Almost everything that happens to Los Angeles FC in this, their inaugural season, is historic, but Sunday’s result at Banc of California Stadium marked a small piece of history head coach Bob Bradley would have wanted to avoid. Unable to break through against the visiting Portland Timbers, LAFC suffered the first home shutout in the short history of their franchise, one that left MLS’ best attack unable to prevent a 0-0 result.
“I thought we were disciplined,” Portland head coach Giovanni Savarese said after his team ran its unbeaten streak to 14 games, 12 in Major League Soccer. “I thought we were very good at closing the spaces and being very compact, being a team that was able to interact with each other, create very good associations to make sure we didn’t leave them any openings.”
There was Adama Diomande’s opportunity toward the end of the first half, one that saw LAFC’s newly acquired striker head midfielder Mark Anthony Kaye’s far-post lob directly at Portland’s Jeff Attinella. Carlos Vela was similarly accurate with his chance in second-half stoppage time, redirecting a cross into the hands of Attinella from the edge of the six-yard box.
Around those chances, Portland kept a team that had been averaging 2.27 goals per game relatively silent, with the opportunities the Timbers generated often looking more likely to break through. A fourth-minute chance for Alvas Powellfrom roughly 12 yards out. Diego Valeri, stripping Benny Feilhaber to go in on goal a minute later. Powell cutting back onto his left in the 11th minute, and Andy Polo’s backheel moments earlier to set up Valeri, once more.
“I thought, in the first half, we created enough chances to be at least two goals up,” Savarese said, “and they were a little more dominant in the second half.”
With the exception on Valeri’s chance in the fifth minute, none of the Timbers' opportunities were ones you’d expect to go in regularly. Even in the second half, when Samuel Armenterosnailed the right post in the 49th minute, and Sebastián Blanco drilled a ball at Tyler Miller in the 70th, the Timbers kept creating chances, part of the reason the shots (13-11, LAFC) and shots on target numbers (6-6) depicted an even match despite Portland ceding the possession battle (56.2-43.8 percent).
In that way, the game fit right in with what the Timbers had done at Atlanta United FC, when the team earned a 1-1 draw at Mercedes-Benz Stadium three weeks ago. It replicated the success the team had at home against Sporting Kansas City in June (0-0) and what they were able to do against FC Dallas in late March (1-1 in Frisco, Texas). With one exception – the team’s 4-0 loss at Red Bull Arena on March 10 – the Timbers have consistently been able to hold their own against MLS’ best, part of the reason they are 2-1-4 this season against the top six teams (in terms of points) in Major League Soccer.
The one point of distinction between those games and Sunday’s, though, was that clean sheet, as well as where it was kept. It was the first time that Portland was able to go on the road against one of those top six teams and earn a shutout, one made all the more valuable because it came against the best attack on the circuit.
“The important part was that we stayed disciplined,” Savarese said, evoking a value that has become central to his team’s ethos. “We didn’t allow them to create too much. They didn’t break lines. There were long balls because they didn’t find the right space to break the lines, and we did a good job.”
With LAFC’s Lee Nguyen seeing a straight red with six minutes left in regulation time, the Timbers had a chance to push for more than a draw, perhaps taking its first road win over one of those top six teams. Ultimately, though, the result was enough. Enough to maintain the unbeaten streak. Enough to carry momentum into Wednesday’s rematch in the U.S. Open Cup quarterfinal match up. Enough to continue proving that Portland, after its slow start, is capable of competing against anybody in Major League Soccer.
Perhaps, given Portland hasn’t lost since April, everybody knows that by now. But in a new stadium, against a team that’s built the most potent attack in MLS, a well-earned shutout provides even more reassurance – reassurance that the Timbers’ rise up the standings is likely to continue.
