PORTLAND, Ore. – Two late-match concessions in as many weeks gives coaches license to be harsh, but five games into a relationship with a new squad – with each of those five games away from home – demands a greater perspective, especially when, within those defeats, the team continues to make progress.
How much progress the Portland Timbers made in their 3-2 loss on Sunday to Orlando is open to debate, but it was the first game this season they had held a 2-0 lead. Come the 80th minute, that lead collapsed, leaving the Timbers with their third loss of the season, but until that point, head coach Giovanni Savarese saw his team at a new level.