PORTLAND, Ore. – Two emotions dominated Portland Timbers’ minds after the team’s first victory of the year, emotions that could be mapped onto Saturday’s two drastically different halves at Providence Park. Though the team came away from its 2018 home opener with a 3-2 win, a second-half push from Minnesota United FC left a contrast between full-time relief and the rush of a two-goal, first-half lead in front of their home crowd.
“How do you think [it felt]?” head coach Giovanni Savarese responded, smiling, when asked for his feelings post-match. It was his first victory at the helm in Major League Soccer, one he’d waited a month-and-a-half to embrace. No matter how the team went about their Saturday win, the victory was a milestone.
“Fantastic,” he continued. “We’ve been working very hard to achieve this result. We were looking forward to coming home. The past two games, away, we felt that we did a good enough job to earn the three points. But the energy today from the fans gave us what we needed in order to fight all the way to the end and get the result that we needed.”
That fight was fully tested by a Minnesota team that proved more resilient than it did a year ago. Visiting for last year’s home opener, the first-year Loons fell 5-1, a result that briefly looked possible as the Timbers, through Alvas Powell and Diego Valeri, went up two by the 23rd minute. When Sebastián Blanco hit the crossbar (for the third game in a row) before halftime, the Timbers looked en route to a lopsided result.
Coming out of halftime, though, Minnesota was a different team, continuously putting the Timbers’ fullbacks in man-down situations and dominating the half’s first 30 minutes. When, in the 64th minute, new Loon Designated Player Darwin Quintero spun past Diego Chara and beat Jake Gleeson, Minnesota looked like they might sway the result.
When, 10 minutes later, Fanendo Adi headed home a Cristhian Paredes shot, the Timbers had the goals they needed, and although Minnesota’s push got them back within one after a Bill Tuiloma own goal in the 81st minute, Savarese and his team eventually embraced its first three-point result.
“We’re very, very content to get our first win and get three points,” Savarese said, when asked about the element of relief in Saturday’s result. “I think those games, before, the coaching staff has to remember. The players can forget about it, but the coaching staff has to continue to analyze, continue to see what we can learn from those games to make the team grow.”
The growth was evident in Saturday’s final score, as well as the team’s ability to navigate an uncertain ending. Coming off games against the Chicago Fire and Orlando City SC where Portland gave up late goals, dropping five points in the process, Portland’s late, 3-2 lead over the Loons didn’t feel safe, particularly with the Timbers having conceded two second half goals.
But in those final 13 minutes between Tuiloma’s own goal and the end of extra time, the Timbers did something they were not able to do at Toyota Park or Orlando City Stadium. Multiple times, they played out of their own half, held the ball going toward their opponent’s goal, and killed off the game on the front foot.
That confidence provided some perspective on the team’s progress, giving Portland’s five-match, season-opening stint away from home a new, more positive context.
“It was a different start of the season, to be honest,” Diego Valeri said. “The last two games, we could have gotten a win, but we couldn’t, at the end of the game. And today, fighting until the last minute, we did it. We think that we're going the right way.”
That right way gives the Timbers something to build on ahead of next weekend’s visit from MLS’ hottest team, New York City FC. Prior to Saturday, progress had to be measured in moments – the slices of execution you assuage yourself with in film sessions when you’re not getting results. Now, the Timbers have a result, and while this week’s film sessions will surely dive into the team’s second half struggles, for the first time this season, Savarese’s men need not dwell on points lost.
“It’s a lot of excitement and relief,” Adi admitted. “We’ve been on the road for five games … To come back home in front of our fans and give them this win that they’ve all been waiting for since the start of the season is just incredible, and for us players and the coaching staff, it’s going to bring a lot of confidence.”
