead 2-0 and could have gotten
more,” said Chinaglia, recalling the long-forgotten
first half, which was highlighted by two John Bain
goals
"Natural goal scorers have to have that kill in
them," said Chinaglia of his second half explosion
"Other people might not have gone for that goal," he
said of his spectacular first goal "You have to go
sometimes for impossible goals Fortunately for me. it
went in "
It was very unfortunate for the Timbers, who could
only sit in the locker room and wonder about what
could have been a perfect evening
Timbers plagued with attendance woes
The looks of frustration and
disappointment were nothing new to
the faces of Portland Timber fans,
players and coaches as they filed out of
Civic Stadium Wednesday night.
The Timbers had watched a 2-0 iead
disappear, losing to the New York Cos
mos in a 3-2 loss. There always has to
be a loser, and the Timbers have filled
that role well against the Cosmos over
the years
This year is different, however With
the league down to 14 teams this sea
son after hitting a high of 24 two years
ago, and with attendance down almost
everywhere, even owners of the win
ners are wearing long faces
“It’s like a fast-growing disease,“
said Cosmos coach Julio Mazzei, who
is talking about a disease which
claimed seven franchises since the end
of the last outdoor season
Dwindling attendance in NASL
stadiums is the first major symptom of
the disease that may claim another
franchise shortly The Edmonton
Drillers managed to stay afloat for at
least another week when they delayed
payment on outstanding loans
In addition to Edmonton, 1982 is a
make or break year for the franchises in
Jacksonville, San Jose. San Diego and
Portland In other words, all is not well
in the NASI.
Wednesday night could have, and
probably should have, been a big night
for the Timbers The mighty Cosmos
were in town for the first time in three
years, the^ weather was beautiful, and
the Timbers were coming off of a big
road win. There should have been
20,000 people there, but only 15,233
found their way to Civic Stadium
Harry Merlo, Chairman of the Board
of Louisiana-Pacific, owners of the
Timbers, must have been at least as
disappointed with the numbers in the
stands as he was with the numbers on
the scoreboard Wednesday
The crowd of more than 15,000 was
the biggest of the year, but that is to be
expected with the Cosmos in town The
question now is how many of those fans
will return next Wednesday when San
Jose is the opponent
Believing that the rapid expansion of
the league following Pele's arrival is the
major reason for today s problems.
Mazzei is willing to be patient
The other leagues, like basketball
and football, took 20 years to develop I
think it's too early to judge."
But owners such as Louisiana-Paci
fic may not hold off on judgments much
longer Louisiana-Pacific warned Port
land that this might be the last gasp if
interest doesrv't pick up
“The key is survival until the kids
grow up and come to the games, that's
all,” said Chinaglia in Wednesday's
aftermath
It is a well-known fact that the NASL
is relying on America's youth to take it
to the big time Only time will tell if the
league can stay on its feet
Stories by Paul Danzer
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