Interim head coach Miles Joseph earned his first win as the leader of the Portland Timbers with a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake in front the Providence Park home crowd.
The Portland Timbers snapped a four-match losing streak across all competitions—and a three match losing streak in MLS regular season play.
Portland came out on the front foot and with a ton of energy.
Back in the starting XI was Zac McGraw, who has been absolutely superb this season. His partnership with Dario Župarić has been one of the few bright spots for the Timbers this year.
Starting in his first MLS regular season game in 2023 was Timbers legend Sebastián Blanco.
In the 13th minute, the home side worked the ball beautifully down near the box. Franck Boli slipped a pass to Evander out wide. Evander played a well-placed ball to Juan David Mosquera, who looped a high cross in the top of the box. Real Salt Lake refused to make any effort to the ball, and Santiago Moreno made them pay with a headed goal to open the scoring.
Felipe Mora subbed on for Boli in the 57th minute. After scoring in the match against Vancouver Whitecaps, he would make it a second consecutive game. In the 64th minute, he doubled the lead for the Portland Timbers, thanks to a well-played assist from Moreno.
Felipe Mora gets a crucial goal to give @TimbersFC some breathing room.
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) August 31, 2023
2-0. #RCTID pic.twitter.com/15CwHF01qY
Real Salt Lake did not go down quietly. In the 82nd minute, Cristian Arango would cut the lead back down to one with a deflected goal past David Bingham.
Mora’s continued comfort and ascension is the extra boost the Portland Timbers need to possibly make a late playoff push.
First win
Joseph led the Portland Timbers to a 2-1 win over Real Salt Lake for his first ever head coaching win.
After praising the team’s second half efforts against Vancouver, he was proud of how his team came out for this game.
“I thought it was a good continuation from our last game in the second half,” Joseph said. “So that was kind of the message going into the game to continue on from the second half of the last game and the guys really put a great effort in the first half to start off on the right foot.”
The Santi Moreno Show
Don’t look now, but Moreno has put up consecutive fabulous performances.
“He did what was asked of him,” Joseph said. “On the attacking half of the field, he stayed wide, and I think his opportunities came pretty frequently.
“I think the important thing is for Santi to get his confidence, and I think tonight was a really, really good start for him,” he said.
Moreno scored his first goal of the season and tallied an assist for a goal contribution brace. The best part? His mom was in attendance to see him play his best football of the season.
“A very special moment for myself to score a goal and also do it in front of my mom,” Moreno said. “I haven’t been able to score this season, so it has been rough. But in front of my mom, it makes it very special and also, for me, to be able to score when we get the three points makes it even better.”
Officiating
The referees have been a bit inconsistent in their officiating against the Timbers for the last few weeks.
Diego Chará mentioned it in the post-game presser, and Joseph seem to agree with his captain’s sentiment about how games are being called for the team.
Next: Seattle
The Timbers make the trip up to Lumen Field to face their rivals, the Seattle Sounders today.
Joseph and the team will be ready.
“This is a great win for us to build momentum,” he said after the RSL victory. “I think every game against Seattle is important.”
Kris Lattimore
