A Proper Introduction

When the opening whistle blew and tonight’s game between the Portland Timbers and Club Tijuana began, the Timbers were eliminated from Leagues Cup. The results that they needed to go their way did not occur. But they still had to play the game nonetheless. And new head coach Marti Cifuentes was intent on beginning his Timbers tenure on the right foot.

The Timbers, for the first time in the 4 years of the expanded Leagues Cup tournament, didn’t finish their tournament with a loss. It happened in 2023 against Monterrey, 2024 in St. Louis, and in 2025 against Club America in sweaty Austin. But they were able to conclude their participation in the 2026 edition of Leagues Cup with a 3-1 victory against Tijuana.

Recap

The first 15 minutes were very good!

Eric Miller took the first major shot of the game in the 7th minute from outside the box, which was awkwardly palmed away by Tijuana goalkeeper Jorge Hernandez. That chance was fully deserved, as the Timbers properly began this game on the front foot. Chances still fell to Xolos players (like a 15th-minute header from striker Mourad El Ghezouani) but this was Portland’s game to dominate. But sometimes cracks can form, and one of those sequences of mistakes allowed Tijuana to score the first goal.

This play began in the 19th minute. Portland worked the ball into the box with good combination play from Jose Caicedo, Cole Bassett, and David Da Costa. Kevin Kelsy attempted to make the final short pass, but it was blocked. Luckily, Kelsy got his own rebound, but his weak-footed shot was blocked by a defender.

Tijuana began to counter, but Finn Surman seemingly broke up the play with a sliding challenge that pushed the ball back towards the Xolos goal. But that challenge was immediately recovered by another Tijuana player, who found El Ghezouani in the center circle with time and space. After two quick passes, the ball entered the final third from the right wing. Winger Joban Gonzalez played a through ball to overlapping right back Aaron Mejia, who sent a cross into the box. Surman met the cross with his head, and the ball was cleared to the top of the penalty area.

After the game, Cifuentes would call this sequence a “chain of mistakes.” I think the most frustrating one occurs right here. Each recovering Timber’s first instinct is to get into the box to defend while no one covers the space at the top of the box where a likely clearance would land. Those “likely” clearances usually become “certain” because Surman (an excellent clearer of the ball) gets his head on almost everything that enters his orbit. The other recovering players are still making decisions based on where the ball currently is, not where it could go. So Tijuana midfielder Angel Zapata, whose listed height is 5’3”, wins this header without any pressure around him. He’s able to pick out exactly where he wants to direct this ball. He succeeds, as his free header travels to the left wing.

Left back Alan Vega receives the header and fires a first-time cross towards the six-yard box. Surman and Trey Muse are each in a position to make a play on the ball before it can reach El Ghezouani at the far post, but neither of them do. For the record, this is firmly in Muse’s area of command and it would have taken a fairly simple dive to smother the ball. Since no action is taken, El Ghezouani has a free attempt at goal. The Moroccan striker nearly screws it up as his first touch results in a weak-ish shot directly at Muse, but the American goalkeeper (who is now on the ground) just becomes a kicking wall as the ball bounces off him and into the net. 1-0 Tijuana, 19th minute. Some individual errors, one habitual error, and a major communication error to top it off.

However, this was Tijuana’s second shot of the game. They wouldn’t register another attempt until the 83rd minute (per my notes). Portland just began to dominate. More combination play in the 23rd minute led to an Ariel Lassiter shot at the top of the box, but Hernandez was able to make another awkward save. 

The 39th minute began with Tijuana attempting to break out, but the Timbers properly counterpressed and forced the ball back to the goalkeeper. Hernandez launched a long ball, Surman headed it, and Caicedo won the second ball. That’s a pretty good formula. After moving the ball into the final third, Jimer Fory attempted a through ball to Velde that got cut out. Unfortunate. But Portland’s counterpress continued to be strong, and they forced Tijuana center back Jackson Porozo (who went to the World Cup as a member of the Ecuadorian squad) to play a suicide pass up the middle. Caicedo easily intercepted the ball, found Da Costa, and the Timbers began to press their advantage that they gained from their press. Portuguese Dave found an overlapping Fory on the left, who put the ball on a platter for Kelsy to smash home seconds later. The strength of his finish nearly broke the net and Kelsy went to celebrate with his good friend who played the cross in. 1-1, 40th minute.

That scoreline held into the halftime break. But could they continue their front-footed momentum in the second half? Absolutely. In the 50th minute, Kristoffer Velde sent an inswinging cross towards the far post. It was cleared by a Tijuana defender, but Bassett won the second ball and made a short one-touch pass to Lassiter. The Costa Rican winger tried another fierce shot, but it was blocked. Caicedo scooped up the second ball, moved it to Velde, and watched as the Norwegian winger attempted a shot from distance. Hernandez was able to punch the ball up and out for a corner kick. Three minutes later, Velde sent a floated cross to the back post that Lassiter was able to keep in bounds with a weak-footed volley towards the center of the box. It was cleared, and Caicedo won another second ball. The Colombian midfielder took one touch off his chest to settle, and his second touch was a right-footed shot on target that Hernandez scooped up.

Then the Timbers had a corner kick in the 63rd minute. Lassiter’s low delivery was cleared by the first man, but Fory won the second ball and quickly moved the ball to Portuguese Dave. After a quick recycle to allow players to get back into their structure, Surman found Lassiter on the right wing. He sent a cross towards Kelsy in the box, and the Venezuelan striker was able to get a good header on target from that delivery. But Hernandez made a quick reactionary save. However, that save wasn’t a catch, so there was a loose ball up for grabs in Tijuana’s box. Kelsy got there first and sent a quick square ball across the face of goal. Antony was waiting at the back post to tap it in and give the Timbers a 2-1 lead in the 64th minute. 

Even though the Timbers were already eliminated, they still wanted to add to their lead. In the 68th minute, Joao Ortiz intercepted a pass in the final third and immediately played Antony in behind. Faced with another 1v1, he took a bad touch and negated the advantage. He could only square the ball into the box. Chaos followed, and the sequence ended with Lassiter smashing a shot off of Hernandez’s head. The referee blew the play dead so the Tijuana goalkeeper could get checked for a head injury. But now there was an opportunity to take advantage of those high turnovers through Antony’s directness. In the 76th minute, the Timbers added their 3rd goal through a similar sequence.

Hernandez attempted a long ball into midfield, but it was cut out by Ortiz. The Ecuadorian midfielder carried forward before playing an excellent entry pass to Antony in the box. The Brazilian winger opened his hips like he was about to shoot, but played a calm square pass across the face of goal to Lassiter, who was crashing the far post. Another easy finish from point-blank range, and a 3-1 Timbers lead in the 76th minute.

This is where Tijuana decided that they had to try to break Portland’s complete domination. Vega finally got a shot off in the 83rd minute, but it whistled wide of the far post. The resulting goalkick saw the Timbers patiently progress the ball back into the final third, but a heavy pass from Vincent Janssen resulted in a heavy Antony touch and a turnover. Janssen tried to rectify his mistake by running back to make a tackle. His tackle succeeded in jarring the ball loose, but it was put directly into the path of Porozo, the center back. Muse charged off his line and left the box completely to try and challenge for the ball, but Porozo tipped the ball past the goalkeeper and into some open space in the box. The World Cup center back put a shot on target, but the other World Cup center back on the field (Surman) was able to calmly clear the ball off the line. The final whistle blew after a 90+3’ attempt from Adonis Preciado rippled the side netting on a feed from Francisco Gonzalez. Cifuentes’ first game in Portland ended in a much-deserved 3-1 victory.

What is Different?

Although Cifuentes was only able to get in one full training session before this game, some changes were already implemented from Jack Cassidy’s base tactical plan. I’d like to run through a couple of them on each side of the ball.

Let’s begin with the defense. Cifuentes pushed Portland’s backline higher than it was under Phil Neville. Cassidy, for the record, set up in a mid-block with selective pressing. So this change to a more focused and deliberate press was interesting to watch. Sometimes it worked, and sometimes it didn’t. Let’s take a look at one time it did work.

This play isn’t anything special, but it’s a lesson in intent. Forcing the long ball means that the press succeeded. Surman collects the long ball, but the sequence nearly turns disastrous when he takes a bad touch. However, he compensates by drawing a foul. The principles are pretty clear: man-mark in the opposition half, win your individual duels, and play for the second ball. The Timbers were addicted to winning second balls tonight against a very physical opponent. Even if there is a technical gap between the teams (and there definitely was tonight), physicality can level the playing field. 

The second ball domination can also be attributed to something I have been literally begging for since I started writing about this team in 2023: a well-organized counterpress. Portland’s new Catalonian head coach has “counterpressing” towards the top of his list of principles. Brilliant. “The first goal was a very clear example of the way we want to counterpress,” Cifuentes said post-game. “Which, for me, is a very important part of the game because if you have the energy to do it, it’s one thing that shows desire, that shows great mentality, but as well you need the proper positions to counterpress properly.”

Cifuentes would later say that he doesn’t want to talk about what happened with the Timbers in the past and that he’s only focused on the present. I want to respect his wishes, but I have to go against them just this once (until the next time I do it). Neville’s base attacking structure wasn’t bad. What let the Timbers down was their complete lack of cohesion in almost every action they made. It was the responsibility of the DPs to run the show in the attack, while the disorganization of the midfield made it easy for opposition teams to attack directly. Cifuentes, with the help of Cassidy before him, was able to establish a base structure that could effectively counterpress. Neville had the tools to do it, and he also encouraged the Timbers to aggressively defend higher up the pitch. But the differences are stark when the desire to counterpress (which the players never lacked) is paired with a base structure that funnels the ball towards specific areas with a higher probability of actually winning the ball back. 

There are still some slight weaknesses in Portland’s defense, but those are ripple effects from the press being broken. I want to see how this defensive strategy evolves over the rest of the season. Tonight was a great starting point. 

Now I can talk about a couple of offensive tweaks that delighted me. Let’s begin with passing. The Timbers completed 564 passes tonight with 92% accuracy. That’s awesome. Their passing was crisp, clear, and purposeful. Kamal Miller and Caicedo each attempted 101 passes, registering a 95% and 93% completion rate, respectively. With such solidity deeper within the structure, that deeper passing allowed the attackers to take more risks. But those risks ended up being rather safe in hindsight. Let’s use another stat to illustrate that phenomenon: long balls. The Timbers attempted 30 total long balls tonight out of 613 total passes attempted. 4% of their passes were long balls, yet they completed 21 of those 30 (70% accuracy). Because the short passes set the tempo really well, those long balls were opened because the defense was primarily expecting the short pass. That allowed those long balls to change the tempo even more. It’s one of Cifuentes’ primary principles: overload one side and then switch to the far side as more and more defenders are drawn to the side of the field with more attackers. The Timbers do not pass for the sake of holding onto the ball anymore. Now they’re intent on making every pass count.

This includes the multiple combination plays they tried to pull off in the center of the pitch, most of which just fell short due to Tijuana’s heavy pressure on the final entry ball. Several of these attacks were broken up at the top of the box as Xolos players crowded Zone 14 and prevented the ball from escaping into the box. Speaking of combinations, the box-crashing runs were excellent tonight. All three of Portland’s goals were scored by well-timed runners getting on the end of low crosses being played across the face of goal. You can absolutely build the plane out of that. 

I came away from tonight’s game more impressed with the defensive changes than what I saw from the offense. That speaks to how encouraging the new defensive strategy is more than anything else. Cassidy provided a solid foundation for the basics, now Cifuentes can expand on that foundation and turn the Timbers into an aesthetically pleasing team that wins a lot of soccer games. With performances like tonight’s, that statement doesn’t seem too far-fetched.

Duels/Box Tilt

Let’s check up on my two favorite metrics before the player-specific discussions are introduced. Duels seem like the natural starting point in a very physical game.

A pretty familiar story over the last month. I’m not reading too much into this because I think several of Tijuana’s excess “ground duel wins” were actually fouls that the referee didn’t call. I might as well talk about the refereeing now since I’ve already brought it up. Whenever MLS and Liga MX teams play each other, the officiating standard is measured on the Liga MX scale rather than the MLS scale. Just gotta adapt and accept, I don’t know what else to say. I did notice that tonight’s referee (Ismael Alexander Cornejo Melendez) awarded two corner kicks because the preceding goalkick didn’t get played in time. That’s a new rule change that was instituted in the past World Cup. Pretty neat to see it get implemented in this game. It would’ve been pretty controversial if any goals were scored off the resulting corner kicks, but none did.

Box tilt time! The final numbers come in at 19-7 in favor of Portland. Considering that the Timbers completed 387 passes in Tijuana’s half tonight (144 more passes than Xolos completed over the entire game) I’m a little disappointed that they only managed 19 box touches. But Tijuana sank their backline really deep, and Portland’s attacking patterns are still being worked on. And I’m happy that the Timbers were efficient with their box touches. 

Player Ratings

Trey Muse: 6.2

After two-and-a-half years as a backup without getting a single minute for the first team, Muse started each of Portland’s three Leagues Cup games. This was undoubtedly due to James Pantemis spending the entire tournament in concussion protocol. I thought Muse handled himself pretty well in the Puebla and Club America games, but he definitely took a step back tonight.

His game was defined by the failure to stop the cross that led to El Ghezouani’s goal and a venture outside of his box that nearly led to a Tijuana empty-netter. However, a center back was on the end of the latter error, so it didn’t get punished. Pantemis’ availability is still a big question mark ahead of Sunday’s game in Chicago. Muse and Sulte are still competing for the backup job. 

Eric Miller: 7.4

Midway through the first half, I turned to my fellow reporters and muttered that Mr. Reliable was on Nagbe watch. What exactly is Nagbe watch? Well, if you complete 100% of your attempted passes within a game (with a minimum of 35 attempted passes) you join the Nagbe club. Miller ended tonight’s game with 42/43 passes completed. He was so close. Damn.

But the real story is Miller’s inversion. During the possession phase of play, Mr. Reliable tucked inside the midfield alongside Caicedo to form a solid 3+2 rest defense and the ability to control the center of the pitch. Miller adapted very well to this tactical tweak, which is set to be a feature of Cifuentes’ system. I wish he scored that shot in the 7th minute. In his first start of the year, Miller turned in a very good performance. His minutes should increase over the latter half of the year with Juan Mosquera carrying a long-term injury. Brandon Bye didn’t dress for tonight’s game. No reason was given why Portland’s nominal starting right back wasn’t in the matchday squad. Clarity is needed on that front ahead of the Chicago game on Sunday.

Finn Surman: 8.5

Surman probably didn’t need to play in this game. But he did anyway, and was his usual spectacular self. I hope that Cifuentes can bring out more of Surman’s quality on the ball, considering he’s made his name in Portland with incredible defensive plays. El Ghezouani was a handful for him tonight, and the Kiwi had to commit two fouls during his various battles with the physical Moroccan striker. I wish Stathead still existed so I could see if that was a new career-high in fouls for Surman. To put it in perspective: Surman has only committed 6 fouls in 18 MLS games this ENTIRE SEASON. Goodness.

His goal-line block, despite looking like a routine clearance, was still pretty impressive. He wore the captain’s armband tonight with Diego Chara not seeing the field. Surman has often been the alternate captain for games when Chara isn’t playing. He had to do a lot of talking to the referee tonight. I’m sure that he was very judicious during those conversations.

OK, OK, I have one more Surman point to make. Here’s his heatmap from tonight’s game.

He’s playing center back, by the way. 

Kamal Miller: 7.8

We’re going to begin with the passing, More specifically, the long balls.

5/6 long balls completed, with the two longest passes going towards Velde on the left wing. Miller was awesome with the ball at his feet tonight, and put in some good work defensively. However, his defensive stats aren’t that impressive because he was just sweeping up the leftovers that escaped Portland’s press. 1 block, 1 clearance, 1 interception, and 2 recoveries. Miller’s contribution to the Timbers’ ability to keep the ball was more crucial to this game than his defense. Still, that counts as another good outing.

His yellow card was nonsensical. Miller was clearly holding his hands up and away from El Ghezouani, yet the official believed that the Canadian center back was impeding the Moroccan striker despite El Ghezouani’s clear intention to play the defender instead of the ball. Miller disagreed with the initial whistle, and was yellow carded for dissent. Get the call right instead of punishing the response from the player who didn’t do anything worthy of a whistle in the first place.

Jimer Fory: 8.3

I have a pretty big-picture Fory question after this game: is Cifuentes’ desire for the inverted right back going to limit Fory’s ability to get forward and provide service into the box?

I’ve gone on record before about the Colombian fullback’s extremely underrated crossing. His delivery to Kelsy was the best assist of the night for any goal that was scored. However, it was one of only two crosses that Fory attempted tonight. I hope that he’s able to provide more service in the coming games. Kelsy is one of his best friends on the team (let’s be honest, everybody is Fory’s friend) and that link-up was a throwback to Kelsy’s first Timbers goal in Colorado last year. Da Costa played Fory through, and Fory hit a low ball across the face of goal for Kelsy to slam home. It was nearly a carbon copy.

But what does that mean for his chemistry with Velde, the locked-in starter at left wing? There are still some slight chemistry problems, mostly due to Velde’s willingness to play in an unpredictable fashion. I believe that Cifuentes can get both of these players on the same page. When they are, Portland’s left side will become even more overpowered. After all, they’re both sporting frosted tips. Once their on-field chemistry is in sync like their haircuts, another dimension is added to Portland’s attack.

Jose Caicedo: 9.3

Second ball recoveries is not a singularly tracked stat. All ball recoveries are treated identically. However, if there was a “second ball” tracker, Caicedo would have a stat-sheet showing that made your eyeballs bulge out of their sockets.

Let’s hear with what Cifuentes had to say about the Colombian midfielder post-game: “Jose, for me, is a player that has great potential. Obviously, he has been competing with a legend like Diego. But at the same time, we know that we want to manage Diego’s minutes, especially with this quick succession of games. So I spoke with Jose before the game yesterday, that for me he has the potential to be a very good player. The way we want to defend in certain situations, he has the quality to drop in between. That should allow the center backs to be more aggressive, to have an extra cover against teams that play a little bit more direct. In the first half, in my opinion, I told him that he was running too much. And I do believe that we need to run a lot to win soccer games. But we need to run smart, and in the second half he was much better.” 

This isn’t the full quote, but I’d like to take a brief pause to examine the first part of Cifuentes’ answer. I think I need to make a special mention that he was about to say “football games” but he caught himself and called it “soccer” instead. Hell yeah. I’ll save my second point for the second part of the quote.

“So yes, sometimes we need him to drop but sometimes in the first half that allows certain areas to be too open, second balls that no one could pick because he wanted to be too good guy for the center halves. The center halves, they need to pick up the responsibility as well. So when he improved that in the second half, we were much better. So I’m happy with him, and I’m sure that it’s gonna be in a much more in a positive direction for him.”

This was my question to Cifuentes in the post-game, and it was specifically about Caicedo dropping into the backline when the team was pressing. It’s so refreshing to get an actual answer to a tactical question. And Cifuentes’ reasoning is sound. Caicedo can defend in the box and in the last line with the center backs, so it makes sense for him to drop back a line to maintain a “plus one” against teams that want to play more direct. 

That quote covers Caicedo’s defensive contributions, but what about his involvement in possession? Maybe a clip can help us here.

That pass is hit with his weak foot and it’s absolutely spectacular. Caicedo did a fair amount of recycling and simple ball movement today, but his passing range is superb. I wonder how Cifuentes is planning to rotate Chara and Caicedo over the remainder of the season. The level of Portland’s holding midfield won’t drop at all no matter which one of them is playing.

Cole Bassett: 6.6

In a system that is going to employ a lot of defending from the front and counterpressing, Bassett has to improve defensively.

Tonight, he lost all 5 of his ground duels, committed two fouls, and only made 1 ball recovery. He simply has to be better. On the attacking side, he put a free kick over the bar but completed 23/24 passes, including both of his attempted long balls. In this 4-3-3 structure, he has to be adept at both defending and attacking. He’s still a very good player. And I’m looking forward to seeing how that defense improves, particularly if he continues to drop into a double pivot like he did multiple times during the first half as the team pressed.

David Da Costa: 7

Portuguese Dave popped up on the right and the left, and he earned himself a hockey assist on Kelsy’s goal. The same defensive concerns that I have with Bassett are present with Da Costa, but not to the same extent. He was also willing to try shots from distance tonight. I found that intriguing. I was very encouraged by his ability to connect passes in tight spaces in the center of the pitch tonight. It wasn’t a game-breaking performance from Da Costa, but it was a pretty solid one.

Ariel Lassiter: 8.4

The Costa Rican winger has played in 6 Leagues Cup games for the Portland Timbers. He has scored 5 goals in those 6 games. There’s a reason why they call him “Leagues Cup Lassiter.”

He was the only attacker in the 5-man attacking group (consisting of the wingers, striker, and advanced midfielders) to play the full 90. I came back from the World Cup break slightly concerned about Lassiter’s ability to play on the right, but he’s improved in that role in every game. I still believe that the Timbers need to sign a high-quality right winger, but Lassiter is making up for the minutes he missed out on during the Apertura with excellent performances in each passing game.

I’d like to highlight the run he made for the goal. Under Neville’s stewardship, Lassiter’s excellent off-ball runs would often get ignored. Now, with Cifuentes encouraging these movements, the Costa Rican winger will continue to feast. He timed that run perfectly, and was rewarded with a legitimate tap-in.

Kristoffer Velde: Punished

His rating isn't conducive to his head coach or his teammates. Instead, it’s directly referring to the referee.

For whatever reason, Kristoffer Velde will never get fairly treated by match officials. I don’t understand why. Within the first 20 minutes of this game, he had already drawn four fouls (and it should have been more). He gets dragged down, pulled back, pushed from behind, and is the target of other infractions on a game-to-game basis while barely getting justice for his suffering. His yellow card came when he finally was able to lay a shoulder check of his own on Porozo after getting beaten up throughout the first half. If he retaliates once, he gets punished. Meanwhile, loads of defenders are allowed to hack him to bits. It doesn’t make sense.

Now we have to talk about the most controversial decision from this game. In the 54th minute, Kelsy held the ball on the edge of the box while Velde made an underlapping run. Mejia was defending, and decided to try and hold Velde back by hitting him in the face. This contact was made outside of the penalty area, so no penalty could be awarded. Mejia grabs his own face after Velde goes down because he’s shameless and he’s trying to trick the referee into not giving a foul. That’s exactly what the referee chooses to do. He only stops play because two players are on the ground. The VAR official is looking at this play for a potential red card. The referee doesn’t get sent to the monitor despite Mejia’s complete ignorance of trying to play the ball and playing the man instead. Velde would be subbed off directly after, and play would resume with a Tijuana free kick. Complete bullshit.

Right after Velde goes to the bench, he punches the plastic paneling. He’d go to the locker room minutes later. Could it be injury related, or just some frustration? I’m leaning towards the latter. The Norwegian’s introduction to Leagues Cup has just been a complete beating off the ball and barely seeing any justice for it. I’d be fuming too.

Kevin Kelsy: 9

Before today’s game started, Tom Bogert of The Athletic reported that Scottish club Rangers lodged a bid of “around $10M” for Portland’s Venezuelan striker. That price was comically low, and it was rejected for two reasons: Kelsy doesn’t want to leave and the Timbers don’t want to sell.

Portland doesn’t want to sell because getting this level of production from a U22 striker is the type of value that general managers and salary cap enthusiasts live for. Kelsy doesn’t want to leave because he likes his standing in Portland, where he’s a guaranteed starter if healthy, and because he doesn’t want to move again. He’s played in 3 different countries for 4 different clubs in the past 6 years. He’s only 22 years old. The desire for some form of continuity has been granted. Why would he want to leave now, especially if RANGERS is the club that wants him?

However, because he is a soccer player, I have to talk about him like a financial asset for one brief second. Tonight’s performance bumped his valuation up by another couple million dollars. He was everywhere in the first half from a positioning standpoint, and his box movement single-handedly created two Portland goals. The first was a simple run to get ahead of a defender, and the second was a center back-splitting run that allowed him to get his head on a good Lassiter cross. He only played 66 minutes before getting subbed off. Three straight starts should follow in the next 10 days. Lordy.

Antony: 8

After scoring his 3rd goal of the season via an easy tap-in, Antony celebrated by brushing something off of his back. Of course, nothing was actually there, but you obviously knew what he was referring to.

It has been an objectively bad year for the Brazilian winger. He’s looked off the pace, bereft of confidence, and woeful at times. But a new head coach presents a new opportunity, and Antony is ready to take this chance by the scruff of the neck. “I’m here to work for this club. If I start, then I’ll go ahead and start and do the best I can. If I have to come off the bench as a sub, then I’ll do the best I can. I’m just here to work.” Tonight’s work resulted in 1g/1a. Pretty good shift.

But he did that damage while playing on the left wing, which is the spot he prefers. However, he entered tonight’s game as a right winger, and he got on the end of an excellent Caicedo diagonal in the 63rd minute to provide a cross into the box. It was cleared, but it was a good run and pass attempt.

However, there is still another thing to mention. He got into another 1v1 in the 68th minute, a chance that was wasted because he refused to use his left foot. Cifuentes has to get him working on that. 

I hope tonight’s game is a boost to his confidence. He’s going to be very important over the next 10 days with so much schedule congestion. 

Omir Fernandez: 7.5

Fernandez’s return from injury was perfectly timed to coincide with Cifuentes’ arrival. There is every reason to believe that the Bronx Messi is about to become a crucial squad player under the new head coach.

His skillset is perfectly suited to playing as one of the advanced midfielders. He presses really well. He makes excellent off-ball runs. He can deliver the ball to counterattacking threats. The Timbers are suddenly loaded at the midfield roles, which is a humongous positive considering how weak their midfield depth was over the last few years. Fernandez was a breath of fresh air off the bench. 18/19 passes completed, 1 tackle, 1 block, 2 recoveries, 2/3 ground duels won, and 1 drawn foul. I can’t wait for more Omir. 

Joao Ortiz: 8.3

The Ecuadorian midfielder was brought to Portland as a defensive midfielder. However, he excelled as one of the 8s. He should’ve had two assists, for God’s sake!

Ortiz has always loved a good through ball, and he played two fantastic ones tonight. One turned into the 1v1 that Antony missed, and the other was a hockey assist for Lassiter’s goal. He made 5 ball recoveries and completed 23/24 passes. Goodness. He also got a yellow card in the 89th minute, and it was a very worthy challenge. He would not let Preciado get past him, so he just kept battling and got a yellow for his efforts. An awesome performance from the Ecuadorian.

Vincent Janssen: 6.8

In his introductory press conference, the Dutch striker said that he wasn’t afraid to track back and potentially pick up yellow cards. Within his first minute on the pitch, he tracked back, made an excellent tackle, but was inexplicably called for a foul. Life isn’t fair.

On the attacking end, he hasn’t quite found the chemistry with his new teammates yet. But it was another encouraging cameo from the newest Timber. I don’t think he starts any of the next three matches, but he should be coming off the bench in all of them.

Sawyer Jura: 6.7

The academy graduate played left back tonight, and completed 7/8 passes. I’m slightly worried about his defending and ability to hold his own physically against much bigger players. But it’s always nice to see academy players get first-team minutes. Maybe his future in Cifuentes’ system is playing in that inverted right back role. He has the technical quality to play there, after all. But that doesn’t preclude him from playing left back either. “I played a lot of left back in the academy, and I actually made my debut at left back in 2024. So it’s kind of been pretty natural for me,” he told reporters post-game. Hopefully some more first-team minutes are coming for him soon.

Coach Rating: 8.5

Maybe this rating should be higher given how many of his core principles the team has already been able to adapt after only TWO TRAINING SESSIONS. But a lot of that foundation was laid by Cassidy. I was also concerned at his willingness to start such a strong lineup, even if his post-game justification is pretty sound. “It’s very important to have a winning mentality in everything we do. So I take very seriously every competition, every game, every training, every small-sided game, every drill. For me it’s important to have that edge. So I didn’t want, in my first game, to send a message that this game wasn’t important.”

The format of Leagues Cup is more to blame for the unimportance of this game than Cifuentes is. He knows that. I’m happy that the team was able to escape without any major injury scares. I’m also happy that the team executed the majority of his principles to a high degree. The upcoming week will be a major test, but this is as good of a start as he could hope for. He also walked off the field with a log slice. A worthy souvenir for his first victory with his new team. 

The continued evolution of this team is still the main focus. Laying the building blocks for his ideal vision was definitely accomplished tonight. Let’s see how the team continues to improve on those principles and becomes even more cohesive.

Table Time

Do I really need to show the table? I guess. Sure, why not.

6 points from 3 games is good enough for 6th place. Evander did move to Cincinnati to win titles (at least that’s what he told reporters), and I think I see Cincinnati one spot below Portland. Funny how that works. No use wasting any breath on Seattle or Vancouver, who are firmly in the basement. Chicago beat Cruz Azul to finish as the only MLS team with 3 wins in the league phase. Austin climbed into 2nd after beating Club America on penalty kicks. I’m very annoyed by that. Columbus and RSL round out the top four. If this god-forsaken tournament has to continue existing, the least they can do is expand the knockout stage to 16 teams. Very annoying that one bad half can leave you hanging on for dear life.

Google provides us with our Liga MX table because the Fotmob one is inaccurate. Chicago’s late winner against Cruz Azul (who were doing the chant within the first 15 minutes of the game) knocked out La Maquina and pushed Monterrey into the knockout stages. Leon was the only Liga MX team to win all three league phase games. Two of Portland’s opponents sit in 17th and 18th, while the other one is in 2nd. Ugh. 

Final Whistle

The 6-game (7-game) homestand is over. What did y’all think of it?

I think it started strong (with a victory in Seattle) with a hard-fought draw against Dallas that the Timbers should have won if it wasn’t for that pesky crossbar. A vindicating 2-1 win against RSL provided a fond farewell for a beloved club legend. A satisfying 2-1 win against Seattle sent the Sounders further into despair that they haven’t quite clawed out of. Puebla was a fun game, Club America was annoying, and tonight was a start of a new era with a Timbers team ready to learn from their new head coach.

But the atmosphere of these last two home games haven’t resembled a proper Portland atmosphere at all. Club America was the more egregious of the two, but tonight’s game featured two things that I absolutely despise: away fans in the North End and the goddamn Wave.

After El Ghezouani scored to give Tijuana the lead, a fair amount of celebration could be seen in the North End. Despicable. Two sections have already been given away as “assigned seating” and it doesn’t help that those two sections are very visible on TV. The North End has always been for Timbers fans. And it always should be.

Before I talk about the stupid Wave, I have to mention the absence of tonight’s supposed main attraction. Gilberto Mora didn’t even suit up, yet his name rang throughout the stadium multiple times. Did anyone really think that Tijuana’s best player, who is currently courting European interest, would dress for a game that mattered even less to the visiting team than it did for the Timbers? 

People, somehow, still enjoy the Wave in 2026. The Wave should never happen at Providence Park. It is corny, stupid, and annoying. I’m amazed that it made FIVE FULL LAPS (yes, I counted) around the stadium tonight. I feel embarrassed when I see it on TV. The Wave shouldn’t exist anymore. We have progressed past the need for it as a society. Is there any logic in this reasoning? No, not at all. Just pure hatred.

Meanwhile, the Portland Timbers were able to get a victory for their new head coach in a game that didn’t really matter in terms of table position or the “Leagues Cup.” But now the MLS season resumes, and a big trip to Chicago is on the docket. That’s followed by two days of rest and a game at home against San Diego on Wednesday. Then it’s another two days of rest and a trip to LAFC on Saturday. Two normal gameweeks follow before another double gameweek in early September. The transfer window is open for three more weeks. The momentum has carried over through Leagues Cup. It’s time to get back to business. Marti Cifuentes is here, and he wants to win everything in sight. The climb continues.