A lot of the Timbers fans were scratching their heads when we signed Steve Clark. You also have to wonder what was going through Steve’s head when he found out. It had to be a strange situation, being the guy whose (celebrated) legacy in Portland was giving up a goal to Diego Valeri 27 seconds into our 2015 MLS Cup victory. Sure, he was a backup, backup keeper, and what were the odds that he was going to see playing time? Then Jeff Attinella gets subbed off due to injury at an away game vs New England. After only a few minutes in the game he makes a great save, but coughs up a goal on the rebound. That had to be his worst nightmare, but to his credit, he played well the rest of the game, and the general (informed) consensus is that the was not at fault for that goal.
All of the sudden he has to make his home debut in front of the Timber’s Army. That’s a lot of pressure for any new keeper, let alone someone with Clark’s history.
He nailed it.
This save from Steve Clark though. 😱 #PORvCOL #RCTID pic.twitter.com/DB6eqhHOsh— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) September 9, 2018
That’s just one example. If the embedded video doesn’t show up, check it out here.
Clark probably had a bit of emotional panic after he got called for a penalty on another save and the ref pointed to the spot, but thanks to the longest delay in VAR history, it was rightfully overturned. The frustrating thing about that delay was that it took 10 times longer for the ref to decide go to VAR than it did for him to review the footage. The last time I saw an adult with their finger in their ear for that long was when I played the Dead Kennedys Plastic Surgery Disasters for my wife.
Clark had a really good game, and you tell he was very, very pleased. You could tell from his huge, shit-eating grin that was visible from the 200’s during the log ceremony. If you weren’t at the match you saw it on TV during the post game show, or on the Timbers Twitter feed. If there is any doubt, check out the screen grab up top from Steve Clark’s Instagram story.