Timbers secure point in San Diego as Neville seeks more from Da Costa
Plus: Finn Surman wears the captain's band
All things considered, Phil Neville was pleased with the scoreless draw.
The Portland Timbers took a point from the best team in the Western Conference, on the road, while breaking in the three new signees the club brought in during the transfer window.
“We've had probably three days with them — three sessions. I thought it was going to be a little bit clunky,” Neville said of the additions of Kristoffer Velde, Felipe Carballo and Matias Rojas. “The first half was very clunky. I thought we were a little bit nervous on the ball. [San Diego] pressed us on any back pass, and I thought it made us a little bit nervous. And what we said at halftime was, this was a game where we had to be really brave. And in the second half we were.”
The Timbers (10-9-8, 38 points) didn’t just survive the second half against San Diego — they were largely the aggressor, with Felipe Mora, Kevin Kelsy, Ariel Lassiter and David Da Costa all coming close.
And it’s that last one that seemed to spark extra thought from Portland’s manager.
Da Costa, signed as a designated player before the season, is in quite the slump. The 24-year-old hasn’t scored in MLS play since July 13, hasn’t assisted on a goal since May 28 and saw a golden opportunity to win the game in the 67th minute when he took a pass between two defenders and had room to shoot at the top of the box. Instead, Da Costa elected to pass to Felipe Mora, who got tied up in his run and watched as the keeper scooped up the ball.
“You invest in that end of the pitch for them players to deliver,” Neville said. “He’s got to perform better. His level of performance now should be a lot better.”
While Da Costa was a fulcrum of Portland’s offense early in the season, his struggles of late present a unique situation for the Timbers. Antony started the match on the bench to make room for Rojas, but that may not be a permanent solution for Portland — Antony remains the team’s leading scorer despite missing more than a month with a hamstring injury.
“We’ve got four places for five players,” Neville said of Da Costa. “He has to deliver.”
Overall, Neville was pleased with the minutes he got from Velde (70), Carballo (82) and Rojas (61) — the latter starting despite being the one of the three not fully in game shape.
“He’s not played in a long time but his performances during the week have been fantastic,” Neville said. “I think that’s really important to get back out there in the second half. He obviously showed some quality on the ball as well. Really pleased with how they integrated, and I think they all brought something a little bit different than what we’ve got.”
Captain Surman
It wasn’t a bad week for Portland defender Finn Surman.
On Tuesday, Surman was announced as an international call-up for New Zealand’s upcoming match against Australia. On Saturday, he played a large part in Portland securing a point in San Diego, doing so while wearing the captain’s armband for the first time in his MLS career.
“It was pretty special, for lack of better words,” Surman said. “It's something that fills me with a great deal of pride and honor. I know what I'm representing when I wear that armband, and there's a whole club behind me, and that fills me with immense pride, and it's something that's very special to me. So I'm very grateful for the opportunity, and it's something that I'm pretty happy with. I'm pretty proud.”
— Tyson Alger, The I-5 Corridor
Surman has earned the captains armband and definitely deserved it last night!