It took two days longer than expected, but the Portland Timbers finally opened their 13th MLS season Monday night at Providence Park.
In just his fourth MLS game, 20-year-old right back Juan David Mosquera scored his first goal for the Timbers and it held up as the winner as Portland defeated Sporting Kansas City 1-0.
The match was originally scheduled for Saturday night, but the historic winter storm that blitzed the Portland area over the weekend forced a postponement. Conditions were still difficult Monday, with rain falling and temperatures hovering in the mid-30s.
But the Timbers started fast, nearly scoring in the fifth minute, before cashing in roughly a minute later with Mosquera’s goal. They failed to record another shot on target until deep into the second half, but did enough defensively to keep a clean sheet and earn three points.
“It’s a great win, and we needed to start this way,” said Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese, who earned his 69th MLS victory to pass Caleb Porter and become the club’s all-time winningest coach in league play. “There are things we need to improve, but we got the commitment from the players to make sure we got the result we wanted.”
The Timbers improved to 7-2-4 all-time in MLS home openers, but won their season-opening match for the first time since 2017. The Timbers missed the playoffs last season after reaching the MLS Cup final in 2021.
“It was an excellent first half, and we did well in regards of having the ball a bit more,” Savarese noted. “In the second half, we struggled in keeping the ball, but we defended very well and were able to keep the clean sheet. And I think we had the better opportunities.”
Evander, the Timbers’ lone major offseason acquisition who signed for a team-record transfer fee, made his MLS debut. The 24-year-old Brazilian played all 90 minutes, showing brief spurts of skill even though he mostly stayed quiet as the Timbers failed to build much of an attack beyond the opening minutes.
But Savarese indicated he was happy with the effort of his new center midfielder, especially considering “how much he ran for the team and how much work he put in to make sure that we got a win.”
“At the beginning, he was fighting to be involved in the game,” Savarese said of Evander. “But in the second half, we saw some special moments. The more he adapts, the better he’s going to get. I’m very proud of him and excited for the future with him.”
The Timbers took advantage of shoddy defensive play by SKC to snag the early lead. Mosquera outdueled a defender on the baseline and won the ball back to Yimmi Chara, who returned it to Mosquera for a low shot that squeezed under goalkeeper John Pulskamp and into the net in the sixth minute.
“I’m very thankful and it was a great feeling to be able to help the team get the first three points of the year,” said Mosquera, who also scored a goal in the preseason. “We came into this first match in front of our fans and we put a lot of pressure on (early in the game). In the end they had more possession but we’re really happy that we were able to keep the lead.”
Timbers center back Zac McGraw praised Mosquera’s development and noted that the Colombian is improving his English, which helps with communication on the field.
“He’s such a young guy, but we think of him as older because of his maturity level and athletic ability,” McGraw said. “I think the more we play, the more comfortable he’s going to be. He’s very attack-minded, but he’s improving every day and understanding how we defend as a team.”
Portland had nearly grabbed the lead just a minute before Mosquera’s goal, when Jaroslav Niezgoda stole an SKC back pass at the top of the penalty area and found himself alone on Pulskamp. But the keeper was able to poke the ball away from Niezgoda and save a follow-up attempt by Marvin Loria. The Timbers appealed for a penalty, believing that Pulsakmp had tripped Niezgoda, but referee Timothy Ford waved off the protests.
In the waning minutes, with SKC pushing for a late equalizer, Timbers substitute Nathan Fogaca worked loose for a breakaway in second-half stoppage time. But Pulskamp came off his line to deny Fogaca’s attempt.
Veteran goalkeeper David Bingham, making his third start in two seasons with Portland, passed a huge test in the 24th minute, fending off a point-blank shot from SKC’s Erik Thommy, then deflecting an on-target return attempt by Thommy over the cross bar. Bingham made another save on William Agada in the 77th minute, but was otherwise unbothered in the second half until one last-ditch header sailed wide of his near post in the first minute of stoppage time.
“To suffer together and make sure that we didn’t allow that goal to come in is very important because we can continue to build from winning,” Savarese said.
All was not positive for the Timbers, though, as Chara fell to the turf late in the first half with what Savarese called a hamstring injury. The winger received treatment on the field, but couldn’t continue and was replaced by Santiago Moreno in the 33rd minute.
“It’s not going to be days, it’s going to be weeks,” Savarese said of Chara’s recovery time, but added that he didn’t know exactly how long he will be sidelined.
The Timbers already are playing without injured attacking players Sebastian Blanco, Felipe Mora and Dairon Asprilla, so their offense will be further hampered should Chara miss time. Savarese said Diego Gutierrez, who came on as a second-half substitute, could play more in a fill-in role.
Next up: The Timbers play Saturday against defending MLS Cup champion LAFC on the road at 1:30 p.m.
— Scott Sepich, for The Oregonian/OregonLive
