The Portland Timbers fell in Frisco to FC Dallas by a scoreline of 2-1. Portland conceded the opener just before halftime, and then allowed a late goal to seal it. Ariel Lassiter made things interesting in second half stoppage time by pulling a goal back, but ultimately it was just a consolation as the Timbers lose in Texas once again.
Lineups & Prematch
For the first time since coming to Portland, head coach Marti Cifuentes opted to rotate his starting XI. And boy did he rotate heavily.
Playing their third game in eight days and on short rest, multiple players got the night off as to keep everyone healthy. Vincent Janssen was held out as a precaution after he picked up a slight knock, and Jimer Fory also did not make the trip to Texas due to an eye injury he picked up against St. Louis on Wednesday.
And all of that is before we even get to the injuries & minutes-induced rotations. David Da Costa (concussion protocol) and Jose Caicedo (lower body) remained out, and so in came Diego Chara to line up alongside Joao Ortiz and Cole Bassett in midfield. Ronald Hernandez and Joel Waterman were handed their first starts in a Timbers shirt along the backline, and Antony and Omir Fernandez rotated in for Ariel Lassiter and Janssen, respectively.
Considering the heavily rotated lineup, the extremely hot conditions in Frisco, and the fact that the Timbers were playing in a place they have literally only won twice before (the last being in 2018), the mountain for Portland to climb tonight was steep.
Recap & Highlights
A hot night in Texas made it for a slow start to the match for both teams. With the temperature at kickoff in the mid 90's and both teams coming off of matches played just three days prior, it looked like everyone on the field was moving through molasses in the opening stages. Touches were sloppier, runs weren't as decisive, and the play was overall reflected the tough conditions.
But crucially, the Timbers managed to survive the opening 20 minutes unscathed. Portland was able to limit the hosts to just a few crosses and a single shot in the opening quarter of the match.
Going the other way, Portland's gameplan clearly was to look to play on the counter, mostly through their front line of Kristoffer Velde, false-nine Omir Fernandez, or Antony. While nothing of note materialized early on, it felt like the Timbers were getting closer and closer and more and more dangerous with every opportunity they got to foray forward.
Fernandez especially seemed to find a lot of room dropping off the Dallas backline to facilitate and distribute the ball during counterrattacks. One of those such plays generated one of the best chances of the first half for Portland.
30' Shot POR (Velde)
Fernandez collected the ball after Portland won it back and then quickly played on Velde, who was busting forward. The birthday brace hero of Wednesday cut in from the left and curled a shot just wide of the post – inches away from a Timbers lead.
That chance was emblematic of the opportunities the Timbers were generating, and all it seemed that they needed was that final bit of quality.
44' Shot POR (Antony)
That was true when Antony came the closest any Timbers player had come in the first half. A quick flowing move from Velde to Cole Bassett to Antony sprung loose the Brazilian in the box. He tried to catch Daniel at the near post, but the Dallas 'keeper was up to the save.
Two golden chances for Portland, two chances that were agonizingly close, and two chances that could not be converted.
Still, the Timbers looked set to head into the locker room with their heads held high. They had been the better of the two sides in the first half, and had limited Dallas' chances to barely anything. It really felt like Portland would come out after halftime confident in their ability to spring a surprise.
Sure would be a bummer if they conceded right at the end of the half.
45' Goal DAL – Farrington (1-0)
The Timbers conceded right at the end of the half. A gut punch of a concession to let in after a half of so much good work came off a familiar play: a dinked ball over the top to a forward to latch onto after he raced past the Portland backline. This time, it was Shaq Moore the supplier to Logan Farrington the forward. He sprinted past Diego Chara, and despite appearing to have his head and chest in an offside position, was deemed onside. The American striker finished low past James Pantemis, scoring his third goal in his past four games to give the hosts the lead.
For a Timbers side that was already missing so many key pieces, in particular in the attack, it was a brutal goal to let in right before the half. If the mountain was steep before, that goal made it nearly a gosh darn sheer cliff face to scale.
HALFTIME: Dallas 1, Timbers 0
Portland held the edge in possession (46-54), shots (3-4), and expected goals (0.2-0.3) in the first half. Damn shame they couldn't at least be even in the stat the matters at halftime too.
The second half got underway with a crunching lunge from Kaick on Joel Waterman's ankle. The Dallas midfielder was shown a yellow card, but on review it was a dangerous challenge that could have done a lot more damage to Waterman but thankfully didn't. The VAR declined to review the tackle, and combined with the decision to not recommend a review of Dallas' opening goal I have... questions about the efficacy of the video review officials tonight.
55' Substitution POR – ON: Ariel Lassiter // OFF: Joao Ortiz
Cifuentes made his first switch early in the second half when he brought on Lassiter for Ortiz. This shifted around Portland's formation, with Fernandez dropping into the midfield and Velde shifting into the false-nine role. Ari took up residence on the right wing and Antony shifted to the left wing.
60' Shot POR – Bassett
Undeterred by the scoreline, the Timbers came again on the counter. Velde rode multiple challenges to spring through Bassett, who had his shot blocked at the crucial moment by Daniel.
63' Substitution POR – ON: Gage Guerra // OFF: Omir Fernandez
Portland made another sub that shifted around their personnel. Guerra set up as the striker, shifting Velde into the midfield as a nominal number ten. The departing Fernandez put in as good of a shift as he could in the circumstances tonight. Were Portland a touch more clinical, we would be talking about potential assists or big chances created for Omir tonight.
74' Post DAL – Farrington
With Portland pushing numbers higher trying to snag an equalizer, Dallas took an opportunity to try to put the game to bed. Looking for his brace, Farrington slammed a shot off the post. The rebound fell to Herman Johansson, whose shot was blocked by the noggin' of Finn Surman.
79' Chances POR – Velde & Lassiter
A sequence that can only be used as more evidence that the Timbers are cursed whenever they play soccer in the state of Texas, Portland wasted two golden opportunities to score. First, a blocked shot fell to Velde at the top of the box with room, but after delaying his shot was just blocked away. On the recycled ball after the corner kick, Lassiter pinged through a perfect cross on the deck that just needed one touch – but nobody in yellow was there to apply it.
Portland really turned on the gas as the match entered the final ten minutes. Velde especially was buzzing, and he created many chances that nearly turned into real opportunities for the Timbers. As PTFC eschewed chance after chance to equalize, they opened themselves up to a moment of calamity for the Burn to drive in the dagger.
And that moment of calamity came by way of our least favorite friend, "errant back pass".
88' Goal DAL – Valiente (2-0)
Antony was the one to hit the self-destruct button this time, as his back pass to nobody was gobbled up by Golden Boot contender Petar Musa. Pantemis did well to fly off his line and block the initial shot, but Musa collected his own rebound and lofted it over to Joaquin Valiente at the far post. With time and space, Valiente smashed home to slam the door on Portland's hopes for a result in Frisco.
As the match ticked into second half stoppage time, time felt up for Portland at Toyota Stadium. And it surely would have been before the final whistle, were it not for Ariel Lassiter giving one last dash of hope.
90'+3 GOAL TIMBERS! – Lassiter (2-1)
A "didn't look like he meant it but if you ask him he totally did" header from Guerra landed the ball right to the feet of Lassiter in between the Dallas defenders. Ari made no mistake and powered home past Daniel, cutting the deficit in half and setting up an almighty scramble in the final five minutes.
Portland huffed and puffed and through everything including the kitchen sink at Dallas in the final minutes. Lassiter nearly finished the rescue act in the dying minutes as he slid through to collect a flicked on cross – only to see it blocked by Daniel to deny Portland the draw.
That would be as close as the Timbers would come, as after an extended ten minutes of stoppage time the whistle blew for full time.
FULL TIME: Dallas 2, Timbers 1
For stretches of that match, Portland looked as composed and structured as we've seen them this year. And for other stretches, they looked as sloppy and error-prone as we've seen them this year. But that first 30 minutes really got me foolishly hoping that they might be able to get a result in Texas.
But alas, I was brutally reminded that this is the Timbers, and it is a game in Texas. History was not on their side, and neither was the availability report and options available for the starting lineup. On another night at full strength, if the Timbers played like they did tonight I think they leave Frisco with a point – maybe even more.
It was the same errors and growing pains that doomed Portland: lack of execution and composure, combined with inexplicable defensive lapses. The growing pains under Cifuentes will continue, and it means that there will likely be more results like this one.
As painful as it was, if I may offer a note of optimism: the Timbers were in a match in melting heat on the road with a heavily rotated team for nearly 90 minutes, and then came inches away from snagging a point at the death. Moral victories don't show up in the box score or standings, but I think they matter more than nothing. Onward.
