D.C. United continue their homestand against defending MLS Cup champions Portland Timbers in the first and only meeting between the two this season on Saturday, August 13 at 8 PM (NewsChannel 8). The sides have played at RFK Stadium just twice since Portland joined Major League Soccer in 2011; United have earned a draw and lost against the West Coast team.
The match against Portland will be the third of four straight home matches for United, who have drawn their previous two games. Last week’s exciting clash with the Union displayed the team’s gritty side as their hard work was rewarded with a dramatic late equalizer, but the Black-and-Red will look to start picking up wins to climb up the table.
“We can’t keep getting ties,” said United defender Steve Birnbaum, who scored the game-tying goal off a Patrick Nyarko cross in the fourth minute of stoppage time. “We have to figure out a way to get wins at home.”
While the Black-and-Red’s two goals against the Union came from Birnbaum and fellow defender Taylor Kemp, United’s new offensive acquisitions have sparked life in a team that had previously struggled to create chances. “I thought we did a good job, for the most part, making intelligent plays and getting the ball to dangerous spots,” assistant coach Chad Ashton said after last week’s match. “We continued to create a lot of chances there right at the end, and it felt like we deserved to win so it was good to see [Birnbaum's goal] finally go in.”
Lloyd Sam and Patrick Mullins both started for the first time together while Kennedy Igboananike came off the bench and looked lively as all three continue to acclimate to their new team. All three players will look to harass a Portland defense still dealing with the loss of Nat Borchers and introducing new additions of their own -- Vytas Andriuškevičius and Steven Taylor.
Though United usually play Portland once per season, they are far from an unfamiliar opponent. The Timbers captured the MLS Cup last season in only their fifth year in the league. While Portland have struggled to replicate the results from 2015 (they have yet to win a match on the road), most of the players from the title-winning team are still on the roster. Marcelo, Luciano Acosta, Nick DeLeon and Jared Jeffrey (all of whom have played centrally for the Black-and-Red recently) will need to be mindful of playmaker Diego Valeri, who is fifth in MLS with 10 goals. His clever movement from deeper positions makes him difficult to track, while the towering Fanendo Adi, who has already bagged 11 goals this season, leads the line for the Timbers.
In order for D.C. to continue their upward momentum, they’ll need a strong performance against a Timbers team that is in similar need of points. "No question we feel like we left some more points on the table these last two weeks, but we’re a win out of a playoff spot, and I told our guys there’s so much good to this team," head coach Ben Olsen said. "I think the upside and the quality that this team can produce is better than maybe any team that I’ve coached here."
