Match Recap & Highlights: Portland Timbers 1 - 0 FC Dallas
Evander shines as the Timbers beat FC Dallas on Pride Night at Providence Park
A first-half Franck Boli goal was enough for the Portland Timbers (5-5-7) to pick up all three points at home to FC Dallas (7-5-6), their first win since May 13. The victory also moves the Timbers back above the playoff line into eighth in the Western Conference.
Recap
With Claudio Bravo suspended on yellow card accumulation, and Aljaz Ivacic away with the Slovenian National Team, Juan Mosquera regained his place at right back and David Bingham suited up in net for the Timbers. Eric Miller was pushed to left back, and Franck Boli displaced Jaroslaw Niezgoda up top.
Giovanni Savarese’s decision to start Franck Boli paid off, with the Ivorian striker slamming home a header in the 35th minute that gave the Timbers a lead they held on to for the rest of the match. The Timbers finished the match 14 shots, eight of which on-target, and probably should have scored more than the Boli header. But for the second week in a row Portland held their opponents to just five total shots, stifling an FC Dallas attack which has caused them fits in recent years.
*Shudders at Jesus Ferreira’s hattrick from 2022*
Ferreira, and the rest of Dallas’ front line were kept quiet tonight though, and the Timbers earned their second straight clean sheet.
Highlights
2’ PENALTY The Timbers were awarded a penalty by referee Ted Unkel just two minutes into the match, but after a VAR check, the call was reversed. Juan Mosquera went down just a little too easily in the box.
7’ A great switch from Evander found Mosquera in space on the right wing, before the Colombian laid the ball into the path of an on-rushing Paredes, who’s strike went straight into the arms of Paes.
10’ POST Mosquera’s lively start to the match continued, forcing a touch onto the post from Paes after a nutmeg-turn-pass from Evander.
28’ A driving run and pass from Cristhian Paredes was almost steered home by Franck Boli, but the striker’s outstretched boot struck the ball agonizingly past the target.
35’ GOAL TIMBERS, 1-0 Sometimes all you need is a little Brazilian magic to turn nothing into something, and Evander did just that - clipping a perfect ball into Boli’s head to open the scoring for Portland. Excellent, and deserved, goal for the Timbers after their fast-paced start to the match.
45’ Four minutes of stoppage time were added to the end of the first half.
HALFTIME: Portland Timbers 1 - 0 FC Dallas
49’ Evander once again put a marvelous delivery into the box - this time finding Zac McGraw, but the Timbers defender finished like his position suggests, and the ball sailed out for a goal kick.
67’ RED CARD OVERTURNED Diego Chara and FC Dallas defender Geovane Jesus tangled legs in the box during a corner, and the latter looked to have deliberately stomped on the former, resulting in a red car. However, Ted Unkel deemed both parties to be at vault, and overturned the red before cautioning both players with yellows.
72’ SUBSTITUTIONS Marvin Loria and Jaroslaw Niezgoda were brought into the match for Santi Moreno and Franck Boli.
80’ Loria let an arrow loose from distance that whistled past the base of the post.
90’ SUBSTITUTION Sebastian Blanco entered the game to an uproarious reception, replacing Evander.
90+2’ Mosquera looked to pick up an injury after his left leg was landed on by Velasco, but thankfully for the Timbers he was able to continue.
90+5’ SUBSTITUTION Larrys Mabiala subbed in for Dairon Asprilla to solidify the Timbers’ backline in stoppage time.
FULL TIME: Portland Timbers 1 - 0 FC Dallas
Final Thoughts
The first half was an excellent one for the Timbers, who pressed devilishly, and defended resolutely to earn their 1-0 lead at the break. Cristhian Paredes — as was the case against the Sounders last weekend — was immense next to Diego Chara, breaking up Dallas attacks and starting counters for Portland.
Evander was an absolute menace in the opening 45 minutes, creating chance after chance for the Timbers. In addition to the assist on Boli’s goal, Evander set up a chance for Mosquera that struck the post and had a close-range shot of his own saved in the 11th minute. “I think there was something extra today from him that you could sense … He took a little ownership in some moments (with) the ball and dictated where we were going to find the right spaces to move forward,” said head coach Giovanni Savarese after the game. “I saw a step forward today from him … There was something better, stronger, and I thought he had a very good game,” he continued.
The second half was… not… as enjoyable. In fact it looked a lot like the performance against Seattle last weekend - resolute at the back, but uninspired going forward. But at this stage in the Timbers’ season what matters is picking up points, and the team did that, crucially, for the first time in a month.
I don’t think it’s a coincidence, either, that in back-to-back clean sheet performances for the Timbers Eric Miller has started and gone the full 90+ minutes as a part of the Timbers’ backline. Miller offers a solid defensive option at fullback, which allowed Juan Mosquera to maraud up and down the right flank against FC Dallas and provide a constant attacking threat for the Timbers.
UP NEXT: The Timbers return to action next Saturday, June 17, against the San Jose Earthquakes at PayPal Park in San Jose, CA. Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT.
I love that even with the high profile signing of Evander, who absolutely is worth the hype, two of the Timbers' most consistent players this season have been replacement level placeholders Eric Miller and Franck Boli. Neither is going to set the world on fire, but they're both solid and won't make a lot of dumb mistakes. Which, on what often could be called Dumb Mistake FC, is a pretty good baseline.
It was delightful watching Evander dominate that first half, and hopefully that gives him the confidence that he's figured out how to play in MLS, and unleashes that talent for 75-90 min a game.
Ted Unkel - not even the best referee in his own home, and a poor ref even by MLS standards - was a nightmare last night. After the red card recision, he started pulling out his yellow like it was going to evaporate if he didn't use it, carding the Timbers (and Dallas a time or two) for things he'd completely let go in the first half. It was super frustrating, but thank goodness the Timbers held on.
An overall good game! About time. Gio blitzed again to start, he did the same thing vs Seattle last year where we just come out and high press and it completely catches the other team off guard. We should’ve had at least four goals this game. We played with fight, intensity, purpose... it was a really entertaining first half. And the second half wasn’t bad either, we can’t play with that intensity the entire game, and it left us exposed a few times in the first half. So Gio rightfully switched up the tactics, sat the team a bit farther back, and exploited them on the counter, which almost resulted in a few goals.
Then oh my god we actually did something I’ve desperately wanted for years... near the end of the game when holding onto the lead, we started pressing again! When Niezgoda game on I thought we were going to fully concede possession and let them come at us, because that’s what usually happens after he comes on (not his fault necessarily). But no, during the last ten minutes pressed higher again and forced a few turnovers. We didn’t let them get a rhythm and just lump balls into the box. And Niezgoda was pressing too! And he actually got a shot off! I cannot tell you how much joy this brought me. This is how you better defend a lead at the very end of the game, either with the ball or with pressing. So, so much better than just bunkering.
Paredes was my MOTM, he was just fantastic the entire game. Our offense was extremely fast paced, we were constantly in transition moving forward, and that plays to his strengths. It’s when the game slows down when we have the ball where he can sometimes disappear, but we didn’t do that much last night. And if we did, then we got the ball to Evander and he made magic happen. As he’s done all season. The way he can just effortlessly play these fantastic passes is mesmerizing. What a ball he played to Boli, I mean come on. And Boli was also quite good, dare I say the best performance by a Timbers striker this season? A low bar, but a bar nonetheless. He became a bit of a playmaker himself, he had that wonderful scoop pass to Moreno in the first half which almost led to Evander scoring, and almost set Moreno up in the second half too from some great movement and strength. McGraw was also fantastic, he’s my Underrated MOTM for this game. He had that key block in the first half which likely would’ve resulted in a goal, that was insane. I didn’t fully appreciate it live but looking back at the highlights, it was really impressive. Asprilla had an up and down game but that’s much, much better than his previous games which have been all downs, I was quite happy with him.
A great night (I know it was only 1-0 but Paes played out of his mind to keep it that way, this was a very dominant performance) but it’s a very short handed Dallas team. I’m enjoying it but it’s not something that changes the outlook of the season quite yet. More is needed. I don’t expect us to play like this on the road, but I really wish Gio would have us play like this at home far more often. I still have concerns on the offense, we still seem to be relying on fast paced transition offense or an individual moment of brilliance rather than repeatable patterns of play. For example, Evander played Mosquera in the first half and he got a shot off that had to be saved, but he had the perfect opportunity to cut it back to Boli who was wide open 10 yards from goal. Yes we could just blame Mosquera for this but I think we don’t drill these sorts of patterns enough in training because we rarely see it in the games. I think. I have no clue.