Ready for Primetime

Three more goals, three more points, and a quality home performance to boot.

*Cover photo credit to Rolan Johnson/Cascadia FC.*

The Portland Timbers’ debut on Sunday Night Soccer thrilled the national audience. In another excellent performance, they vanquished the Houston Dynamo by a score of 3-1.

Recap

Portland began the game on the front foot, and it only took six minutes for them to take the lead. David Da Costa’s pass to Antony was broken up (illegally) by a sliding Franco Escobar. The referee played advantage because Jimer Fory was on hand to pick up the loose ball and begin driving towards Houston’s box. His cross was intercepted by Daniel Steres, but it fell right to Santiago Moreno, whose easy pass to Felipe Mora was slotted home by the Chilean. That’s a perfect start. However, the Dynamo found an equalizer after Jack McGlynn’s free kick was slammed home at the back post by Franco Escobar.

That’s the first set piece goal that the Timbers have conceded in 2025. So I think it’s worth a closer look, especially due to Phil Neville’s disappointment surrounding it.

Pretty normal setup from the Timbers here. However, the prescient Taylor Twellman (the Tony Romo of MLS) reminds the viewer to keep an eye on Franco Escobar at the back post. You can see him here because he is completely unmarked.

Three things need to be said about this still frame. First of all, there is no need to mark the ball because it is almost perfectly dotting the “i” in “exclusive” on the field-side ad board. That’s pretty cool. Second of all, McGlynn’s delivery is fantastic. It is literally dotting the “i.” Third of all, Fory is in the best position to make a play on this ball. He does not.

It goes right over his head and falls right in Escobar’s path, who hits it across the face of goal and into the far post. To be clear, I’m not as upset with this concession as Neville is. That’s perfectly fine. He is the head coach, and the team’s vastly improved set piece defense has shown enough successful patterns for me not to get worked up about one conceded goal. It isn’t everyday that a delivery of McGlynn’s quality is fired into your box. But this goal comes down to Fory not making a play on the ball.

Neville spelled out his keys to set-piece defense in today’s post-game presser: “Concentration. Sticking to your man. Doing your job. Don’t get blocked.” Simple, yet effective. “That’s what made me disappointed. We worked really hard on situations like that. We knew it was going to be a good delivery. [There were] two things I was angry about. One: it was a silly foul by Jimmy (Jimer) Fory. It was a silly foul and a silly yellow card. It’s his fourth [yellow] of the season. I was disappointed in that. And then it was the concentration at the far post. Go back in together, defend together, defend the goal. And we knew the run of Dorsey (Escobar). That was the disappointment that’s in the back of my mind at this moment in time. We’ve still got to keep working hard and we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

Following Houston’s equalizer, the Timbers did not shrink like they did against the Galaxy. Sure, the Dynamo got more confident, but Portland did not allow another shot on target for the rest of the game. They wanted that lead back, and they got it in the 23rd minute. Juan Mosquera won the ball outside Portland’s box and immediately passed it to Antony. The Brazilian (hereby known as the Road-Runner) took off downfield with a Dynamo player in his wake. Once another defender arrived for support, a lane opened for the Road-Runner to find Mora just outside the box. Mora’s one-touch return pass to the Road-Runner (who continued his run into the box) found him in stride and forced goalkeeper Blake Gillingham off his line. No problem. Antony chipped Gillingham and took the lead back for the hosts. Beep. 2-1.

The Road-Runner had another chance in the 37th minute after a Mora cross found his head at the back post. The resulting header was hit into the ground, but it still forced Gillingham to make an outstanding save. I can’t really be mad about that. If you’re going to play on turf, you might as well take advantage of it. Off the resulting corner, a second ball fell to Finn Surman, who put his left-footed effort over the bar. He is excused from any criticism because it was his weak foot and he is Finn Surman. End of story. The Timbers kept testing Gillingham, with Fory’s shot from distance in the first minute of stoppage time ending up on target but safely in the keeper’s gloves. But Portland’s counterattack had a couple more punches left in them before halftime. Finn Surman’s clearance fell right to Mora, who only needed two touches to send Antony running into space. However, the Road-Runner’s first touch led him too far inside and allowed Artur just enough time to recover properly. With the midfielder closing down on his left, Antony’s right-footed effort was easily smothered by Gillingham. However, right before the whistle, one more counter was on. Moreno was charging up the middle, and he passed it to the open man on his left (unlike last weekend in Colorado). That man was Da Costa, who put his effort just wide at the near post. Although the Timbers had a one-goal lead at the half, it probably could’ve (and should’ve) been larger.

Houston began the second half in control, but the Timbers did a great job of defending their own box. However, the lethal counters from the first half were absent due to miscommunications and poor passes. One attack in the 69th minute resulted in Mosquera getting stuffed from point-blank range, and it didn’t even result in a corner! They needed a gift in order to regain the advantage. And that’s what they got. An ill-timed McGlynn backpass was played right into the path of an onrushing Mora in the 71st minute. Gillingham needed to come off his line and collided with the Chilean at the top of the box. After a CORRECTLY PLAYED ADVANTAGE, the Road-Runner charged in at full speed and put the ball into the empty net. Beep, beep. 3-1.

Portland’s late subs were like-for-like and helped the team kill off the game. Aside from a couple late Timber corner kicks (one of which was saved off the line by Gillingham) the rest of this game was a relaxing procession to the final whistle. For the first time in 2025, the Timbers have won back-to-back games.

Shape Check

*Graphic courtesy of @mlsstat.bsky.social*

Yeah, that checks out! Consistency is the key word here. There was only one change from last week’s starting XI with Juan Mosquera making his first start of the season. You want to see something beautiful? Look at that straight line formed by the midfield and the fullbacks. This was the first time that Fory and Mosquera started a game together and their positional understanding of each other was already immaculate. Now, the caveat is the complete lack of wide threat that the Dynamo possessed. My response: who cares? You can only beat the team in front of you, and both of their performances with and without the ball is a very strong starting point to build on.

Look at how many lines are going to and from the CF (Mora). He was at the heart of everything and led the line how a line-leader should. He was always available as an outlet, found teammates in space, and popped up in the box at the right times. Some people (like George Michael Bluth) are born with immaculate timing. Felipe Mora also fits into that category. He knows exactly where to be at all instances of the game. I’m gonna stick a pin into this now and get back to it during the player rating section.

This shape also functioned as Portland’s high press. Look at how compact and organized they were as they unsettled the Dynamo in their own half. But shape can’t press by itself, it requires effort. The Timbers’ effort to defend from the front gave them the ability to be devastating once the ball was turned over. It was one of my keys to the match, and they performed it astoundingly well. Serious props.

Player Ratings

Antony: 9

Beep f***in beep.

This seems out of order because I usually start with the goalkeeper and work my way forward. However, Antony simply ran past all the other players in this recap to the front of the line. Time to give him the Stathead treatment. I’m gonna cherry-pick some stats and see what the machine spits out. Today’s entry: 2 goals, 4 shots (4 on target), 1.49 npxG, 4 clearances.

*No results found.*

Congratulations to Antony for being the first player in MLS history to record this statline. That’s sick. But that 1.49 npxG stat is nit-picky. Let’s remove that and see what happens.

I KNEW THOSE NUMBERS WOULD BE SPECIAL! This is the only other instance in MLS history of a player registering at least 2 goals with at least 4 shots on target (and 100% accuracy) while recording at least 4 clearances. Larrys Mabiala, you have company, and it’s your former teammate. Mabiala, meanwhile, is a center back. A forward should not have to put up this statline. But Antony is not like other forwards.

Last week, I published the Antony breakdown that I was teasing for so long. During my analysis of the player, I came to the conclusion that he needed to be utilized as a finisher rather than a creative presence. Today, he was able to take advantage of all the chances created for him. All four of his shots were high-value efforts that either found the back of the net or forced Gillingham to make a save. He was let loose as The Finisher, and boy did he finish. Is he occupied with the fact that he’s Portland’s leading goalscorer with 4 goals in 6 games? No, he hasn’t had the time to stop and think about it. The Road-Runner doesn’t stop. He just keeps going. 3 goals in his past two games, and a chance at history beckoned.

But Phil Neville, who knows what it means to be the head coach of the Timbers, subbed him off in the 80th minute on a brace. Neville knows that Timbers players cannot score MLS hat tricks. He cannot be blamed for this act of potential robbery; he just had to do his job as the head coach of the Portland Timbers. It simply had to be done.

Felipe Mora: 10

The first 10 of 2025 goes to Felipe Mora for an all-around brilliant display both on and off the ball. That kind of performance mirrors his role in the locker room, both on and off the field.

“I thought he was phenomenal, his work, on and off the ball, his defending work. I think he’s come alive since Santi and David Da Costa have come back in the team. I think if you saw him before that it wasn’t the Pipe [you all know]. He wasn’t getting service, neither was Kelsy, they weren’t getting any opportunities, we weren’t counterattacking, and he had nobody to play with really. But once Santi and Da Costa came back he’s got players to play with, he can knit them together.”

That quote from Neville matches the eye test from the first couple games of 2025. A striker needs service, and he needs creators. Once the creators returned, Mora began to thrive. But this story continues into the clubhouse.

“In terms of his importance to this football club, he connects the whole team on and off the pitch. Off the pitch, he looks after the families, the kids, the children, the days out, the barbecues. He’s a real leader in the team and he doesn’t want to be captain because of all the people in front of him but he is that quiet person that is worth his absolute weight in gold.”

I have no idea about the so-called “people in front of him.” Only Mora’s own humility is keeping him from being a vice-captain. But maybe the label would take away from all that he does for this club both on and off the pitch. Saying that someone bleeds green-and-gold is rather cliche, but Felipe Mora doesn’t fit that criteria. He exemplifies exactly what it means to be a Portland Timber, much like his long-time teammate Diego Chara. Today, his contributions were all over the map. 1 goal, 2 assists, 5 chances created, 1 accurate cross, 2 interceptions, and 3 recoveries. He did it all. A true 10/10 from number 9.

James Pantemis: 6.5

It wasn't a great showing from Pantemis. He failed to save Houston's lone shot on target. But his distribution was better than his usual standard. Not a performance that invites any more controversy for the starting keeper job, but not his best either.

Juan Mosquera: 8

The Colombian right back picked up right where he left off in 2024. I could talk about the threat that he posed going forward, but I think his defense was much better than his attacking contributions today. 1 tackle, 4 clearances (all aerial), 1 interception, 6 recoveries, and 1/1 successful aerial duels. In addition to that, he didn't commit a single foul. By the way, his attacking contributions weren't bad in the slightest. Chief among them were his 2/2 successful dribbles and completing all 3 of his attempted long balls. A great return for the veteran young Colombian (an oxymoron that only works for Mosquera).

Finn Surman: 9

Did the young Kiwi achieve a historical feat like last week? No, he didn't, but he did register at least 10 clearances for the second week in a row. He won all of his attempted duels and didn't commit a single foul. However, this was easily his best game on the ball in a Timbers uniform. He completed 48/50 attempted passes, including all 7 of his long balls. A few weeks ago, I said that the next step in his game would be improving his distribution. That area of his game keeps getting better week after week. By the way, this would've been a 9.5 if his left-footed shot found the back of the net. He's gonna score a goal this year, I know it.

Kamal Miller: 9

I would classify tonight's performance as Kamal Miller's best game of the season, and possibly his best in a Timbers uniform. His stats don't jump off the page like Surman's, but his leadership and communication shined. He noted both of those qualities in his post-game presser and spoke about how proud he was to be the veteran of Portland's youthful backline. By the way, the Timbers started the youngest backline in the league this week. As Miller continues to grow in this leadership role, his defensive teammates will continue their upward trajectory. This was Miller's game to prove that Portland's new CB partnership was here to stay. And he rose to the occasion.

Jimer Fory: 6.5

This rating is not reflective of Fory's failure to cut out McGlynn's cross that led to Houston's goal. Rather, it is reflective of the foul and yellow card at the end of the first half. But I need to make something clear first: Jimmy (Jimer) Fory is a big boy. He is very good at using his body to win balls and limit space for opposition players. However, because he is so large and is often matched up with smaller players, it's very easy for him to get called for fouls. I've witnessed a lot of Fory fouls this year, and quite a few of them have been rather harsh. This includes some of the 4 yellow cards he has accumulated. Some of them have been soft. Some of them have probably made you say "What?" or "How?" or even “Huh?”. But today's booking was fully earned.

The actual foul was soft, per usual. But Fory was not shy when expressing his displeasure. Part of me couldn't blame him. He's had a rough introduction to how PRO referees call games. After putting up a protest, the yellow was shown for dissent. I praised Fory's discipline against the Galaxy when he found a way to play the remainder of the game without picking up another foul after getting booked. That discipline was not there tonight. On the whole, I think his contributions were worthy of a 7 or a 7.5. But now he's one yellow card away from a suspension, and the calendar just switched to April. Since the season began, my expectations for Jimmy (Jimer) have continued to grow as he continues to show more and more of his quality. But I was disappointed with his lack of discipline today. So was Neville. 73 minutes is the shortest outing of his young Timbers career thus far. Now he's one yellow card away from a suspension, and today's game showed that he is a valuable and integral part of Neville's 2025 team. There's always something to work on, no matter how impressive he's been to begin the season.

David Ayala: 9

I think a 9 might be too generous, but then I remember how much fun it is to watch Ayala play. The way he positions his body to challenge for the ball is unique. He almost looks like a spider; all hunched over with his limbs spead out trying to ensnare his prey. Today, Ayala won all 4 of his tackles, made 7 recoveries, intercepted 2 passes, and failed to complete only one of his five attempted long balls. I don't know what I was thinking trying to give him anything below a 9. He was feasting for the entire time he was on the field.

Diego Chara: 7.5

It was actually an early Chara foul on Nico Lodeiro (who was showered with insults throughout the first half, as he should be) that led to Houston's goal. It resulted in a yellow card (once again, soft) but it definitely was a whistle-worthy tackle. By the way, that's 3 straight full 90s for the 38-year-old. Portland's record is 2-1-0 in that span. Very nice.

Santiago Moreno: 8

The hero ball was still present at some points, but today's Moreno performance highlighted his chemistry with every player in the attack. I don't know what changed over the past year, but he looks so much more comfortable just running at defenders instead of trying to pass around them. The Colombian was dynamite around the box today. He may have only created two chances, but both should have resulted in assists. The first one did with Mora finding the back of the net due to a quick pass. Moreno deserves a ton of credit for being in the right position to capitalize on Steres' error. That's not something the Timbers are used to, but they're creating havoc on their own just by being in the right spot. Awesome. His layoff to Da Costa at the end of the first half should have resulted in his second assist. His total of 0.17 expected assists seems really low. Maybe the numbers are a liar sometimes.

David Da Costa: 7

Quick programming note: I've heard that he isn't the biggest fan of the "Le Petit Prince" nickname. So I'm going to suggest that he earns a moniker that he's comfortable with. After entering a team with another David (Ayala), Da Costa approached members of the communications staff and simply asked to be called "Dave." I don't think it differentiates himself enough from Timbers assistant coach Dave Van den Bergh, but I must defer to Portuguese Dave on this one. Could a player's nickname actually be their full name? The microphone in Colorado kept picking up Neville's repeated shouts of "David Da Costa" on the sideline and I spent a good majority of today's game muttering that to myself every time Portuguese Dave touched the ball. Talk about an earworm.

Meanwhile, Portuguese Dave didn't contribute a goal or assist in today's victory. That doesn't take away from the effect he had on Portland's attack. On the latest episode of The Timber Review, I described him as a "ball-progressor extraordinaire." Here's the biggest difference between Portuguese Dave and Evander so far. Evander's pure gravitational pull drew defenders to him and made him the Sun at the center of Portland's solar system. This often led to a lot of Evander brilliance, but it's worth reminding everyone that the Timbers scored 4 goals in a game TWICE last season while Evander was unavailable. Portuguese Dave, meanwhile, doesn't have to be the Sun. He can simply be a satellite drifting everywhere and popping up all over the pitch. While doing so, he makes the Timbers more fluid and threatening on direct attacks while also offering some pressure higher up the pitch.

However, it is worth noting his late miss in the first half. One of my notes from his Lens tape was a lack of clinical finishing. He's not going to bury every big chance, but it's worth noting that Evander never did that either. Last year in Houston, the Brazilian was presented with a potential game-tying chance on a platter. He didn't hit the target. Portuguese Dave is here to elevate the players around him, while Evander only wanted to elevate himself.

Ian Smith: 6.5

Smith's actual stats aren't that impressive, but he plays like a veteran already. Not many players can give Griffin Dorsey the business, and the rookie from Denver did exactly that. As someone who is a pure hater at heart and isn't too fond of Houston's marauding fullback with dumb hair, that put a smile on my face. It might seem odd to most Timbers fans that Smith overtook Claudio Bravo on the depth chart, but it isn't too surprising to me. Neville loves a proper mentality, and the kid's got it in spades.

Ariel Lassiter: 6.5

I liked Lassiter's effort after entering the game, but I'm still gonna be nit-picky about one thing from his cameo. He is a MLS veteran so I'm holding him to a bit of a higher standard than most of the new arrivals. Is that completely fair? Probably not, but he's supposed to provide some goal contributions.

That's David Da Costa, aka Portuguese Dave, wide open on Lassiter's left. I really would've liked it if the Costa Rican passed him the ball. He’s right here, Kelsy is making a run into the six yard box, and Moreno is behind in case Da Costa’s cross misses the Venezuelan striker. I just wanted to see Portuguese Dave get another chance at getting a goal involvement. That's all. Not a bad 15 minutes from Lassiter at all.

Kevin Kelsy: 6

The bright side of scoring goals is the boost of confidence a player gets, particularly if they're a young player. Kevin Kelsy swaggered onto the field today and taught a lesson to viewers: he is not a vertical threat up top.

Big Kev doesn't have to be a vertical threat on the pitch because he's a vertical threat in the air. Most of Mora's heroics from today's game were accomplished through excellent soccer IQ and great technical skill. Kelsy has already shown some technical flashes of brilliance, and a 20-year-old isn't expected to be an omnipotent genius right away. No, he didn't make a big impact, but he won two aerial duels. Simply put, he did his job.

Joao Ortiz: 7

Speaking of doing his job, Joao Ortiz is proving that the learning curve for incoming players might not be as steep as previously thought. After three subpar starts to begin the season, Ortiz became a substitute. He made the most of his cameo today. 9/9 passing (including a long ball) and 3 recoveries is a solid stat-line for 15 minutes of play. But I really enjoyed seeing the change in mentality from the Ecuadorian. During those first three games, he was usually a passive participant. Ortiz wanted to make his mark today, and was instantly visible from the moment he got on the pitch. Props to him.

Claudio Bravo: 6.5

Bravo was the toughest player to find a grade for because he was on the field for 6 minutes and he played right back. That is not his natural position, but he put in a good effort. I’m going to credit him with putting the header in second half stoppage time on target. He isn’t known for his aerial presence, and it took another fantastic save from Gillingham to keep him off the scoresheet. I don’t think Bravo wanted to play right back today, but he did and tried hard while doing so. Good work.

Table Time

*ASTERISK REMINDER: if the penalty against the Galaxy is awarded and converted the Timbers would be in second place right now. Think about that.*

You can’t ignore the asterisk. It’s impossible. But the Portland Timbers are now unbeaten in their last three as the calendar switches to April. Both of their losses have come to 1st-place Vancouver and 6th-place Nashville. Those are quality losses. They have beaten two teams that are currently ahead of them in the table. 10 points in 6 games is their second-best start to a season after 2017, when they had 13 points in their first 6. And, remember, they should have 12 points through their first 6 games due to the asterisk. However, there is only a 4 point gap between the Timbers and the 12th placed team. Wait a minute, who is that down in 12th? Come on guys, that can’t be right. They’re supposed to be the deepest team in MLS history! You really have to hand it to them.

Final Whistle

Cascadia FC photographer Rolan Johnson captured this photo, and I absolutely love it. Starting lineup photos are a soccer tradition. Players usually don their serious faces because the game is about to start and it’s a business affair. But for this moment, the starting lineup is all smiles. I’d like to draw your attention to the front row. All six players are locking eyes in pairs. Diego Chara, revealing his pearly whites as he so often does, is looking directly at Felipe Mora. The Chilean is returning his gaze. David Da Costa is staring directly at Juan Mosquera’s grin. A smirking Santiago Moreno and David Ayala are sharing a moment. Three smiles are visible in the back row: Antony, Kamal Miller, and Finn Surman. Jimer Fory seems to be a bit distracted. I’ll let it slide. I have no idea what James Pantemis is doing. Using the term “coworker” to describe teammates seems quite odd. But, at the base level, this is a photo of 11 coworkers enjoying the moment before the start of their shift. They aren’t just coworkers or teammates; they’re friends.

The 2025 Portland Timbers are fueled by the power of friendship. Today, fresh off their biggest early-season road win in team history, they shared their smiles with each other before clocking in. The result was a 3-1 win against a team that has had their number over the past couple seasons. They knew what they were capable of, and they set out to accomplish their goal. Fantastic.

Now the schedule takes a turn. Between now and May 10th, the Timbers will only play two home games. Their opponents are a wild bunch. An Austin team next weekend that wants revenge, a trip to LA to face the Asterisk Deliverers, both fixtures against a Peter Vermes-less SKC, a home game against a middling LAFC side, and a trip to the San Jose International Airport to meet Bruce Arena’s top-heavy reclamation project. There are a lot of winnable games here. But the Timbers will have to travel, and the early-season struggles away from home cannot be erased by one victory in Colorado. They still have to put in the work and continue to improve. Today’s victory against a depleted Houston (except possibly their goalkeeper who I think will hang onto the starting job) isn’t a statement victory by any means. Good teams need to beat struggling teams, especially at home. Now another road test approaches with another familiar foe in the crosshairs. The climb continues.