The Portland Timbers defeated the Houston Dynamo 2-1 on Saturday night in Group F of the MLS is Back Tournament. Here are three things we learned.
The Portland Timbers rolled into Saturday night’s tilt against the Houston Dynamo confident of making it two wins from two. The first half was lively and entertaining, filled with chances and tough tackles. It was capped off by Jeremy Ebobisse’s powerful strike past Marko Maric into the bottom far corner for a 1-0 lead.
Diego Valeri doubled the Timbers’ advantage in the second half with a left-footed shot in off the post before Alberth Elis handed Houston a lifeline scoring a penalty after VAR signaled a handball in the box. Oddly, he was then sent off shortly after for a foul on Tuiloma as he received his second yellow card.
With much to discuss, here are three things we learned from the Portland Timbers’ 2-1 victory.
3. Unpredictable movement makes Timbers dangerous
The runs from players such as Sebastian Blanco, Diego Valeri, Jeremy Ebobisse and Yimmi Chara gave Houston big problems all throughout the game. Portland exposed the space between Houston’s midfield and defense to great effect which led to Ebobisse’s opener. From then on, it was a clinic in off-the-ball movement which helped the Timbers take control of proceedings.
At times, Valeri stayed in the middle as the number 10. At other times, he drifted wide to either flank. Blanco would stay wide and then tuck inside, giving Ebobisee license to run wide himself which is where he found the space to score his goal. Yimmi Chara, along with his brother Diego, provided pace and precise passing, which comfortably aided the Timbers going forward.
The Dynamo had no answers as Portland were relentless and, at times, should’ve scored more than two goals. Overall, it was a very fine performance from Giovanni Savarese’s team as they make it two wins from two games.