Match Recap: Portland Timbers @ Houston Dynamo

The Portland Timbers looked uninspired, sloppy, and second-best in a poor 1-0 loss on the road against the Houston Dynamo after conceding a set-piece goal in the 44'. Antony had a massive opportunity to open the scoring in the first half, and the Timbers hit the woodwork three times in the second, but played down to their opponents in what should have been a very winnable match.

Lineups & Pre-match

The Timbers returned to the win column with a 2-1 victory over the New York Red Bulls at home last weekend, and with five regular season matches remaining, were looking to pick up another crucial three points in a Western Conference with very little room for error.

A wild week out West saw the following results take place:

• The Seattle Sounders took just one point from a possible six, letting a two-goal lead slip at home vs cellar-dwellers LA Galaxy before Inter Miami exacted some revenge for the Leagues Cup final, winning 3-1.
• FC Dallas, who the Timbers next play following tonight's match, did Portland a huge favor by beating Austin FC 2-0
• The Colorado Rapids conjured a last-gasp winner at home against the Dynamo, final score 2-1.
• LAFC's summer acquisition of Heung-Min Son has poured gasoline over an already explosive attack, propelling them to back-to-back four-goal performances against San Jose and Real Salt Lake.
• Vancouver's blockbuster summer addition Thomas Muller netted a hat-trick as the Whitecaps put seven unanswered past the Philadelphia Union.
• Minnesota United produced a second half snatch-and-grab on the road in San Diego, toppling the conference-leaders 3-1.

On the Timbers front, Phil Neville was forced into making some changes to last weekend's starting XI.

Both starting fullbacks, Juan Mosquera and Jimer Fory, were both unavailable dealing with an ankle knock and hip soreness respectively. Timbers Radio's Adam Susman reported that a team source confirmed to him that "neither injury is considered long-term." Ian Smith and Eric Miller replaced them in the starting lineup.

With two defenders out one would assume an inclusion for center back Zac McGraw in the matchday squad, but Kamal Miller was the lone defender on the bench (despite McGraw not being listed on the injury report).

Dario Zuparic and Finn Surman rightly remain Portland's starting center back pairing.

Joao Ortiz put in his best performance of the season against the Red Bulls and retained his spot in the starting XI next to David Ayala in the midfield after Felipe Carballo's season-ending knee injury.

David da Costa returned to the starting XI after a two-match bench spell in place of Matias Rojas, who scored his first goal for the Timbers in last weekend's 2-1 win, pushing Kristoffer Velde out to the right wing opposite Antony. Felipe Mora earned his second start in a row up top.

Recap & Highlights

1' Houston kickoff

2' Lawrence Ennali early chance – The Dynamo nearly got off to the perfect start when Ennali drove directly into the space between Finn Surman and Eric Miller, forcing a sharp stop out of Pantemis in the opening moments.

The early chance proved to be a sign of things to come, as Houston proceeded to dominate possession and put Portland's backline under sustained pressure through the opening 15 minutes of the match.

19' Major chance missed by Antony – For the second week in a row Antony denied Ortiz of a beautiful assist by making a complete mess of a 1v1 opportunity inside the opposition box. A poor first-touch forced him into tame outside-of-the-boot effort directed straight at Jonathan Bond in net.

21' Yellow Card Joao Ortiz – Ortiz earned the first caution card of the match for a foul on Griffin Dorsey in the final third, AKA the 'danger zone' with Jack McGlynn's set-piece delivery on the pitch.

44' Goal Dynamo, 1-0 – Houston took a deserved lead right before the break through Ezequiel Ponce, who towered over ball-watchers Eric Miller and David Ayala to power a header down into the bottom corner from a McGlynn corner. Zuparic and Surman had kept Portland in the match, but it takes more than two players putting in a shift to win a game in MLS.

Halftime: Houston Dynamo 1 - 0 Portland Timbers

At the break the Dynamo boasted >52% possession, put three of their 13 shots on-target (The Timbers only shot being Antony's scuppered chance), and had six corners to the Timbers' one. Simply put, the performance wasn't good enough for everyone on the pitch not named James Pantemis, Dario Zuparic, or Finn Surman.

Surman was comfortably Portland's man-of-the-match through 45 minutes posting a game-high 8 defensive contributions, including 4 clearances, and 4 blocks to deny Houston 0.36 xG.

46' Portland resume play

59' – Velde received possession near the halfway line and carried the ball toward Houston's box before being chopped down from behind 20+ yards from goal. The Norwegian stepped up to take it but it was a comfortable claim from Bond in net.

60' Substitution – Joao Ortiz OFF // Matias Rojas ON

66' Big save from James Pantemis – Jack McGlynn found a pocket of space inside Portland's box and sent a right-footed shot on target through a crowd of bodies, but Pantemis reacted well to push the shot wide for a corner.

69' Substitutions – Kristoffer Velde, Felipe Mora, David da Costa OFF // Cristhian Paredes, Diego Chara, Kevin Kelsy ON. Velde kicked a water bottle in frustration after exiting the pitch.

78' POST – Paredes played Rojas down the right wing before the Paraguayan cut inside onto his left peg and uncorked a thunderbolt off the crossbar from long-distance. The move was Rojas at his best, unfortunately a few inches denied him another golazo to add to his impressive highlight reel.

85' Big save from James Pantemis – McGlynn was afforded a fourth uncontested shot of the second half and drew a stunning save from Pantemis with a left-footed strike.

89' Chance for Rojas – Rojas cut inside onto his left once more and produced a shot that looked destined to find the bottom corner, but Bond came up with a stop at full stretch to send it out for a corner.

90+2' POST – Ian Smith received the ball on the left wing and played a pass toward Kevin Kelsy at the near post that went all the way through toward the goal and cannoned off the inside of the post before being cleared to safety.

90+3' POST – Pantemis launched a route-one ball up to Finn Surman who had stayed forward as the Timbers pushed for an equalizer. Surman did enough to knock the ball down to Da Costa, and Portland's #10 rattled the woodwork with a stunning half-volley from distance.

Full Time: Houston Dynamo 1 - 0 Portland Timbers

"I think that's pretty fair, balanced," said a visibly deflated Phil Neville in his post-match press conference when asked if he agrees that his team's identity is one that plays down to the level of inferior opposition (Question of the year from Cascadia FC's Jeremy Peterman). "You think of our position in the table and we should be beating [Houston]. I don't think you can take any away game in MLS for granted ... What I saw tonight, and I think I saw it in St. Louis and Toronto, is that I've probably got to get the selections better for these games," continued Neville.

"Rojas, Chara, Paredes, I thought the two center backs were fantastic and the goalkeeper, when they came on I thought they were fantastic, and I just felt as if the others were just waiting for something to happen."

That is as damning a statement a head coach can make of his team with just four games remaining until the business end of the season begins. Too many players were passengers. David da Costa was a ghost on the pitch, looked timid around the box, and finished with just one shot in 90 minutes plus stoppage time. Not good enough. Kristoffer Velde looked isolated on the right wing, went down looking for a foul whenever a defender came near him, and also had just one shot. Not good enough. Felipe Mora is only as good as the service provided to him, and as has been the case since February, wasn't provided a lick of service. Antony looks a shell of the confident player that scored six goals before he was sidelined for two months with a hamstring injury.

Portland's play looked better overall when Neville made his substitutions, I agree with his assessment of Rojas, Paredes, and Chara looking like players interested in winning an important game. But that's as much of indictment on the starting players, and supposed difference-makers who the club have invested millions of dollars in, as it is a positive to take from the match.

Right now this team looks like one that will make the first round of the playoffs and be eliminated in two matches by a team clearly better than them. Are they a young squad? Sure! Would that scenario playing out be good enough for a club that has under-performed for what is approaching half a decade? Absolutely not.

The Timbers now have the dauting task of travelling to Vancouver on Wednesday before a home match against FC Dallas. If they play like they did in Houston, both of those will be comfortable losses.