Portland Thorns 4, Houston Dash 1 | Highlights & Recap

Rob Gale's first game as interim head coach would start off with a four goal outburst at home. Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal also got to celebrate their first win as new governors/owners.

Credit: Portland Thorns FC

The Portland Thorns were in a historically brutal stretch to start the season. Mike Norris was moved to Technical Director and Rob Gale would take over as interim head coach.

They would face off against the Houston Dash with both teams tied for a league worst 10 goals against.

Fran Alonso is in his first year as the head coach for Houston and is implementing a completely new system with early growing pains.

In his first starting XI of the season, Rob Gale opted for something a bit similar to his predecessor with a few updates. He went with Christine Sinclair as the 9 and pushed Sophia Smith to the wing. Olivia Moultrie would be benched for the first time as he opted for Jessie Fleming as the 10 and Hina Sugita + Sam Coffey as the double pivot.

Inn the sixth minute, he would be proven right when Sinclair would score to give Portland Thorns their first lead of the season.

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The Thorns would continue to put pressure on the Dash backline who switched from their usual three back to a four back for the first time all season.

In the 41st minute, the visitors tried to play from the back and Soph Smith punished them by stealing the ball and calmly slotting it past Campbell.

The Rob Gale led Portland Thorns played one of their best halves of football. They were still a tad sloppy, but he allowed Fleming and Hina to be free and play their brand of football. Even though Sincy was listed as the nine, she and Soph rotated in middle and right.

Unfortunately, the good vibes would not last.

In the 49th minute, miscommunication led to a unmarked header across the face of the box. Diana Ordóñez would capitalize on a volley for a goal. The lead would be down to one.

If the team were to win this game, they would need to take charge and win it themselves.

Rob Gale subbed on Janine Beckie for Sinclair in the 61st minute looking to add onto the lead.

The Houston Dash were threatening for early spots in the second half, but Gale brought on Liv Moultrie for Fleming and Linnehan for Weaver in the 70th minute for fresh legs and to turn the tide. The subs would steal the show the rest of the way which truly shows how powerful this team can be when they use all their depth.

Linnehan did not look rusty one bit, she was the catalyst for a ton of exciting play on the left. She created a few opportunities and was simply, spectacular.

Fortunately for Portland, it was time for the party to start.

In the 87th minute, Sophia drove past Houston on the left side and slipped a ball to an unmarked Liv who slotted it perfectly for the game. This play was ignited by Linnehan’s quick throw in.

The 3-1 lead would not be enough…

In stoppage time, Janine Beckie finished the proceedings off with her third goal of the season to make it 4-1 and first ever score at Providence Park. After a year of nonstop rehab, she has returned with a vengeance to become an impact player for Portland.

The new head coach bump seems to be kicking in, but it was also Houston Dash who have struggled under their new head coach. However, for the first time in 2024, the Portland Thorns could celebrate a win.

It was nowhere near a clean performance, but they did exactly what they needed to do when it mattered most. There are definitely positives to take away from this game.

Lisa Bhathal Merage and Alex Bhathal would finally get their first win as new Portland Thorns owners/governors.

Rob Gale would win in his NWSL head coaching debut.

“Obviously enjoyable” said the interim head coach. “I want to start by dedicating it to my mate Mike Norris, because he brought me here. He's got us all here and really wanted to win it for him. Like I said he's been a big part of it going forward. And just thank you to the players. They win and lose you football matches and I wanted them to go out and enjoy the game. I think they did — especially the first half, they played really, really well. So, we've sent a few fans home with smiles on their faces and nice to see them dancing and enjoying themselves tonight. Just the first step.”

WOW Stats

• Portland xG: 2.87, Houston xG: 0.42

• Reyna Reyes led the team with 2 chances created, 3 crosses attempted, & 5 tackles won, and aerial duels won

• Isabella Obaze: completed 70/71 passes

• Hina Sugita: 13 completed passes in the final third

• Marie Müller: 12 recoveries

• Janine Beckie: 0.96xG off the bench

• Müller and Reyes led the team with the most touches, 93 & 89.

History Makers

Sophia Smith is the fastest in NWSL history to reach 50 goal contributions outpacing Sam Kerr by only 50 days.

Sincy is the only player in NWSL history to score in every season of the league.

Quotes of the Night:

Rob Gale

“It’s a passionate sport. Take the passion out of the game, what are we doing?”

Liv Moultrie

“Whatever this team needs of me to be our best and to win. We felt like we needed something a little different and so whenever I am called upon to do that. Like I’ve talked about, full commitment every single minute of whatever the performance will look like.”

Soph Smith

“This is the standard that the Thorns have always had. So, a win is great, but a win is the expectation.”

Postgame Presser:

Rob Gale

He gushed about Payton Linnehan’s debut performance after the match

“Did you enjoy watching her? She's fun. She's going to cause a lot of problems in this league. And she's had to be patient for her opportunity. Had some injuries behind the scenes that haven't quite made her fully available and ready. But we knew tonight, looking at Houston and as games have gone on, sometimes it gets stretched, there’ll be opportunities in transition. You can see with her pace and directness, willingness to go at goal — she's unlucky not to score. It was lovely to see Payton out there and enjoying herself. That's a great threat for us going forward, so that we can keep the momentum and the power and the pace when we need it.”

On the energy he brings to the sideline…

“Sometimes you need it, sometimes you need the energy and get the crowd going. Other times they give me energy and they get it from their performance. So just felt with the week and everything that we've been trying to bring, probably a little bit more emotional, bit more energetic on the sidelines. But look, it's a passionate sport. If you take the passion out of the game, what are we doing? So you have to bring it every day and I'll try and bring that to training and hopefully it reflects that on game day as well. I'll be there when they need me, but it's all about the players tonight.”

On the Thorns midfield setup tonight with Coffey, Sugita and Fleming…

“Great to have those weapons in your arsenal, right? So I thought first half the midfield, the forward line, everybody, we press so well, we counter press really, really well. We smothered [Houston]. They really struggled to get out their own third. I’m asking them to work hard. There's a big demand and you need the quality when they come off the bench, the finishers to go on and finish the job that the starters have gone out and done. And if that's wearing down because we kept the ball— I think we had 61% possession first half. I don't know the total number of passes yet, but I think it'll be high. And then as the opposition gets tired, then you need that quality to come on and I was delighted for [Olivia Moultrie] to come on, get her first goal this year. We know she can be a threat. So look, starters, finishers, non-dressing players are out there working now. Players with low minutes. Everybody's rowing in the right direction, committed to the cause to make that first 11 better, so that we start and finish games how we need to.”

Soph Smith

On getting the team’s first win under the new owners…

“It means a lot. Lisa [Bhathal Merage] and Alex [Bhathal] have obviously invested in us and believe in us, even despite how we've started this season. They haven't stopped believing in us. They know who we are as people, who are as players, and what we can do for this club with them, and grow together. So, it means a lot for us to get that for them and show them that this is what they signed up for. This is the team that they're putting so much money and effort and investment into and this is our job. Our job is to go out on the field and get the results and play as a team and do what we can do. And do our part and they're doing their part. Going forward I think it's a fun partnership and we're excited.”

Liv Moultrie

On getting the team’s first win under the new owners…

“I mean, they've committed to us and we want to fully commit to them and what we do and I think it's only fair like we were talking about it as a team, like whatever, whoever is putting us in the position to do what we do. We want to absolutely fully commit to like our jobs and what we're out there on the field to do and I think giving any less than absolutely everything we have is not enough and so as a team we've kind of come around to the fact that like we haven't been giving enough and we need to give more and I think can I was a good start to that and like even when stuff starts to not go exactly perfectly because it never will like we are never going to allow that to stop our commitment and our effort and just our intensity to get the result that we want. So I think we've just really committed to that. And I think that showed on the field tonight.”

On what it was like to have Rob Gale on the sideline today…

“The energy in training has been great. For a short answer, the vibes and the energy has been amazing and I think we absolutely have just kind of felt revived in this week. Things have been fun and exciting. At the end of day, we do this because we love what we do. And that feeling has come back this week. And I think everyone really was feeling that to the fullest. And so, playing today, we were all excited. Rob was talking about it, this should be the best part of our week. Training is the hard stuff, and the stuff that we need to nail down, the things that we need to get better at. Then when we get in the game, that's when we express ourselves and we have fun. And we show what we've been working on. This week was really the epitome of that.”

Bonus: Payton Linnehan Exclusive