Timbers preseason notebook: Portland plays first preseason match, emerge victorious against Phoenix Rising

Antony scored, and presumably a whole lot of other things happened - but not many of us got to see it.

It’s become a January tradition unlike any other: the Portland Timbers play a preseason match, and none of us are able to see it (well, except for the lucky few who attended in person in Arizona).

The Timbers emerged victorious in their first preseason game in Phoenix, Arizona against USL Championship team Phoenix Rising FC, by a score margin of 1-0. Winger Antony tallied Portland’s first goal of the new calendar year, and most players were able to get some minutes on the pitch as Portland’s preseason preparations roll along.

As mentioned, there was no streaming available for this game. So most of the Timbers fanbase was unable to see how the game progressed or much of how the team looked. Still, from social media and some inferences, there is a bit of information and some conclusions that we can draw: