An Exercise in Bricklaying

Two years ago, the Portland Timbers defeated the Colorado Rapids 4-1 in their season opener at Providence Park. Last year, the Portland Timbers lost to the Vancouver Whitecaps by the same scoreline in their season opener at Providence Park. Like both of their previous season openers at Phil Neville, tonight’s game occurred at Providence Park and featured five goals. But that’s where the similarities end. Tonight’s 3-2 victory against the Columbus Crew was unlike any of Neville’s previous season openers.

Recap

Kristoffer Velde began the festivities in the 2nd minute with some flair. He rouletted past a Columbus defender and found Felipe Mora, but the Chilean’s shot sailed over the goal. The Norwegian desperately wanted to open the scoring, and he did exactly that. Just not in the way that he hoped. A backpass towards debutant Alex Bonetig was intercepted by Wessam Abou Ali, who motored past Bonetig and a retreating Finn Surman to slot the ball past James Pantemis with his weaker foot in the 6th minute. Far from the most optimal way to begin the game. However, it was one mistake, and the Timbers immediately set out to rectify it. 

Not immediately, mind you. Pantemis was called into action two minutes later as he denied a shot from distance from Diego Rossi to keep Columbus' lead at 1. A 9th-minute Marcelo Herrera volley whistled wide of the net to try and double Columbus’ lead. Off the resulting goalkick, the ball was worked to Felipe Mora, who launched a ball down the right side for Antony to run onto. The Brazilian’s cross found Velde in the box, who took a touch and put the full weight of his foot behind the ball as he fired it towards the near post. Patrick Schulte was on hand to palm the ball away, and the Timbers earned a corner kick. The Timbers won the second ball from that corner kick, but Diego Chara’s arcing diagonal ball to the back post wasn’t met by anyone. More back-and-forth play occurred before the Timbers got a deserved equalizer.

Velde sent a cross to the back post which got headed away by Rudy Camacho and cleared directly up the middle by Max Arfsten. Chara won the second ball, which resulted in a one-touch flick towards Gage Guerra. The Houston native tried to hit the ball on the volley, but his attempt resulted in the ball flying upward in the box. Mora reacted quickest and smashed home a point-blank volley of his own to tie the game in the 14th minute.

This game had more goals in it, so the next one was very important. It was Portland’s turn to take the lead though. In the 20th minute, Pantemis’ long ball was recovered by the Crew. Velde made a good challenge on Dylan Chambost to dispossess the Frenchman. Cole Bassett, also making his debut, latched onto the loose ball and charged forward before spraying a pass out wide to Antony on the right wing. The Brazilian had plenty of space, and slotted the ball past Schulte at the American goalkeeper’s far post. From 1-0 down to 2-1 up in a flash.

The Timbers had opportunities to add to their lead. Brandon Bye sent a perfect ground cross through the box in the 28th minute, but Guerra couldn’t get his feet right and was unable to get a shot off from point-blank range. Their best chance came in the 41st minute. Mora chipped a pass forward and Guerra rose up to flick it into space for Velde. The Norwegian bombed forward and chipped Schulte, but the flag came up for offside. More on that later. The flag gave Columbus a reprieve, and they took full advantage. Three minutes later, the Crew were on the attack. Abou Ali’s tidy spin allowed the ball to fall to Rossi, who unloaded an excellent effort that beat Pantemis at the return address area of his net. Pantemis got a hand to it, but the power behind the shot was too strong. Both teams entered halftime with 2 goals and the urge to push for a winner in the second half.

That second half began with a Columbus spell of domination. Portland only registered four shots during the second half, and only two of those occurred between halftime and the 87th minute. Both were long-range attempts from outside the box, taken by Chara and Antony respectively. However, despite Columbus’ dominance, they failed to register a single shot on goal during the second half. Maybe one of their chances should’ve counted as a shot in hindsight. The Crew worked the ball around the box in the 72nd minute, and Max Arfsten found Picard on the left. Picard’s attempt looked like a cross and was quickly gobbled up by Pantemis. It was the most dangerous chance the Crew had in the second period of play. The second half was largely played in Portland’s own half, but they got their second wind as the clock began to wind down. A corner kick delivery from Velde in the 87th minute was flicked at goal by Bassett, but Schulte protected his near post and the ball was cleared. 

That was merely a setup to the finale. In the 88th minute, a Velde cross was cleared and the loose ball fell to Jimer Fory. The Colombian left back sent in a peachy cross towards Kevin Kelsy in the middle of the box. However, Malte Amundsen was trailing the gigantic Venezuelan and shoved him in the back while the cross was in flight. Kelsy fell towards the ground but managed to flick the ball backwards into an empty box. Ariel Lassiter arrived on the scene like a firefighter and slammed it past Schulte with one touch (and the aid of a grounded Amundsen). 3-2, 88th minute. The Timbers defended for the remainder of the game and began their season with a massive 3 points at home.

The Intense Press/Heavy Legs

The difference between the first and second halves is pretty stark. Portland’s decisive attacks were calmed by a multitude of factors. The tactical reason was Henrik Rydstrom’s recognition of Mora’s influence and the amount of space he had to operate. So Mora became man-marked in the second half, which frustrated Portland’s attempts to attack. That’s a tactical change, but it isn’t entirely why Portland’s attack struggled. Sure, Columbus upped the intensity of their press as well. But the Timbers attack, built around speed, simply ran out of gas.

This was evident in the 51st minute, when Velde broke away and embarked on a lengthy carry from his own half to the outside of Columbus’ box. Sean Zawadski was able to keep pace with him and eventually won the ball. Portland tried to work their usual combinations as well (which were outstanding in the first half) but found it hard to escape their own third. Finn Surman made a living out of protecting Portland’s box in the second half, with some other nifty defending from Bonetig, Fory, Chara, Bassett and Bye. But the biggest takeaway from this game occurred in the first half.

The Press

Throughout the entirety of last year, I railed against Neville’s 4-2-4 pressing structure. However, in this game, against a five-man backline, it worked wonders. They forced the Crew to go long, and they put themselves in good positions to win second balls. It didn’t work 100% of the time, but it was effective enough to give the Timbers a semblance of control off the ball that they didn’t have in 2025. And that press helped create chances too!

They’re pressing on their own clearances now. It’s wonderful.

The success of the press against a technically-drilled ball-dominant team like the Crew has to be noted. I’m interested to see how well it travels too.

Box Tilt

To begin the Box Tilt Tracker, we’re going to take the full game stat and break it down half-by-half. If you didn’t read my season preview (go do that, right now, pause everything, it isn't THAT long), I mentioned that I wanted to track the differential between touches in the box for both teams in every game this year. Box tilt is basically field tilt but only counting touches in the opposition box. 

Columbus won the box tilt battle tonight, registering a 43-20 advantage. However, they only led 18-16 at halftime. This speaks to the strength of Portland’s press and their ability to generate quick and effective attacks. The Timbers took 6 shots inside the box during the first half compared to Columbus’ 3. The majority of Columbus’ box dominance came in the second half by a whopping 25-4 margin. They also outshot Portland in the box during the second half as well (4-2). What can be learned from this?

I don’t exactly know yet besides the takeaways I’ve already listed above. The final score is what mattered the most, and the Timbers had the best chance of the second half (which they scored). That’s the beauty of tracking a completely made-up metric. I want to see what story it will tell over a long period of time. Tonight’s observations were rather surface-level. I wonder what next week will bring. Yay! Fun with numbers!

Player Ratings

James Pantemis: 7.2

One number matters more to Pantemis tonight: 29. That’s because tonight was his 29th birthday! On the field, his team got the win. He didn’t play a massive part in it, but he did make 2 saves. Two moments did stand out. A 38th-minute miscommunication when he didn’t come off his line to collect a cross almost resulted in disaster. The same descriptor can be used in the 72nd minute when he bobbled Picard’s shot and nearly gifted a goal to the Crew before hopping on the ball to secure it. In hockey, the goaltender can freeze the puck and force a face-off. That 72nd minute recovery was the closest I’ve seen to a puck freeze in a soccer game. I’m sure Pantemis can take some solace in that given, you know, Canada. 3 points is always an excellent birthday gift.

Brandon Bye: 9.2

If Guerra or Antony was able to tap home his delightful cross in the 28th minute, he would’ve earned a 9.5. That would’ve counted as an assist, but no assist means no “9.5” rating. Once again, the number ratings don’t matter. What does matter is Bye’s outstanding defensive showing in his Timbers debut. He got booked in the 29th minute but didn’t come remotely close to putting himself at the mercy of Allen Chapman for the rest of the game. That’s how a veteran is supposed to play.

His back-post interventions saved the Timbers quite a bit tonight, and his attacking contributions were just as important. I don’t think you can ask for a better showcase of a new player’s ability. 

Cole Bassett: 9.5

He got the assist, so he gets the 9.5. Unfair, but fair at the same time.

Like Bye, Bassett also got to showcase all of the skills he brings to the table. Pressing, passing, dribbling, directing, he does it all. Phil Neville doesn’t want to assign a role to what he does. In the coach’s mind, he’s just a central midfielder who does every single job a midfielder is supposed to do. Next week he goes back to Colorado. I’m shivering with anticipation. 

Alex Bonetig: 9

Bonetig got better and better as the game went on, and was the only debutant to get substituted. It was probably for fitness reasons. Did you know that he did the Nagbe in his first game? He completed 53/53 passes (100% pass accuracy)! After being billed as a ball-playing center back, the Australian put in a masterclass on the ball. He even completed a dribble! There were some defensive issues (like his failure to close down Rossi on Columbus’ equalizer) but those can be ironed out over time. Like his fellow debutants, he left a big impression. Did you notice that Abou Ali became much less effective in the second half after Neville switched his marker from Surman to Bonetig? I can’t be the only one.

Finn Surman: 8.8

Ho, hum, another 13 clearances and some excellent defensive work. I still think his passing is a work in progress, but his on-ball proficiency isn’t as important with ball-playing Bonetig at his side. Surman routinely retreated during possession to act as the base as the fullbacks pushed higher up. The responsibility for Abou Ali’s goal can’t be laid at his feet entirely. It was a great way for the Kiwi to begin his second season as a starter: picking up right where he left off.

Jimer Fory: 8.3

Fory offered more defensively than he did offensively in this game, and that’s taking the game-winning delivery into account. MLS will probably count that as a secondary assist (or they won’t, because this league is anything but consistent). Speaking of consistency, the day that Fory can consistently make a difference in the attack will unlock a different dimension to the Timbers. I think he’s the best technical crosser of the ball on the team (Ian Smith is behind him by just a hair). He struggled with quickly making decisions today, which led to some dithering on the ball. That’s a minor nit-pick. His primary role is to defend, and he tied for the team lead in ball recoveries (8). And he didn’t commit a single foul. 

Diego Chara: ∞

How do you quantify greatness? Is it achieved by simply being outstanding at your craft? Or does there need to be a longevity aspect? Diego Chara will never be anything but great. Tonight marked his 400th start for the Timbers; a MLS record for any field player with one club. He could’ve ticked off another milestone tonight, but he avoided Chapman’s notebook and will have to wait even longer to tie Kyle Beckerman’s MLS yellow card record. Broadcaster Danny Higginbotham described Chara as a “fine wine.” No. That’s somehow not enough. He is a perfectly aged wheel of Parmigiano Reggiano, which perfectly complements every dish that gets prepared in the kitchen. Those dishes need that last sprinkle of cheese, much like how the Timbers needed Diego Chara (IN THE 87TH MINUTE, MIND YOU) to beat Max Arfsten in a 1v1 race to a loose ball in Portland’s third. Not everyone likes wine, you know. But everyone loves Diego Chara.

Antony: 8.1

The Brazilian winger loves to score goals and win games of soccer. But he’s also developed a propensity for completing side quests. Tonight he became the only player to score a goal with every jersey sponsor in club history on his chest. The only player that can match him is Eryk Williamson, who is still without a club after hitting free agency in the winter. Hey, Eryk, if you’re reading this, do you want to complete the Infinity Gauntlet of Jersey Sponsors? 

Back to the main story. It’s only natural to begin the Antony segment with a side quest of my own. The Brazilian was deployed on the right tonight, which led to a bit of myth-busting. Somehow there’s a pervasive belief that Antony can only play on the left. After watching some of his right-sided displays last year and taking tonight’s outing into account, I can confirm that this theory is completely wrong. He scored a well-taken goal and provided a serious threat on the right side.

However, he does have to adapt his game a little bit when deployed on his strong side. Right-wing Antony is better utilized as an off-ball menace used to stretch the field rather than being a dribbler, creator, and finisher like he is on the left. Both Antonys have a place on this team. He made the most of this role tonight. And he added in 5 ball recoveries for good measure. Consider tonight’s outing between “Colorado Rapids” and “Too Much Sauce” on the Antony Meter.

Kristoffer Velde: 7.3

Let’s begin with the good. The player who tied Fory for the team lead in ball recoveries was Velde. As the team’s lone healthy DP, he provided the energy that the attacking corps drew from in the first half. Some of his corner kick deliveries were good. And he’s the most threatening player that the Timbers have in the attack. If the ball is at his feet, good things mostly happen.

However, he did commit a serious error on Columbus’ first goal. He didn’t contribute as much as he probably should have in the attack. But his role as a DP is to raise the ceiling. The ceiling of this team wasn’t fully raised in this game, but a very strong floor still led the Timbers to victory. 

Felipe Mora: 9.2

Mora stepped into a seemingly unfamiliar role tonight, but there was one key difference: he had a player higher up the pitch.

Neville talked about partnerships in the post-game press conference, and he spoke about how Mora’s partnership with Guerra informed his decision to hand the Louisville graduate his first MLS start tonight. Both players complement each other really well. When Mora is leading the line, he already has a tendency to drop deep and link play. This can affect his ability to also function as an outlet. With Mora sitting behind a line-leading striker, he suddenly has more space to orchestrate. Let’s go back to Velde’s offside goal for a second. Mora plays the initial ball that Guerra flicks to Velde to create the fast break. This type of sequence can only occur if Mora is not the line-leader. Although Velde was offside, it was one of the prettiest sequences of the game. Mora was still able to get high and be a goal threat, and he got a goal of his own. Even better, his newborn daughter was able to watch him play for the first time. Hopefully she remembers it.

Mora’s tireless determination to always do what’s best for the team always stands out. Tonight, it put him in an unfamiliar role but also gave him the keys to properly succeed. He is a pillar of the squad, and that makes him priceless.

Gage Guerra: 7.1

In his first MLS start, Guerra showed his strengths and weaknesses. Let’s go through the strengths first. The Texan is a tireless runner and proved to be a key piece of Portland’s press. He has a nose for the ball and shows excellent quick decision-making. The instincts of a proper goalscorer are evident. In addition, Guerra can really jump and contest aerial duels despite only being listed at 5’10”. 

However, he isn’t the best technically. He flubbed a volley that turned into an assist due to the strengths of his teammate. I think this profile is geared towards “impact sub” rather than “regular starter” at this point of his Timbers career. But he did provide a goal involvement and looked like a very good player in this game. And he’s only going to keep getting better.

Ariel Lassiter: 8.5

Game-winning goals carry a lot of weight. Lassiter’s opportunistic effort, born out of reaction and veteran guile, gave the Timbers two extra points and a victory. But I’d like to highlight something he did after the goal that caught my eye. As the Timbers were fending off a late push from Columbus, he made a crucial ball recovery and immediately tried to spring a counterattack. More on that later. He went the entirety of 2025 without tallying a MLS goal for the Timbers. It took him 15 minutes to score in 2026. 

After the game, Lassiter spoke about some differences between last year and this year. One quote stood out above all the others: “This year we know that we’re a team that’s going to have to fight.”

Kevin Kelsy: 8

During Wednesday’s open training session, Kelsy donned a headband. I was hoping that he would wear it in today’s game, but it was nowhere to be seen. He’s gotta wear that headband just for aura points alone. I haven’t checked the legality of such a cranial garment, but if Jack Grealish and Todd Cantwell can wear those stupid hairbands Kevin Kelsy should be allowed (and heavily encouraged) to wear a headband. 

Kelsy assisted the game-winner in perfect fashion. While falling over due to a blatant shove from behind, he kept his wits about him and knew exactly where to redirect the ball as the ground swiftly approached. That’s what stood out to me the most from his 20-minute cameo: his decision-making. Although he didn’t always execute to the best possible extent, I can’t fault the decisions that he made. In a different world, he wins the game-winning penalty kick. But providing a game-winning assist in this fashion might be even better. 

Kamal Miller: 7

Tonight was a learning experience for the Canadian veteran, but not on the field. As I was ascending from the service level after the post-game pressers, I overheard a conversation between Miller and Sawyer Jura. The academy graduate was explaining the concept of “limbs” to the seasoned professional. Miller has absolutely seen what Jura was describing (a supporter’s section going absolutely crazy after a crucial goal) but now he finally has the proper term embedded in his mind. Anyone can be a teacher, and anyone can be a student.

Miller was only on the field for 9 minutes, but he picked up right where Bonetig left off. He played an excellent line-breaking pass for Kelsy to spring an attack while the game was still tied. It resulted in a blocked cross and a corner kick, but Miller did his job. He made the most of his time on the field.

Joao Ortiz: 7

Ditto for Ortiz, who began his second season with the Timbers as a late-game sub. He made 1 ball recovery and completed both of his pass attempts. One of which was a tantalizing through ball. 

Ian Smith: N/A

Smith was only on the field for three minutes, and he acted as the primary outlet while the Timbers had the lead after Lassiter’s goal. Ortiz’s attempted through ball caught Smith in stride, but Zawadski made a good challenge to win the ball back. He was also the target of a Bassett through ball (Colorado-to-Colorado connection, the Rocky Mountain Express?) but that also ended with some tidy Columbus defending. Like Ortiz, he made the most of his limited time on the field.

Coach Rating: 8

A new season brings a new “Coach Rating” baseline. I feel like an 8 is a pretty good rating to start the new season. Neville never deviated from the designed structure. When subs were made, players would shift roles but the structure remained intact. Mora, Velde, and Bassett each played as a 10 tonight. David Da Costa's absence forced Neville to keep shuffling the second line. Each of those players played the position differently, but the wingers kept their positions out wide to allow the 10 to act as a role that didn't change regardless of which player found themselves in the pocket. By acting as the primary outlet, the 10 can constantly be involved in attacking moves. A consistent structure makes it easier to rotate players into the same role because players develop understanding of where their teammates will be. Tonight was a huge victory for the structure.

That’s a very positive note to begin the new season. I thought the game-plan was sound and the concessions were mostly due to individual errors. I’m going to be more forgiving of those individual errors due to three new starters in the team. That might change if they keep occurring as the season goes on, but it’s only the first game. And they won!

Final Whistle

Some of you probably want to see the league table. It doesn’t matter until after 5 games. There literally isn’t anything to take away from it aside from which teams had to play Spoon contenders and which teams stumbled out of the starting gates.

Neither of those criteria applied to Portland. By the end of the season, the Columbus Crew will be a playoff team, maybe in the top 4. That designation carries a lot more weight in the Eastern Conference. And the Timbers did what they had to do tonight: win a game and start on the right foot.

Portland’s early season schedule is brutal. Next week they fly to Colorado before turning around to face their recent humiliators: Vancouver. If you asked me prior to this game what I wanted to see the most, I would’ve responded with the following: a win, multiple goals, a strong out-of-possession identity, and good showings from the new signings. All of those bullet holes were successfully achieved.

The narrative of tonight’s game also played a huge part in how monumental the victory was. Last season, the Timbers couldn’t stop dropping points at home. So an early concession was not the brightest way to begin the new season. But the Timbers fought back after taking the early punch and landed two solid blows of their own. However, adversity struck again courtesy of an elite DP. 

Columbus has all three of their DPs; two of whom started and were fascinating to watch. The third came off the bench and didn’t do much aside from overhitting a slip pass out of bounds for a goalkick. Portland could only field one DP, which is another thing for the coaching staff to hang their hats on. 

The entirety of the second half was an exercise in learning. Columbus kept pushing for a winner, but they couldn’t even find the target. The Timbers summoned their last bit of willpower to find a game-winning goal in the 88th minute.

Let’s talk about that game-winner, because it was utterly unique among late goals I’ve seen at Providence Park. Somehow, it didn’t feel like a proper game-winner. Maybe it was the penalty shout that occurred seconds before the ball hit the back of the net. Sure, I was thrilled to see the ball go in, but I didn’t react (not outwardly, no cheering in the pressbox) like it was a proper game-winning goal. I felt like another shoe was about to drop despite my brain telling me, “They’re totally winning this game now.” Is that due to Providence Park’s status as a vulnerable castle? Did I need to wait to see the whistle blow? Was I protecting myself from the trauma of a late equalizer? By all rights, the Timbers had won. But they technically hadn’t. And it truly wasn’t over until it was over.

The Timbers spent time in every game state tonight. They had to claw back from a deficit, take the lead, try to extend their lead, fight for their lead back, and finally take it again and desperately try to protect it. Games like this can really teach you a lot about a team's mentality. I think the most impressive part of this victory was the mental strength that the team showed. For a coach that often leans on mentality above all else, tonight must have been especially heartwarming for him. There are still growing pains that this team has to endure. But if there's one thing that they can always keep building on, it's the mental side of the game. They got parked in their own half for the majority of the second half, but still managed to provide a final push to go get the win. A victory to feel proud of.

Providence Park gifted the Timbers fanbase another special moment to kick off its 100th anniversary. In doing so, another brick was provided to rebuild the fortress. That brick was delivered by an entire team, not the individual brilliance of players. The new boys showed up and set a high standard with their first impressions. They are the newest bricklayers in a squad that wants to honor the sacred building that is their professional home. No one is supposed to worship their place of work. But in this job, reverence is necessary. Especially if you are a Portland Timber. The climb continues.