HOUSTON – The Portland Timbers may have taken the last-place Houston Dynamo a little too lightly.
That was the message from Timbers head coach Caleb Porter after his side lost 3-1 in Houston, a setback that could hamper the Timbers' playoff chances. Portland entered the game in one of the Western Conference's final postseason places, albeit with a six-point cushion between them and the chasing Seattle Sounders.
“In some ways I think that’s why we let our guard down,” said Porter, who suggested that Houston's standing as the West's last-place team may also have led to complacency. “And I don’t know how that happens. Experienced teams should never let that happen.”
Portland came out flat in the first half and an opportunistic Houston side capitalized, netting a penalty kick for a 1-0 halftime lead. Although the visitors responded and found a way to equalize through Diego Valeri early in the second half, two timely goals from Houston forward Mauro Manotas – one off a Timbers throw-in and the other on the counter – put the Timbers in the hole once more.
“Our guys didn’t play to the level that they were capable of in that first half,” said Porter. “The second half, first 20 minutes, you saw the level if we continue the game that way, it’s a different result.”
The loss adds to the Timbers' road woes as the Cascadia side remains winless on the road in 2016 league play. The Timbers are now 0-9-6 on the road this year, though Porter attributed much of that to missing key players due to international dates and injuries.
“If you look back through the lineup, we’ve rarely had our top lineup on the road,” he said. “I think that’s a big factor. It’s a strange thing this year. We won more games on the road than anybody in this league over the last three years, but people forget that.”
Porter said the Timbers haven’t changed their blueprint for road games. Looking ahead, he said his team has a choice to make as the season winds down.
“We can decide if we’re going to be that first-half team, or the second-half team during the first 20 minutes,” said Porter, in reference to Saturday night's match. “And I can tell you this: If we play like we played the first half, maybe we make the playoffs, maybe we don’t – but we’re definitely not winning it [MLS Cup].”
