The Thorns got the elusive win. Is all good now?

Portlandia might be relieved that the Thorns finally got the W. The four goals and the three points gotten last Saturday fell good and for one day, fans and players felt these were the all-mighty Thorns again.

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“Viejos son los trapos”

That’s a Spanish saying that means something like “old are the rags” and we use it when a person diminishes what someone can or cannot do because of her age.

In the first game of Rob Gale as interim coach, he decided to start Christine Sinclair, something that hadn’t happened since the beginning of the season. Many fans are opposed to starting Sinclair and they have their (valid) reasons. However, Portland’s perennial captain demonstrated she still has gas in the tank.

It was moving to see her scoring the opening tally in these dark times and hitting her chest multiple times while pointing to the Portland’s badge in her shirt. That goal was special but I guess Sinclair didn’t know she was breaking yet another record. According to Opta, she became the only player to score in all 11 regular seasons in NWSL history after scoring that goal.

What about that? She’s 40 years old and she’s still putting her name in the fútbol history books. 

Is this just a ‘Merage’?

Pun intended, sorry not sorry.

The win against Houston was great. Getting the win after four matches was certainly a relief and more so because it was at Providence Park.

How much of a boost was having a new coach? It certainly played a part but it’s also true that Houston has been one of the weakest teams this season and what is more, the fact that they lost their star player – even if she wasn’t playing that well lately – just days ago also played a part.

Of course, the players and fans should be happy about the win but if we’re honest, the Dash is not the team they want to measure themselves with. They need a convincing win against a top team to show for the first time this season that they mean business.

Chicago Red Stars, their next opponent, is third in the table and Portland will have to face Mallory Swanson & Co. Swanson has proved to be just as exciting as Sophia Smith and this will be a good test for the Thorns, to see what they’re made of.

Swanson has already beaten one of the Cascadia clubs this season (twice). Last weekend, she scored a goal and registered one assist to help her team get the win against Seattle and for sure she’ll want to get another three points against a club the Red Stars have a lot of history with.

Portland has been the Red Stars owner all these years, having lost only two out of 26 all-time regular season matches against the Red Stars, including the last three in a row by a combined score of 10-2. What is more, the Thorns have scored in 23 regular season games against them, the longest streak for any team against a single opponent in NWSL history (Opta).

Additionally to Swanson, they will have to defend Ally Schlegel, someone Sam Coffey knows pretty well from her days at Penn State. Back then, she was one of the main targets to feed her with the ball and she scored quite enough goals for the Nittany Lions. Nowadays, she’s one of the top scorers on the team along with Swanson (two goals each).

For sure those two will seek to change Portland’s unbeaten streak against their team and the Red Stars will help us to determine if the win against the Dash was just a mirage or not.

The attack was never a problem

It’s funny how now that Timbers and Thorns are under different owners, they couldn’t be more alike. The Thorns have always been more successful and the Timbers have lived under their shadow. Nonetheless, both are going through similar issues now.

As we have seen since match one, the Thorns’ attack was never the problem. Although it is true they were held scoreless against Gotham and North Carolina despite the many chances they produced, they can score multiple goals and more so against weak defenses such as Houston’s.

However, no matter how many or few matches Gale stays as interim head coach, he will do Portland a favor by trying to solve the defense problem. Will he settle for Isabella Obaze and Becky Sauerbrunn as the starter centreback duo or will he try new things down the season? 

For sure, everything will depend on how those two perform against tougher opponents and the next game against Chicago might be the perfect test. Long gone are the Red Stars we saw last season. They’re playing with a chip on their shoulder and according to Opta, with the 10 points through five games, they’re off to their best start since 2016. In comparison with their 2023 season, it took them 14 games to reach 13 points and if they win against Portland, they will reach that mark in only six matches.

What are the Thorns chances to get a win at SeatGeek Stadium on Saturday? Well, even though Portland’s last road win happened in Chicago, it happened last June. What is more, the team is winless in eight straight away matches (D2 L6) including a four-match losing run.

In light of that, the odds are not good. However, this highly motivated Portland will do its best to leave this terrible start of the season behind.

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