A Prince is Crowned

*Cover photo credit to Billy Merck/Green is the Color.*

Austin FC spent a lot of money over the winter. Most of that cash was allocated towards their attack. However, when they faced off against a depleted Portland squad on Saturday night, the Timbers shut them out and scored a late winner to earn their first win of the season. By the way, the choice of the word “earn” is very deliberate. This result was not accidental in the slightest.

Recap

I’d call the first half a “slugfest.” Both teams tried to establish their physicality but didn’t have a lot of attacking quality. However, each side had a big chance in the first half. Portland’s came in the 5th minute. Ian Smith began the sequence by launching a ball over the top of Austin’s defense for David Da Costa. After a couple clever jukes, the ball was lifted towards the back post. Felipe Mora got stuffed at point-blank range by Brad Stuver after controlling the cross. It was an encouraging sequence, but the Timbers couldn’t create a chance of that quality for the remainder of the half. Austin created a chance of similar quality 10 minutes later. After Portland settled in Austin’s half, a risky centering pass from Jimer Fory found Joao Ortiz surrounded by opposition players. After losing the ball, Austin began a counterattack. Portland’s penchant for defensive catastrophes almost struck again (the highlight of this sequence was Zac McGraw and Finn Surman running into each other in the center circle as they tried to get back and defend) but Brandon Vazquez’s weak effort was easily corralled by James Pantemis to nullify the threat. Vazquez also forced Pantemis to make an excellent save from a free kick in the 34th minute. At the intermission, Austin had an advantage in shots (6-4) but the Timbers were largely in control.

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This status quo held in the second half until Nico Estevez decided to take the initiative. Myrto Uzuni and Besard Sabovic entered the game, and Austin’s shape was slightly tweaked. Neither team could create a decisive chance or unlock a moment of magic, so as stoppage time approached it looked like a draw was on the cards. Until Smith recognized loads of space in front of him and began to drive forward with the ball. This decision led to the Timbers winning a free kick from the left channel, and they crowded the box to get on the end of David Da Costa’s delivery. None of them did. That’s because Da Costa’s chaos cross bypassed every player on the pitch, including Stuver, and nestled into the far corner of the net in the 89th minute. However, it was too early to declare that goal as a game-winner. Portland had to weather a late Austin storm, but after clearing a corner kick at the end of stoppage time, the whistle blew and the Timbers had a well-earned victory.

The Big Picture Takeaways

Let’s begin with some morning-after thoughts.

Portland’s defense, highlighted by draft pick Ian Smith making his first MLS start, held Austin’s expensive forward line grasping at straws. For the second straight game, the defensive unit did not allow a set piece goal. Hell, they didn’t allow Austin to score any type of goal! While this thread focuses on the defense, I think it’s more appropriate to talk about the attack in this article. Portland’s defensive performance largely spoke for itself. It was excellent. And it occurred while the Timbers were missing the player with the most minutes in 2024 (Juan Mosquera) and their top 3 center backs in the same category (Dario Zuparic, Kamal Miller, and Miguel Araujo). There will be a time to talk about the defense. But I think the attack needs a deeper dive first.

As I stated above, the attacking chemistry will come. Given Portland’s excellent defensive depth, it’s easier for the backline to replace absent players. Even the backup goalkeeper has a serious claim to the starting spot! However, Portland’s attacking depth isn’t as strong as it is in the defense. This led to a rather poor attacking performance on the whole, and their DP number 10 won this game on his own due to a perfectly delivered shross (shot-cross). Because Phil Neville wants to play out from the back, the entire squad is tasked with ball progression. Eventually, they will all be on a similar page. But one player’s tendencies are already encouraging, and the team isn’t focused on getting him the ball yet.

In buildup, Jimer Fory often hugged the left sideline. Because Portland is so used to using the right side for ball progression, Austin kept shifting their block towards the right side of the field. This left Fory all alone in acres of space. Very few players (except for Smith) were able to play the ball into space for Fory to run onto. This is already something that Phil Neville needs to show the rest of the squad during film study. Through two games, Fory has shown two things: quality on the ball and solid decision-making in the attack. Combine both of those traits and there’s a monster waiting to be unleashed on unsuspecting defenses. Any kind of cross-field switches to a marooned Fory will come in time. Personally, I think they should constantly be looking for him. Add “cross-field switches to Jimer Fory” onto the 2025 progress tracker.

That tracker also includes “improved set piece defense.” Guess what? The triplet of Finn Surman, Zac McGraw, and Smith are very good at defending dead balls! Phil Neville loves to talk about mentality, and today’s winning mentality was most evident on set pieces. That doesn’t account for solely the defense either.

Earlier, I described Da Costa’s goal as a “chaos cross.” Balls can be whipped into the box from any angle, and most of the time the goalkeeper knows exactly what to do in order to nullify the threat. However, “chaos crosses” ask questions of the keeper: do I stay or do I come out to meet it? This is technically the question that is asked of every goalkeeper with every ball that comes into their hemisphere, but the “chaos cross” causes hesitation from the shot-stopper.

On the replay, you can see where Brad Stuver’s head turns into Jell-O. This cross is absolutely claimable, but he decides to hold his line. By the time that the Austin defender (Besard Sabovic in this instance, which brings me great joy) completely misses the ball, it’s too late for Stuver to do anything and the ball is in his own net. “I just wanted to put it in the exact spot that it landed,” Da Costa said about the delivery after the game. You sure did, buddy. This ball wasn’t going in unless it fit into the exact window of space that the Portuguese delivered it into. That’s DP quality, right there.

Player Ratings

David Da Costa: 8.5

First and foremost, get him the ball more. Not only is he adept at dribbling out of pressure, he’s an excellent decision-maker. After scoring the winning goal, he collected his first tree log. “I hope it’s the first of many,” he said after the game. I have to agree with him on that. And I can’t wait to see him with a fully healthy attack around him. By the way, in case you were keeping score, all three of the Domino Boys (Luciano Acosta, Evander, and Da Costa) scored today. Da Costa’s team was the only one to win their game. Heck yeah.

James Pantemis: 9

Calm on the ball, commanding in the box, and excellent at stopping shots. Today was a big day for Pantemis fans, and they’re absolutely right to be this overjoyed. That save of Vazquez’s free kick was outstanding, and he didn’t make any mistakes in possession. Quality start and a clean sheet in the his 2025 debut.

Zac McGraw: 8.5

When McGraw is in the middle of a back three, he becomes one of the top erasers in the league. That’s all he did tonight. He wasn’t as prolific on the ball as his other compatriots, but defending is his first duty. I think it will be very hard to dislodge him from the starting lineup while the Timbers use this system.

Finn Surman: 8.5

Ditto for the Kiwi, although he didn’t have as much to do compared to last week. However, I noticed him barking out orders multiple times from the right side of the back three. Therefore, he gets a bump for excellent communication as his team earned a shutout.

Joao Ortiz: 6

Yes, this rating is correct based on several poor giveaways and a yellow card given to him as a result of him trying to make up for those giveaways. Defensive midfield is probably the hardest position on the pitch, and he’s adapting to the pace and physicality of the new league. Give him a little more time to show his quality.

David Ayala: 7.5

This feels like Ayala’s benchmark, and he met it tonight. I would like to call attention to his bicycle kick attempt in the 62nd minute. I wonder where he got that idea?

Ariel Lassiter: 6.5

Maybe he got it from Lassiter, who tried a similar feat of skill and timing in the 11th minute. That was the only noteworthy part of Lassiter’s first Timbers start, and I kind of expected more of him. However, his willingness to defend high up the pitch bumps his rating up a half point. Even though he didn’t provide any defensive stats, I liked the positions he took during Portland’s press.

Antony: 7

Welcome back to everyone’s favorite game show: Understanding Antony! To begin today’s episode, here are two of his statlines from tonight’s game.

But wait, there’s more! Time for some bonus clues!

So much of his struggles come down to decision-making. There were plenty of options for him to send in an early cross but he chose to keep the ball. When he did decide to cross, he wasn’t very accurate. But he worked hard as a two-way wingback, so I’ll give him a 7.

Jimer Fory: 8

Simply put, the Timbers have never had a player with his profile at fullback since they came into MLS. He does it all on the left side. As far as I’m concerned, he’s locked into the left wingback spot from this point onward.

Felipe Mora: 6.5

It’s tough to be a striker when you aren’t getting any service. Especially when you spend your minutes on the field being harassed by two center backs. The Timbers have to keep finding ways to get him the ball in the box.

Ian Smith: 9.5 (MOTM)

When Phil Neville was asked about Smith’s performance in the post-game press conference, he said that it was a “normal” game for him. You hear that? It’s normal for him to scan the field and make smart decisions with the ball. It’s normal for him to get stuck in the challenge. It’s normal for him to pick the perfect time to drive forward with the ball and draw a foul that leads to the winning goal. Smith loves playing left center-back as well: “I like defending and I can see the whole field from that spot.” My word. He admitted to liking defending. On a night headlined by Da Costa’s heroic winner, Smith deserves every bit of praise and more for making it happen.

Final Whistle

Now the Timbers have a tangible platform to work with until their top players are cleared to play. It will immediately be put to the test with a road trip to Nashville next weekend. They could actually begin to build momentum early in the season for once. That’s a huge sign that things are different.

The other sign is the scoreline of tonight’s result. This is only Phil Neville’s second 1-0 win in charge of the Timbers. More results like this will prove two things: they are getting better and their success is sustainable. And on top of that, the Timbers have another star number 10. Last week’s result looks like an aberration at this point. But it’s up to the Timbers to keep proving how true that statement is week after week. I think they’re up to the task. The climb continues.

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