Soccer <\/p>\n
Matchday 6 brings us all to Portland<\/a> for Sunday Night Soccer presented by Continental Tire, as the Timbers \u2013 with their new No. 10, old No. 6 and ever-present, always loud fanbase \u2013 host the retooling Houston Dynamo<\/a> (7 pm ET | MLS Season Pass, Apple TV+<\/a>).<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Games at Providence Park have a look and feel all their own; it\u2019s one of the signature MLS venues. You can feel it through the screen when those fans really start buzzing.<\/p>\n And the visitors bring a style all their own: ball-dominant in a way that no one else in the league quite manages. They\u2019ve become one of my favorites to watch for that reason, though this year\u2019s been a tough, tough start.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Portland Timbers<\/strong><\/p>\n Houston Dynamo FC<\/strong><\/p>\n They were excellent on the road last week at Colorado<\/a> in a 3-0 win<\/a>, but still: after this one, they\u2019re facing four of five on the road. You do not want to go into a stretch like that having just dropped home points against a team you can out-talent at something like eight of 11 positions.<\/p>\n The other aspect of this is that Portland are starting to build some momentum, posting a 2W-1L-1D record since that opening day de-pantsing by the Whitecaps<\/a>. Da Costa has started to not just fit, but do a lot of the No. 10 things that elevate the play of the guys around him, and some important rotation-related things are being figured out.<\/p>\n What I\u2019m saying is that home points are at stake, and momentum is at stake. But bigger than that, I think some vibes are at stake. Timbers fandom was on the ledge after first kick; they are back in the fold \u2013 at least somewhat \u2013 now. The players themselves, too, look bought in (young David Ayala<\/a> being particularly notable in that regard) in ways they maybe weren\u2019t a month ago.<\/p>\n A win keeps building on that. Vibes matter, and taking good ones into that road swing matters a lot.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n One of the quirks of the MLS schedule is that the Primary Transfer Window is disproportionately long \u2013 as in, \u201cis still open nearly two months after the season has started\u201d-level long, which is really quite something.<\/p>\n And because of that, there can be something of a feeling of unreality to the beginning of any year. \u201cOh, things haven\u2019t really started yet because we haven\u2019t even built our roster just yet. Once that happens, the season really<\/em> begins.\u201d<\/p>\n That, I\u2019m afraid, is where the Dynamo live right now. We\u2019ve been waiting a long time \u2013 nearly six months! \u2013 for them to sign a DP No. 10. They have reportedly signed one in Czech international Ond\u0159ej Lingr, but we’ll have to wait a little longer for his paperwork to finish before we see him on the field. It still doesn\u2019t quite feel like their season has started. Not for real, anyway.<\/p>\n It\u2019s been a source of frustration to the fans (and to some neutral analysts, hint hint) that it\u2019s taken this long. And I hope that when Lingr hits the ground in the coming weeks, he hits the ground running.<\/p>\n In the meantime, this team\u2019s just got to figure out a way to collect points because the season has actually started, for real. And, for real, they are winless through five. While that\u2019s not death, it\u2019s at the least a decent level of infirmity.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Portland Timbers: Finn Surman\u2026 World Cup center back?!?<\/strong><\/p>\n I vividly remember a broadcast call with head coach Phil Neville last October ahead of a Cascadia Cup clash against the Seattle Sounders<\/a>. Neville was discussing his lineup decisions and mentioned Finn Surman<\/a> was set to start against the Timbers’ archrivals. Nevile was effusive about the young New Zealander\u2019s potential.<\/p>\n My first thought was, \u201cUhhhhhh \u2026 Finn who?\u201d At the time, Surman hadn\u2019t played a single MLS minute. Five games into the 2025 season, the 21-year-old has become a lineup fixture in Portland, starting all five matches for the club.<\/p>\n Next summer, there\u2019s a good chance Surman will be playing in the World Cup with New Zealand. The All Whites qualified for 2026 during the international break, claiming the lone automatic spot out of Oceania. Surman stuck around Portland, as agreed upon by the club and national team, while his professional career continues to take hold in North America.<\/p>\n Keep a close eye on the rising defensive star on Sunday.<\/p>\n Houston: Pressure on Ponce \u2026 but Dynamo need scoring committee<\/strong><\/p>\n Look, I get it. Record signings and Designated Players bear the brunt of the goalscoring responsibility. C’est la vie, Ezequiel Ponce.<\/p>\n So yeah, Ponce needs to be a healthy double-digit scorer\u2026 but where is that same energy for the chance creation and goal danger the Dynamo need from Amine Bassi<\/a>, Nico Lodeiro<\/a>, Sebastian Kowalczyk<\/a>, Aliyu Ibrahim<\/a>, Griffin Dorsey<\/a> and Jack McGlynn<\/a>? One man does not a productive attack make.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n For Houston to have any chance of pulling themselves out of this dip, it’ll take contributions from every nook and cranny of the squad, including rumored DP No.10 Ond\u0159ej Lingr and recovering attackers Lawrence Ennali<\/a> and Nelson Qui\u00f1ones<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Timbers scrapped the 3-4-2-1 they started the year with two games back \u2013 they never got their defensive triggers quite right \u2013 and have moved into what\u2019s been a much more natural 4-2-3-1 with Da Costa pulling the strings and the wingers stretching the field both vertically and horizontally.<\/p>\n That last bit is important, because last year (and the year before, and the year before that) Portland\u2019s Achilles\u2019 heel was their propensity for throwing one or both fullbacks up into the attack without any consideration for rest defense or overall team structure. As such, every turnover became a five-alarm fire heading in the other direction, and not even Chara could put them all out.<\/p>\n By keeping the fullbacks deeper and relying upon the wingers to provide most of the attacking width (though not all, obviously; the fullbacks still occasionally get forward, they\u2019re just more selective about it), they\u2019ve become better at stifling opposing transition moments. And honestly, that\u2019s like 75% of the game in the modern version of the sport.<\/p>\n Mostly, though, the 4-2-3-1 has allowed them to get the ball in good spots to punish teams in transition, no matter if the wingers have been wide or narrow:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n \u2014 Major League Soccer (@MLS) March 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n This is who they are. They\u2019re mid-table in possession but down near the bottom of the league in field tilt because they want to create that space to run into. Over the past couple of games, they\u2019ve done it well.<\/p>\n Get on the ball, keep the ball and slowly wear the opponents down by doing so. It\u2019s been the plan for the past two years and it hasn\u2019t changed, even if the personnel out there executing it has.<\/p>\n And look, I admire that. I think the Dynamo\u2019s game model is a good one that suits the vast majority of the roster. I just think they\u2019ve been handicapped by injuries to a few of their best attackers (man, I want Lawrence Ennali to come back 100%), their delay in adding a No. 10, and Ponce\u2019s relative underperformance.<\/p>\n When it clicks, though, it\u2019s beautiful:<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n The Dynamo \u2013 as expected given their offseason changes \u2013 had major issues in goal and central defense in their opener. Their loss was self-inflicted.<\/p>\n But they also showed that they’ve got the same gameplan as the past two years, and the ability to execute it. pic.twitter.com\/xW19WVVTJy<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n \u2014 Matthew Doyle (@MattDoyle76) February 23, 2025<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote><\/div>\n There are two keys to all of this:<\/p>\n The Dynamo can still be the Dynamo of the past two years. They have almost all the ingredients now, and with the season in full swing, it\u2019s time to get cooking.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n Hard to see them changing much, though it wouldn\u2019t surprise me if Juan Mosquera<\/a> got into the XI now that he\u2019s healthy. Still, I\u2019m keeping Eric Miller<\/a> at right back for one more week.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n It\u2019s nominally a 4-2-3-1, but they shift hard into a 3-4-2-1 in possession with right back Griffin Dorsey providing virtually all the attacking width on that side. And I\u2019m just assuming it\u2019ll be rookie Blake Gillingham<\/a> in goal after Andrew Tarbell<\/a> (season-ending ACL tear) and Jimmy Maurer<\/a> (looked like a quad pull?) came off injured in the previous two games.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n\n
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Portland Timbers<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
Houston Dynamo FC<\/h3>\n<\/p>\n
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