Instant Reaction: Portland 0-0 Utah

The Thorns go scoreless in Utah...

What was my instant reaction? Uh oh.

That’s all, this game has sent some alarm bells ringing for sure.

Utah opened up the shooting and set the tone for what would become a disappointing match. While neither team found the back of the net Utah appeared to be better than the Thorns all night.

In the 22nd minute, Soph Smith seemed to have found the breakthrough with a lovely goal but it was called offside, this was par for the course this match.

Utah got very close in the 35th- Hannah Betfort found herself in the Thorns box but was denied by Hogan.

This stretch of the half felt much closer, with Dias getting close to scoring after a lovely ball to her from Soph but overall, it was off-target.

Both teams went into the half level. Overall not crazy concerning but still worrying, especially when looking at recent Utah results (losing to Orlando 0-6).

The second half opened with a powerful shot from Smith, but it went straight into the hands of the keeper; Haught.

Shelby Hogan really made a case for the player of the match, tallying numerous saves to keep the score level. Overall, the Utah Royals put the Thorns to work.

On the attacking end, Smith did her best to find the back of the net (again but for real) but was unable to make anything of her chances.

Müller replaced Payne just after the half and a little bit later two more subs were made- Sinc and Wade-Katoa replaced Coffey and Dias.

Before the match ended Hubly earned a yellow (now 5 meaning she’ll sit out the next match) and Sinc almost found the back of the net but her header was directed straight at the keeper. Overall, not enough.

In terms of reactions, I don’t have a lot to say- this was a disappointing result for The Thorns and we need to see some real change.

The next match will be back home at Providence Park on July 5th at 7 pm PST, streaming will be on Prime Video.

What were your thoughts/ instant reactions?