The Portland Timbers kicked off their 2026 Leagues Cup in style, thrashing Puebla to the tune of 5-2 on a hot, smoky night at Providence Park. Braces for Cole Bassett, Ariel Lassiter, and one goal for David da Costa sunk a hapless Puebla side.
Lineups & Prematch
Marti Cifuentes' visa has been approved and he's in town, but Jack Cassidy is confirmed to be taking charge for two final matches: Tonight against Puebla, and Sunday against Club America.
Cassidy's starting XI appropriately reflected the fixture congestion:
There was no recognized striker from the start, with Cassidy opting for a front three of Kristoffer Velde, David da Costa, and Ariel Lassiter. In midfield, Joao Ortiz and Jose Caicedo comprised the midfield with Cole Bassett. Along the backline Ian Smith and Alex Bonetig replaced Jimer Fory and Kamal Miller, but Finn Surman and Brandon Bye retained their places. With James Pantemis dealing with a knock suffered against SeatLLLLLLLe, Trey Muse earned his debut for the Green and Gold.
Recap & Highlights
5' GOAL TIMBERS, 1-0 – Since returning from their World Cup break the Timbers have started games slowly, conceding the first goal in three of their four MLS matches. Not tonight! Kristoffer Velde cut onto his right foot and unleashed a shot that was blocked up into the air, before Ariel Lassiter's intelligent run behind the defender allowed him to tap the ball past the goalkeeper caught in no-man's land.
11' – Alex Bonetig caught a hand/forearm to the face from a Puebla player and Victor Rivas whistled for a foul, but temporarily forced Bonetig off the pitch for the prolonged amount of time he spent on the ground. Play resumed tow minutes later.
14' Goal Puebla, 1-1 – With Bonetig still off the pitch, Ian Smith failed to win a duel the left side of the pitch, allowing Brayan Garnica to serve a great cross into the box which Eduardo Mustre guided past Muse for the equalizer. The Timbers, led by Finn Surman, protested the fact that Bonetig wasn't allowed back onto the pitch, but Victor Rivas wasn't having it. Funny, considering a few minutes later Rivas whistled Bassett for a similar altercation and didn't require the Puebla player to come off after going down holding his face.
25' – Kristoffer Velde knicked the ball off of Angel Leyva inside the box, and had nothing but the goalkeeper to beat inside the penalty area, but put his strike right at him... One that I assume he'd want back, should have been the go-ahead.
36' GOAL TIMBERS, 2-1 – Another set-piece goal put the Timbers back in front. Kristoffer Velde's inswinger was met by Cole Bassett at the near post, and the midfielder's deft header found its way into the back of the net. It's Bassett's fourth goal for Portland, and second in five matches.
38' GOAL TIMBERS, 3-1 – Ian Smith's first half was pretty rough, but credit to the left-back for his role in Portland's third goal. Velde slipped Smith into the box, his initial shot was blocked, but on the rebound he clipped the ball over the 'keeper on the endline into David Da Costa's path to tap home a gift.
45' – Three minutes of first half stoppage.
45+3' GOAL TIMBERS, 4-1 – With the very last kick of the first half the Timbers tacked on a fourth, their most aesthetically pleasing move of the night. Velde with a slide-rule through-ball into Da Costa's path, Da Costa took a touch wide before centering, and late-arriving Bassett tapped home his second of the night, and fifth of the season.
Halftime: Portland Timbers 4 - 1 Puebla
56' GOAL TIMBERS, 5-1 – David da Costa continued his magical performance with his second assist of the night, blazing past a statuesque center back to tee up Lassiter for Portland's third tap-in in a row.
58' Substitutions – Ariel Lassiter and Kristoffer Velde OFF // Omir Fernandez and Sawyer Jura ON. It's Omir Fernandez's second appearance of the season following his cameo against the Sounders, and Jura's first appearance of the season.
70' Substitutions – Brandon Bye and David da Costa OFF // Eric Miller and Gage Guerra ON – It's Guerra's first appearance since May 17, and Miller's first appearance of the season.
77' Substitution – Final switch: Cole Bassett OFF // Kevin Kelsy ON
80' Goal Puebla, 5-2 – Emiliano Gomez cut the lead down to three with a consolation strike late in the second half. To be fair to him, it was an excellent effort into the bottom corner from outside of the box.
90' – Three minutes of second-half stoppage
Full Time: Portland Timbers 5 - 2 Puebla
The Timbers extended their unbeaten run to five games since returning to play, and it was about as good a result as you could ask for with a rotated team on short rest. Crucially, there were zero injuries, and the likes of Omir Fernandez, Joao Ortiz, Ian Smith, and Sawyer Jura earned vital minutes having not featured much this year.
Cole Bassett was named Man of the Match for his two goal performance, and while he was excellent, David da Costa was the best player on the pitch by a country mile. Puebla couldn't deal with the little magician, who glided past defenders with ease to deliver a one goal, two assist performance as the Timbers shot to the top of the Leagues Cup table on Matchday 1.
The only negatives on the night were the two goals the Timbers conceded to a clearly inferior Puebla side, with how important goal differential is to advancing in the competition.
Post-match, Cassidy was clearly frustrated by the manner of the first goal the Timbers conceded. "The first goal is strange to me," said Cassidy. "Someone needs to explain the rule to me, because Alex [Bonetig] didn't receive treatment so I'm not sure why he was forced to leave the pitch."
Cassidy was also happy to get Jura some minutes, having seen how hard he works every week with both T2 and the first team. He says that the jump from the second division to the first team is the hardest jump a player can make, but that Jura is often one of the last players to leave the training field as he vies to become a permanent fixture in the rotation.
Up next is a big one: Club America, the team that ended Portland's Leagues Cup run in 2025. Kickoff set for 7:30 p.m. PT on Sunday, Aug. 9.
