Winless in their first 5, Timbers now have won 6 straight
PORTLAND, Ore. — Back on April 8 it seemed nothing was going right for the Portland Timbers.
In his debut season as an MLS coach, Giovanni Savarese’s first five matches — all on the road — didn’t include a single victory. He was clearly anxious to get back home after a 3- 2 loss at Orlando City.
“They’ve been traveling five games away. At the end we were tired. It was a long trip. The weather from snow to hot and you can see at the end the guys were breaking down all over the place because it has been a long five games away,” Savarese said at the time. “But as I said, I take full responsibility for this defeat.”
Portland had collected just two overall points in their first five games. The long road trip to start the season was caused by construction at Providence Park.
But once the Timbers got home, their season turned around quickly. Even dramatically. Since that loss in Florida, they’ve won six straight, capped by a 3-2 victory at Colorado last weekend. On Saturday, they’ll host the LA Galaxy.
The six consecutive wins is a club record, and matches Orlando’s streak for the longest this season. It also matches the second-longest winning streak in the league since 2000 — when MLS started recording draws. Sporting Kansas City won seven straight in 2012.
Winning sure makes the job easier for everyone.
“The victories, of course, allow you to be able to correct things in a positive way, and that’s very good,” Savarese said. “But we have to stay focused that it’s one match at a time.”
Savarese coached the New York Cosmos for five seasons before coming to the Timbers in December. He replaced Caleb Porter, who led the team to the 2015 MLS Cup title before unexpectedly parting ways with the Timbers after last season.
Reigning league MVP Diego Valeri, who shares the team lead with five goals this season, said the team doesn’t focus on streaks, bad or good.
“We don’t think about the past. I think that’s key,” Valeri said. “Think about the next game and prepare well and perform for 90 minutes and improving on things that will make us better.”