The second home game of the season for the Portland Timbers was fun for the hosts. For about nine minutes.
Injuries, struggles to produce on the attack, and brutal defensive lapses all plagued the Timbers in a 2-1 loss to expansion side St. Louis City SC on Saturday at Providence Park.
The Timbers got on the board early thanks to their towering center back. Zac McGraw’s header off the corner in the third minute put the Timbers up 1-0, a lead that held until the first half’s waning moments. That goal made it 23 consecutive games scoring a goal for the Timbers, the longest active streak in MLS and a club record.
From joy and elation to concern and frustration, the Timbers (1-2-0) experienced yet another injury to a key contributor in the ninth minute. Midfielder Cristhian Paredes went down with a non-contact right leg injury chasing after a ball played ahead, and he was stretchered off before being replaced by Evander.
Evander has his own injury issues, starting out on the bench due to a minor knock he picked up in training earlier this week, a team source told The Oregonian/OregonLive.
Portland started the match with a handful of strong attacking moments, but its effectiveness with the ball faltered as the minutes ticked along. St. Louis, meanwhile, settled into the match after being largely dominated early on, finding a few quality chances of its own.
City (3-0-0) finally broke through in the early portion of first half stoppage time, weaving in between gaps in the Timbers’ defense to score on a boot from midfielder Jared Stroud. That made it 1-1 at the half.
Fresh out of the locker room, disaster nearly struck for the Timbers in the 47th minute. A dangerous ball snuck in toward the near post, sitting precariously along the line before goalkeeper David Bingham — lying on the ground — kicked it out of bounds.
As midfielder Santiago Moreno recovered from his second mid-air collision of the night in the 54th minute, defender Dario Zuparic picked up a yellow card for the Timbers for a separate incident.
The game remained highly physical as the second half pressed on, and Moreno picked up a yellow card of his own after a collision in the 68th minute.
Moreno had a pair of strong chances in the 70th minute, sneaking deep into the box for a pair of shots that were both blocked by St. Louis defenders. Just before, forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda came on to replace Evander, who wasn’t moving particularly well throughout the match as he fought through minor injury.
McGraw earned a yellow card in the 74th minute, and then it all fell apart for Portland.
In the 75th minute, a blooping header from Kyle Hiebert snuck in at the far post, making it 2-1 St. Louis.
Portland went to the bench again in the 81st minute, bringing on midfielders Marvin Loría and Diego Gutierrez for defender Claudio Bravo and Moreno. But City held onto its lead the rest of the way as the Timbers couldn’t find the equalizer.
Portland’s next match is on the road at Atlanta United, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m. PT on March 18. The game is available to stream on the Apple TV app with a subscription to MLS Season Pass.
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com, Twitter: @RyanTClarke
