BEAVERTON, Ore. — Upon further review, the Portland Timbers did a lot of things right against the Los Angeles Galaxy in Sunday’s 2-2 draw with the MLS Cup champions.
That is the assessment of coach Caleb Porter, who on Tuesday said there is a lot to like about the way his team has played in opening the Major League Soccer season with a pair of home draws.
“Right now for me, I’m pleased with the overall performance against two very good teams,” Porter said after his team began preparations for a Saturday visit to Sporting Kansas City.
Even in reviewing the start of the second half, when the Galaxy had Portland under consistent pressure, Porter said his club handled the challenge better than it appeared at first glance.
“I thought actually we had a nice composure about us defensively. When I went back and watched it I felt like even though they had more possession to start the second half we weren’t getting broken down. So that was pleasing,” Porter said.
Less pleasing was the inability to maintain possession and relieve the Galaxy’s forward push.
“We need to do a better job of keeping the ball and managing the game and getting up the field,” Porter said.
That challenge was the reason Porter inserted Gaston Fernandez for Dairon Asprilla in the 56th minute, shifting Darlington Nagbe to Asprilla’s right wing position.
Ultimately, one defensive breakdown in the 65th minute led to Gyasi Zardes’ tying goal. On Tuesday Porter said Jose Villarreall had too much time and space to curl the left-footed cross that Zardes scored from by beating goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey to the ball in the air.
“Going into the game we knew width was going to be key and defending their flank play,” Porter said. “They got a cross off. Ultimately we needed to manage the cross better.”
The roller-coaster emotion of the end of the match didn’t linger into Tuesday’s training session, Porter said.
“What I saw out of the guys today and what I felt … is that once it sinks in we’ll realize it’s not a bad result. It’s a draw against a very good team.”
Notes
Porter said that midfielder Michael Nanchoff underwent surgery on Tuesday for a sports hernia and is expected to be sidelined four to six weeks.
Nanchoff’s absence further depletes Portland’s attacking options off the bench. Porter reiterated Tuesday that the team might still sign another attacking player, though he did not specify a time line.
Porter said that there should be several more roster announcements, both for the Timbers and for Timbers 2 — ahead of the Timbers 2 March 29 USL opener. Any announcement should include the status of defender Danny O’Rourke, who continues to train with the Timbers.
Injured midfielders Diego Valeri and Will Johnson continued to go through fitness rehabilitation drills on the side during training on Tuesday, then took turns feeding each other passes to practice shooting. Porter has not offered any specifics on the return of either to full training, and has said it will likely take at least a month of full training before either can return to the lineup.
