Portland Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark could only toss the ball in disgust as Q2 Stadium’s green LED lights strobed, beer flew and its south stand erupted into hysterics. When midfielder Diego Fagundez soared through the air and powered the ball past Clark to double Austin FC’s lead in the 14th minute, it felt like déjà vu all too quickly.
One of MLS’s newest crown jewels, a 20,738-seat soccer specific stadium deep in the heart of Texas, has quickly become a house of horrors for the Timbers. Portland’s last visit to Austin ended in a 4-1 defeat, and the Timbers wanted to put that behind them Saturday night. But Fagundez’s goal, not even a quarter of an hour into the game, felt like the decisive one as Austin went on to win 3-1.
“This is not good enough from our team,” coach Giovanni Savarese said. “To have a performance like the way we had in Kansas City and then come here and have that first half, it’s not good enough.”
The Timbers now sit in ninth place in the Western Conference, two points behind the playoff line. Even more concerning is the Timbers’ 1-7-2 record on the road, especially with three more games before they return to Providence Park.
Contrary to what Portland fans have seen, Austin is not one of the league’s offensive powerhouses. In the eight matches since it first hosted Portland, coach Josh Wolff’s team has managed five goals across all competitions. However, against the Timbers, Austin has scored seven goals across 180 minutes.
What might have been most concerning in the second matchup, however, was that unlike in July –– when Portland held for 28 minutes before conceding –– Austin got on the board very early.
Cecilio Domínguez converted the opening goal from the penalty spot in the 12th minute after referee Guido Gonzalez Jr. determined that defender Josecarlos Van Rankin’s leg caught Domínguez in the box.
The penalty put Austin on the front foot quickly, where they remained for most of the night. In the 29th minute, the hosts went up 3-0 after multiple deflections around the box ended with Sebastián Driussi slotting the ball home.
For its part, Portland did look better in the second half and even showed signs of life. Midfielder Sebastián Blanco nearly scored right after halftime when Yimmi Chará squared him a ball between multiple defenders, but his quick shot flashed just wide of the near post.
The Timbers finally broke through in the 55th minute courtesy of Dairon Asprilla, whose hard-hit, knuckling shot beat goalkeeper Brad Stuver from far range. However, Portland’s early three-goal deficit was just too much to overcome and it couldn’t find a crucial second goal to attempt a complete comeback.
“Unfortunately, when you cause such a mess in the first half, it’s not easy to come back,” Savarese said. “It’s difficult because it’s another punch and you say, ‘How many punches are we going to get this season?’”
In Kansas City, the Timbers rebounded well from last Sunday’s 6-2 loss to the Seattle Sounders. They took a point on the road, midweek, against the Western Conference’s best team in a difficult place to win and could have won all three points, too. Unfortunately for Savarese and his staff, that performance didn’t carry over to the first half in Austin, where everything slipped away in the span of 30 minutes.
“We started bad, then had a good second half,” Savarese said. “It’s been a lot like that this year. Not too many complete performances. Too many goals against. So all around it needs to be better from every single (player).”
If the Timbers play like they did against Kansas City or in the second half at Q2 Stadium, there are still reasons for optimism. Right now, however, the issue is finding those complete performances.
But with three games remaining on its late-summer, five-game road swing, Portland can at least rest easy knowing that it won’t have to return to Austin for the foreseeable future.
-- Kyle Pinnell for The Oregonian/OregonLive
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