PORTLAND, Ore. -- For the second match in a row the Portland Timbers gave up the first goal to their opponents, but in the U.S. Open Cup against the LA Galaxy, they were unable to bounce back, losing 1-0 at Providence Park.
While a home loss is always frustrating, it was the nature of Wednesday's loss that made it doubly so.
"I thought we lost the game in the first ten minutes," said Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter after the match. "I thought that in the last eighty minutes we were the better team."
Porter continued, "Over the last eighty minutes we had better chances than they did, but that is soccer. We finish our chances and it is a different game."
Giving up the game's only goal in just the 5th minute, courtesy of Raul Mendiola, put the Timbers in a difficult situation from very early on.
"In general for the first ten minutes we were dropping off too much and we were not tackling enough," said Porter. "I didn't expect that. We started our most experienced back four that we had healthy. Ultimately, I thought those first ten minutes we had to step the line up and squeeze the space better. We were too deep."
It was in the space between Portland's midfield and defense that Mendiola found the room to run onto Emmanuel Boateng's slow rolling cross and fire home the Galaxy's game winning goal.
Eventually the Timbers were able make adjustments and close the gap, but the damage was already done.
"You saw over the next eighty minutes that we were stepping and aggressive and the better team with the better chances, but it doesn't matter," Porter said. "That is soccer: it is about the result. They got the opener and we couldn't find a goal so we don't deserve to win."
The loss means the Timbers are out of the Open Cup, and will have to turn their attention to what remains a busy slate, with MLS and upcoming CONCACAF Champions League group stage games. Perhaps the costly start will be a lesson learned for Portland.
"Over the eighty minutes we were the better team," Porter said, "but this is a ninety minute game. You can't win games if you only play for eighty minutes."
