From one point of view, Portland Thorns FC's performance on Saturday in Boyds, Maryland, reflected a team that’s endured over a month of games on the road, one that’s spent the last 10 days living out of suitcases in hotels. Though that lifestyle hadn’t hurt Portland before their match against the Washington Spirit, game five of the season cast the Thorns a step slower than their opponents in key moments, and consistently a moment too late in finding solutions close to goal. If you’re inclined to see Saturday’s game in terms of what the Thorns could have done, the day’s 3-1 loss, Portland’s first of the 2019 season, was about the margins in which the team failed to excel – the type of margins that become obstacles while enduring life on the road.
Farley | Spirit's improvement on display as Thorns handed 2019's first loss
