After setting the club record for largest margin of victory on Saturday, the Portland Timbers head to Montreal for a midweek clash Wednesday, looking to carry the offensive momentum.
Kevin Kelsy scored a brace and added two assists as the Timbers (4-6-1, 13 points) picked up a 6-0 victory over Sporting KC.
Kristoffer Velde scored and added an assist for a Portland side which recorded four first-half goals within the first 26 minutes of the match — the fastest four goals in the Timbers MLS era.
“People have got to drop their egos and then just keep pushing forward,” said Portland head coach Phil Neville. “Super proud of the performance, and I’ve told them I want a nine-point week and nothing more, nothing less than that.
“That means every single one of them in there has got to drop their egos.”
Kelsy and Velde have four goals each in 11 matches to lead Portland.
Wednesday is Portland’s lone match against Montreal this season — it’s the first meeting between the two sides since October 2023, when Montreal topped Portland 4-1 north of the border.
Montreal (4-7-0, 12 points) entertains Portland, looking for a fourth straight home victory in MLS regular-season action.
The Eastern Conference side is coming off a 2-0 win over Orlando City on Saturday, courtesy of second-half stoppage-time goals from Daniel Rios and Dagur Dan Thorhallsson.
For Rios, the Mexican forward, his first MLS goal of the season on a penalty kick stood to be the winner.
Orlando defender Robin Jansson took down Montreal defender Luca Petrasso in the area, awarding Montreal a penalty kick.
“I was staying in the present and thinking about what could happen and just tried to stay calm and keep my cool,” Rios said of the moments leading up to his penalty kick.
Montreal is paced by forward Prince Owusu, who has 10 goal contributions (six goals, four assists).
–Field Level Media
