The glow from a positive result was always going to carry the day, with the Portland Timbers collecting the team’s first victory of 2019 with a 3-1 result in Columbus, Ohio. Beyond that bottom line, though, one of the more interesting ways of looking at the Timbers’ progression is in terms of the new relationships being formed on the field: Larrys Mabiala's growing new partnership in central defense with Bill Tuiloma; Diego Chara forging a relationship in midfield with Cristhian Paredes; Jeremy Ebobisse and Diego Valeri are looking more like a pure forward tandem than they have in other formations; and Sebastián Blanco seeing the return of Zarek Valentin's reliability to his side of the field.
Inside PTFC | The work Andrés Flores is doing to help Jorge Moreira, and the Timbers' new approach
