David Da Costa delivered when Portland needed its All-Star most
"You have to win us games of football."
PORTLAND — No shame in looking — those Evander highlights have been hard to miss.
The former Timbers designated player is tied for third in MLS with 12 goals, has five in his last three matches and continues to do the absurd things with the ball that made him an All-Star with Portland in 2024.
Seven of his 12 goals with Cincinnati have come outside the 18-yard box and he’s the only player in MLS with at least 25 goals and 25 assists since the start of last season.
In short, he’s been very, very good.
And that’s been OK for Portland. With a team built on better defensive structure and a flowing offensive attack that relied on quick ball movement and the counter, the Timbers got off to their best 10-game start in club history and built enough of a points cushion to withstand a growing number of injuries that have caused the offense to cool.
The Timbers came into Saturday fourth in the Western Conference, but on shaky ground following a 1-1 home draw with San Jose and a dismal 3-0 road showing in Toronto. Antony was set to miss at least a month still, Jonathan Rodriguez was done for the year and Omir Fernandez couldn’t train all week after rolling his ankle in the Toronto loss.
New England hadn’t been great, but the Eastern Conference has been tricky for the Timbers to navigate and that was still Caleb Porter making his return.
Want to know what would’ve stung more than watching another goal from the player who left on Saturday? Watching the coach who left prevent the green and gold from taking three points at home.
And it looked to be heading that way after a New England strike in the 35th minute equalized Ian Smith’s first-career goal for Portland in the 20th, and the match lay dormant for the next 36 minutes.
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The fit wasn’t quite perfect.
Earlier in the summer, David Da Costa, Finn Surman, David Ayala and Antony made their way over to Portland Outdoor Store to be fitted for cowboy hats and boots as part of a promo for the July 21 All-Star game in Austin, Texas. The four were Portland’s candidates for the game, looking to join Evander (2024) as Portland’s only honorees of this decade.
“They’re a little tight,” Da Costa said of the boots. “But that look is really good.”