Match Recap & Reaction: Timbers vs. Austin FC

A first at Providence Park in 2024 - but one that nobody wanted

The Portland Timbers fell at home to Austin FC 1-0 on Wednesday night at Providence Park. Dani Pereira tallied for the visitors, and a wasteful Timbers squandered an opportunity to clinch a playoff spot and gain ground in the Western Conference in their penultimate regular season home game.

Photo Credit: Kelsey Baker

Portland came into tonight needing a win, or a draw and results elsewhere, to book their return to the playoffs. With those stakes in mind, Phil Neville rolled out what might be his best starting XI, with Claudio Bravo and David Ayala reclaiming their starting spots.

Photo Credit: Kelsey Baker

It might have been because of the quick turnaround from Saturday, but Portland came out of the gates sluggish. It was especially clear defensively, as Portland’s backline struggled early on to keep Austin’s attacks in front of them. But after some early loose touches, the Timbers started to lock in — especially along the front line.

Evander, returning to the lineup after serving a yellow card suspension, had the closest chance of the early going after he juked the Austin defense and fizzed a low shot agonizingly wide. Felipe Mora also had a chance on goal after some nifty passing blocked. It had the effect of keeping the electric Providence Park crowd engaged early on.

Photo Credit: Kelsey Baker

However, despite some threatening offensive play the Timbers couldn’t find the back of the net in the first half. As had doomed them in the past, they lacked the final lethal touch in front of goal. Multiple attacks saw Evander or Santiago Moreno or Jonathan Rodriguez work the ball into a good position, but a missed touch here or keeping possession a bit too long there would keep them from scoring.

And as it had in previous situations when this particular bad habit popped up, it bit the Timbers in the butt. With Portland taking more and more control, Austin’s attacks became more sparse. But they made one of them count, when Dani Pereira collected a clearance and launched a shot from range in the 42nd minute. The ball took a wicked deflection off of Kamal Miller, and the huge change in direction took the ball past Max Crepeau and opened the scoring.

Portland conceded at one of the worst possible times, and despite holding an 11-3 edge in shots the Timbers went into the locker room at halftime trailing 1-0.

It was a frustrating state of affairs for the Timbers. They carried the play and did an excellent job of playing an effective high defensive line to quickly win back the ball after losing possession. But credit where it is due: Austin’s defense was flying around the box and managed to block five of Portland’s shots in the first half.

The second half started with the Timbers starting to turn the screw, and less than ten minutes into the second frame two tips of The Trident (the high-scoring trio of Rodriguez, Evander, and Mora) had chances to equalize. Evander chipped a ball to Rodriguez who had his shot blocked by Brad Stuver, and Mora’s follow-up was blocked as well. It felt like more of the same for Portland: finding a decent opportunity but being just a step slow to capitalize.

Not even clear chances were going in. Rodriguez was sprung in behind with a golden opportunity, but his shot was blocked by Stuver, causing the frustration on the field and in the stadium to build even more.

As the minutes ticked away and the Timbers still trailed, that frustration started to turn to despair. The mood in Providence Park quickly soured, and through some Herculean defensive efforts and a dash of good ol’ fashioned time wasting Austin sucked the life out of Providence Park.

Portland’s late attempts to try to rescue a result were ineffective and ultimately fruitless. Not with a fight, but with a whimper, the Timbers’ heads dropped in defeat when the final whistle blew.

Full Time: Portland 0 - 1 Austin

Goals — POR: YIKES // ATX: Pereira (42’)

Up Next: Portland closes out their home regular season slate on Sunday October 6 against FC Dallas. Kickoff is set for 4 p.m. PT

Reaction

Well that was just awful. It was about as bad of a night as you could script for the Timbers. A playoff spot within their reach, rivals around them losing, the door open to move up in the table… and of course they were held scoreless at home for the first time all season.