Portland Timbers 0, Houston Dynamo 1 - Instant Reaction
The Portland Timbers fall flat again on the road to Houston Dynamo in a 0-1 loss.
Phil Neville and the Portland Timbers (2-1-0) put their three game unbeaten streak on the road against the winless Houston Dynamo (0-1-2).
The team was dealt a blow when center back, Zac McGraw, would be unavailable to start. Fortunately, they had Dario Zuparic ready to go. With Neville opting for a four back the first three matches, Zuparic was relegated to the bench until today.
In the early stages, Houston were sloppy in possession with the Timbers pouncing on the counter smoothly in transition. In the third minute, Dairon Asprilla found Santiago Moreno who took the wide open lane down to the right of goal before taking a shot. The rebound fell right back to him and laid it off for Cristhian Paredes who smashed it off the post.
Houston would find their footing in the later portion of the half. In the 23rd minute, Ibrahim Aliyu took a shot of his own off the woodwork.
Both teams would trade blows the rest of the half with Houston doing it through possession and Portland on the counter.
In the 43rd minute, the deadlock would be over. Adalberto Carrasquilla played a ball into the box that resulted in Crepeau and Juan David Mosquera colliding, resulting into the ball arriving somehow landing perfectly for Ibrahim Aliyu in front of an empty net for the 1-0 lead.
The Portland Timbers did not take advantage of Houston’s numerous sloppy passes and play while the Dynamo took their one chance.
Although the game was being played Portland’s pace and tempo for a good amountt, Houston got more comfortable as the half went on.
Heading into the second half, Portland started on the front foot. They got shots on goal and looked to find an equalizer. Antony had a shot on goal minutes into the half.
Evander had multiple looks for dangerous free kicks at the top of the box and just could not convert.
That search would go on for the entire half. Every opportunity was wasted with an extra dribble, touch, or a shot that went into the crowd instead of on target. That was the type of day Portland had in front of goal.
The Timbers took 18 shots and only four were on goal. The xG for the Portland was 1.8 compared to 1.4 for Houston. The attack had glimpses, but at the end of the day, it was just toothless.
This difference in this game came down to one miscommunication between Max Crepeau and Juan David Mosquera.
After multiple confirmed reports of ,Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodríguez, his arrival cannot come soon enough. His attacking boost is needed for this team, immediately.
The Portland Timbers will need to find goals until Cabecita and Felipe Mora are ready to go. Can Antony, Asprilla, Moreno, Evander, and the rest of the guys step up in the next few weeks?
Scoring Summary
Houston: Ibrahim Aliyu (43’)
Portland:
Next Up:
The Timbers will head back home to face Philadelphia Union, next Saturday, March 23 at 7:30pm on Apple TV.
I like the new artwork! And the writing. Thanks for the coverage.
Missed opportunities and some sloppiness for sure however, honestly outside of an absolute, defensive gaff, once again, from Mosquera, this game ends 0-0. I do think things seem to improve with the addition of Williamson. But all in all, I do really wonder about our situation at right back. While there’s definitely some benefit to having an aggressive offensive winger, I don’t know how we can continue with a four back back line and use Mosquera. He has to learn defense, or he has to directly contribute to a lot of goals to offset his significant defensive liability.