Portland Timbers not satisfied during club-record start | OneFootball

By MLSsoccer staff

The Portland Timbers have plenty to celebrate following their 4-2 win at the LA Galaxy that concluded Matchday 10 action Sunday evening.

Portland are now second in the Western Conference with 18 points, marking the club’s best start to an MLS season. They’ve also gone seven games unbeaten and are tied for the league lead with 20 goals scored.

But head coach Phil Neville struck a far more serious tone in his post-game press conference at Dignity Health Sports Park, after nearly seeing a 3-0 lead evaporate before Jonathan Rodríguez’s 76th-minute penalty kick confirmed all three points.

“You're 3-0 up in a game and you're leaving defenders 4-v-2, 4-v-3 at the back,” Neville said. “That's not game management.

“So that's why I'm angry and at this moment in time, I can't enjoy the victory because that's not what we've prepared, that's not what we've practiced. That's not what we've taught them. It's one of those things as a coach and teacher where you've got to keep drilling it into them.”

Yet Neville maintains belief in what the Timbers can accomplish this year, holding them to the standard of being more than a free-flowing, attack-minded group.

“We're a young team with phenomenal talent, with great energy, with incredible courage to play,” Neville said. “With young players, we've just got to keep their feet on the ground and keep moving forward.

“Some of our counter-attacking play was sensational. The courage to play was really good. The spirit of everybody from one to 20 was so good. And we're a team that's continuing to learn and improve. There's still so much to go.”

At LA, Portland were carried by a three-assist performance from Antony. The Brazilian winger set up goals from David Da Costa, Santiago Moreno and Kevin Kelsy, giving him a team-best five helpers this year.

Neville believes the best is yet to come for the U22 Initiative signing.

“The pieces that we thought needed to be pieced together, he's slowly piecing them together,” Neville said. “His concentration, his quality, his discipline, his consistency – it's really good. He's technical and a major goal threat.

“ … I think he's got a high ceiling. Last season we saw Santi rise, we saw [Juan] Mosquera rise, we saw [David] Ayala rise. I think this is going to be Antony's year.”

But with a young squad comes learning moments, and Portland trotted out their youngest-ever starting XI for an MLS match (average of 24.4 years). From there, and despite the historic nature of this 10-game run, Neville sees room for growth.

“We don't want any plaudits now,” Neville said. “We just want to keep going from game to game. We've got a really good month coming up and we've just got to keep improving.”

HIGHLIGHTS: LA Galaxy vs. Portland Timbers | April 27, 2025