Is there light at the end of the tunnel for the Portland Timbers?

(14) Portland Timbers (2,6,4, 10 points) vs (13) San Jose Earthquakes (3,8,1,10 points)

Wednesday May 15, 2024 KO 7:30 PM PST/ 10:30 PM EST

Providence Park, Portland, Oregon

Portland Timbers Briefly

Is manager Phil Neville running out of options or is his team simply becoming too complacent and relaxed to fight its way out of the Western Conference cellar where they are suddenly submerged.

What on Earth can this team do to start winning some matches? Will a change at the helm change for better or for worse? As I recall, Carlos Llamosa was ready to take over the reins of any team.

And why not make the Timbers his first managerial experience?

Llamosa is a man that already knows the player base and city where he made many friends and formed himself as an assistant under Giovanni Savarese being a good student on the sidelines. Still, the ball will be on Merrit Paulson’s court.

Getting back to the team’s overall performance being a failing one, a team playing in a comfort zone with not hesitations to win, and no confidence and attitude to win, overall, this tells me that the whole team is not focused.

The Portland Timbers cannot afford to lose again as this will become disastrous for team chemistry and unity alongside the prospect of not making postseason berth for the second consecutive year.

There has to be a leader to emerge after the storm as the need to start developing the game they are accustomed and getting back into the winning grove will be imperative for this team to get back into that long for turnaround.

Is there light at the end of the tunnel for these embattled Portland Timbers?

Photo Credit San Jose Earthquakes

San Jose Earthquakes Briefly

Luchi Gonzales is one happy man, after seeing a sudden turnaround with this team and moving up the Western Conference table after posting back-to-back wins against two conference rivals.

By getting one win after the other over LAFC by 3-1 and then beating a renewed Colorado by 3-2, there is now talk about the possibility of the Earthquakes making the postseason.

Still, a long road ahead but in the end this team is known for its fighting spirit as well as looking forward to stand out as a total contender with lots of time to prove its mettle.

With a couple of players in Team of the Matchday in Vitor Morales and Cristian Ezpinoza on the bench, the Quakes are making a number of headlines and with a fourth consecutive win. I can see this team reviving.

My conclusion is that the Quakes are looking forward to many memorable moments and looking forward to scoring three important three points against the Portland Timbers.

Meetings 

09/20/2023 Portland Timbers 2-0 San Jose Earthquakes

07/22/2023 Portland Timbers 2-0 San Jose Earthquakes

06/17/2023 San Jose Earthquakes 0-0 Portland Timbers

Forecast

Will the Portland Timber see a revival on Wednesday night?