The Portland Timbers (5-7-2, 17 points) put in their most comprehensive performance of the season Saturday to beat the Houston Dynamo (7-4-3, 24 points) 4-0 at Providence Park. The Timbers, who started the season with 12 straight games on the road, secured their first home win of the year in the game. Here are the Oregonian/OregonLive's five takeaways from the match.
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The Timbers put in their best performance of the season
The Timbers put on a show Saturday night to earn a big 4-0 win over the Dynamo at Providence Park. The Timbers dominated the game from the get-go and were the better team on both sides of the ball throughout the match. Portland outshot Houston 24-9 in the game. The Timbers have been steadily making progress since a horrific start to the season where they lost five straight games. Portland took another big step forward Saturday night, proving that it could not only overpower an opponent in the attack, but also keep a clean sheet. Both the Dynamo and the Timbers were missing some key players Saturday. Houston was particularly hard hit by absences around international duty. Still, that shouldn't diminish what Portland accomplished Saturday. The Dynamo have had a strong season so far and the Timbers completely outplayed them in the game, despite having to make several key lineup changes of their own. The energy, the mentality and the chemistry that the Timbers showed on the field was exciting. After starting the season with 12 straight games on the road due to construction at Providence Park, the Timbers will have a home-heavy schedule the rest of the way. On Saturday, they showed what they are capable of doing at Providence Park.
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Marvin Loria impressed in his debut
Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco was suspended Saturday due to yellow card accumulation, while midfielders Andy Polo and Andres Flores missed the game due to international duty. The absences opened the door for Marvin Loria, who made his MLS debut in the game. Loria certainly made the most of the opportunity. The 22-year-old winger scored Portland's opening goal before halftime and drew the penalty kick that led to the club's second goal. Loria looked dangerous and dynamic throughout the game in the attack as well. There has been a lot of excitement around Loria within the Timbers organization since the club inked him to a T2 contract in 2018. Loria signed a contract with the first team this year, but dealt with injuries earlier this season and didn't have a chance to test himself at the MLS level until Saturday. But Loria is now healthy and it looks as if he could be a real option in the attack for Portland moving forward. With Polo and Flores still away at Copa America and the Gold Cup, respectively, Loria could continue to see minutes, especially as the club deals with a compacted schedule over the next month. If he can build on his performance from Saturday, Loria will force Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese to make some tough lineup choices. Polo was a consistent starter during his first season with the Timbers in 2018, but has only made five starts this season as he has struggled to prove that he can be a goal scoring threat in the lineup. Flores has earned six starts this year and is a good depth piece to have in the midfield, but he isn't a goal scoring threat either. The competition for an attacking spot in the lineup has grown since the Timbers added star forward Brian Fernandez. Still, if Loria can continue to make the most of his opportunities, he has the chance to develop into a consistent contributor for the Timbers.
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Portland's attack is fun to watch right now
The Timbers have developed into a fearsome attacking unit over the last month. Portland has scored 15 goals over the last five games across all competitions. Striker Brian Fernandez is quickly proving himself as one of the best signings in Timbers' MLS history. He has scored in each of his six appearances for the Timbers, netting an incredible eight goals across all competitions since joining the club from Liga MX side Necaxa in May. Fernandez has scored in four straight MLS regular season games to begin his Timbers career as well, which ties an all-time league record. His teammates have also praised his attack-minded and fiery personality, which they've said has given the club a boost. But Fernandez isn't the only attacker stepping up in Portland's lineup right now. Diego Valeri has quietly come alive in the attack. Valeri recorded a goal and three assists in Saturday's game. He is now tied for the league-lead in assists with 10. Jeremy Ebobisse hasn't consistently been able to get on the scoresheet over the last month and a half, but he did manage to net a beautiful goal against Houston Saturday. He now has a goal and an assist in the last two games. Remarkably, the Timbers scored four goals Saturday without one of their best attackers as Sebastian Blanco missed the game due to yellow card accumulation. With those four players leading the way, it's hard to not be excited about Portland's attack right now.
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The Timbers finally earned a clean sheet
While Portland's attacking performance stole the show Saturday night, Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese made sure to talk about the defensive performance in his postgame press conference. Despite injuries to center back Bill Tuiloma and right back Zarek Valentin, the Timbers earned their first clean sheet of the season in MLS play Saturday. That's a key accomplishment for a club that started the year by conceding 17 goals in the first six games of the season. While Portland has been a lot better on defense over the last two months, the club still hadn't shown that it could shut out an MLS opponent before Saturday. Houston didn't even come close to scoring in the game. The Dynamo took just nine shots in the game Saturday, putting only one on target. Houston was missing three of its top players in the attack due to international duty and injuries, and Portland will face tougher attacking teams moving forward. Still, it was important for the Timbers to get the monkey off their back Saturday and prove that they could keep an opponent off the board. Portland will need its defense to continue to step up as the club tries to move up the standings in the coming weeks.
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The Timbers have to continue to take advantage of their home games
Despite the decisive win Saturday, the Timbers still sit in 10th place in the Western Conference standings, three points below the red line. The Timbers have played one or two fewer games than the majority of the other teams in the Western Conference, but Portland still has work to do to get back in the playoff race. If the Timbers can get the job done at home, as they did Saturday, they should be in good shape. The Timbers will head to Montreal Wednesday before coming back home to face FC Dallas next Sunday. Due to the compacted schedule, the club will likely have to rotate its lineup Wednesday to ensure that it is at full strength for Sunday's key home game against Dallas. Portland has historically been one of the top teams in MLS at home and the club will need to use that to its advantage in the coming weeks. The Timbers, who started the season with 12 straight games on the road, will still play 15 more regular season games at Providence Park this year.
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