The Portland Timbers and Orlando City will both look to rebound from midweek defeats in the U.S. Open Cup round of 16 when they return to league play on Saturday night in Central Florida.
Orlando (6-2-6, 24 points) sustained a 3-2 loss at home on Wednesday night to Nashville SC in a match in which Oscar Pareja opted to keep many of his regulars in the starting lineup.
That included Marco Pasalic, who scored one goal and assisted the other in what was Orlando’s first loss in 13 matches across all competitions. And Martin Ojeda also played the first 60 minutes of the contest, though Luis Muriel came off the bench.
“We thought about rotations, and we took care of our offensive side today, probably more than our defensive side and our midfield,” Pareja said. “But let’s see, let’s see how it goes over the week.”
With eight goals and three assists following a hat trick in a 3-3 draw against the New England Revolution on May 10, Ojeda has emerged as a potential MLS MVP contender.
Meanwhile, Portland (6-3-5, 23 points) had to go 120 minutes on Tuesday night in their 1-0 loss in extra time at the San Jose Earthquakes, and now faces a cross-country trip.
A once-firing attack has looked worn down by a demanding schedule, with the Timbers only scoring twice in their last four games across all competitions. Manager Phil Neville didn’t want to blame that itinerary.
“I still think we can be more — we can show more composure, more quality on the ball, and that’s something we need to keep working on,” Neville said. “But I think the most important thing now is to accept it, lick our wounds and make sure that we’re ready for Orlando on Saturday.”
Santiago Moreno has both those most-recent goals, meaning he’s the only Portland player to score since a 3-2 win in the Open Cup fourth round over the third-tier Tacoma Defiance back on May 6. Moreno did not feature at San Jose.
–Field Level Media
