The surging Portland Timbers look to continue their recent dominance of FC Dallas when the sides square off on Thursday in Frisco, Texas.
The Timbers (8-7-6, 30 points) hit the road on the strength of three consecutive wins and carrying a seven-match unbeaten streak (two draws).
Portland’s most recent outing was a 3-2 victory at home over Minnesota United on Saturday. The Timbers roared back from a 2-0 deficit with tallies from Evander, Santiago Moreno and Jonathan Rodriguez, whose game winner came two minutes into second-half stoppage time.
Portland coach Phil Neville was quick to remind his team to “keep their feet on the ground.”
“I think that is massively important,” Neville told reporters. “We want to keep pushing, we know the teams below us are pushing. We have to keep concentrating on ourselves. We are on the climb, we have momentum, we have confidence, we have belief, but there is still a long way to go.”
Evander, who was recently named an All-Star, has been the Timbers’ best offensive player, with nine goals and 11 assists. Felipe Mora and Rodriguez also have scored nine goals each for Portland’s potent attack.
FC Dallas (5-10-5, 20 points) return to the pitch after a 1-0 loss at home to FC Cincinnati on Saturday, when they recorded just two shots on goal.
Dallas has lost two straight after winning a pair of home games in mid-June and are now 2-2 under interim coach Peter Luccin.
“After three games which were very good, our performance against FC Cincinnati was not the image we should be portraying,” Luccin said. “We are playing a lot of young players. I’m very happy with those players, with the lineup and where we are right now. That is a silver lining, but we have to do a lot better.”
Petar Musa leads the injury-riddled team with nine goals, more than twice as many as Jesus Ferreira (four), who’s played in just 13 matches because of a recurring hamstring injury.
The Toros begin the midweek slate of games in 11th place in the Western Conference and eight points below the playoff line.
Portland leads the all-time series 12-10, with 11 draws. The Timbers earned points in each of the matches with FC Dallas in 2023, winning at home with a tie on the road.
–Field Level Media