Each Major League Soccer matchday in 2021, the KeyBank Scouting Report will give you this snapshot of the Portland Timbers’ next opponent. On Saturday, Houston Dynamo FC returns to Providence Park for the first time since 2019, with the game kicking off at 7:30 p.m. Pacific on FOX 12 PLUS (KPDX). Check here to see if any tickets are available.
Team Form
We’re one week into the 2021 season, but for the Dynamo, that week was a good one. Last Friday, former Timber Maxi Urruti doubled Houston’s lead after Memo Rodríguez (above) scored his first-half opener, giving the Dynamo the two-goal lead they needed to knock off the visiting San Jose Earthquakes, 2-1.
It was the type of start Tab Ramos’s team needed to begin recovering from a disappointing 2020. In his debut season, Ramos’s dynamo went 4-9-10 (W-D-L) and finished at the bottom of the Western Conference.
In attack
Houston’s two-goal night at BBVA Stadium builds on a 2020 where the Dynamo attack was, well, not the team’s biggest problem. Granted, 30 goals in 23 games weren’t on Los Angeles FC’s or the Portland Timbers’ level (47 and 46 goals, respectively), but the total was good enough for eighth (out of 12 teams) in the West. Houston does need to score more goals, but the biggest place for improvement is in front of their own goal.
The goals come from …
Darwin Quintero, in his first year with Houston, led his new team with seven goals in 1689 minutes, a impressive total for somebody who was also his team’s primary creator. The only other returning Dynamo player who scored more than two goals last year is Ariel Lassiter, who scored three times in sparse minutes after returning to MLS from Costa Rica.
… and the goals come through
Again, it’s Quintero. He was the only Dynamo player with more than four assists, and he had 10. The former Club América attacker is now up to 28 goals and 30 assists in his three seasons in Major League Soccer.
Quintero was an unused substitute last week against the Earthquakes, perhaps because Houston led for most of the match. He was not listed on the team's last injury report.
Defending
The Dynamo limited the Earthquakes to one, late, concession goal last Friday, but this area is still the team’s biggest concern. The 40 goals Houston conceded last season were ninth-worst in the West, but the team was also one of only six (out of 25) to reach that 40-goal mark.
Stalwart
To help address that, Houston made a significant backline acquisition this offseason, bringing in a player Timbers fans should remember from his time in Vancouver. Since then, Tim Parker has gone on to become a U.S. international and, during his time with the New York Red Bulls, a Supporters’ Shield winner. The 28-year-old was joined by converted midfielder Boniek Garcia in central defense last week, with Adam Lundkvist and plucky newcomer Zarek Valentin flanking the duo.
Match facts
Thanks to Portland Timbers Communications, who get assists here and there from Mike Donovan, here’s what else we know about Saturday’s game:
- Saturday will be the 18th all-time MLS meeting between the Timbers and Dynamo, with Portland leading the series, 7-5-5.
- The away team has won once in those 17 games.
- Portland’s home winning streak over the Dynamo is up to seven games (6-1-0), a stretch dating back to April 6, 2013.
- Timbers midfielder Eryk Williamson recorded his first MLS assist when the Timbers met Houston at least year’s MLS Is Back tournament (July 18, 2020). That was the last meeting between the teams, with Portland winning, 2-1.
- Portland is 5-3-2 all-time in its MLS home openers.
- Zarek Valentin and Maxi Urriti are both former Timbers, with the current Houston players combining for 157 regular-season appearances (92 and 65, respectively) during their time in Portland.
- According to the team’s injury report, Steve Clark (left thigh strain), Jeremy Ebobisse (left thigh strain), Aljaz Ivacic (athletic pubalgia surgery), Ismaila Jome (left Achilles tendon surgery), Jaroslaw Niezgoda (left ACL surgery) will be out on Saturday. Sebastián Blanco (right ACL surgery) is listed as “Questionable.”
All the latest on the Portland Timbers:
- TALK TIMBERS | Savarese talks Houston strategy in show's return!
- THE MATCHUP | Zivin's need-to-knows about this year's Dynamo
- This week in PTFC: Cascadia rivals, MLS opener at Providence Park
- FARLEY | Positives, lessons should stay in focus after Vancouver
- OUTLOOK | Timbers' shot at América is what CCL is all about
