After the Whistle: Portland Timbers FC 1, Austin FC 0

Verde were minutes from a scoreless draw, but then David Da Costa decided to have a special moment at their expense.

It was a stalemate that seemed destined for a 0-0 draw, and then, thanks to one foul and one free kick just minutes before the end, it wasn't.

The synopsis

Austin FC lost its first match of 2025 — in its first away trip of the season — in heartbreaking fashion, losing 1-0 on an 89th-minute free kick by new Portugeuse midfielder David Da Costa following a questionable (in both the "why do that there" and "why call that there" sense) foul on Brandon Vázquez with the match winding down.

As in their previous match, Verde engineered some good chances, and were more positive in production than they were in the first match judging from shots on target alone. But when it came down to final product in front of goal, Timbers keeper James Pantemis made the saves he had to, and Brad Stuver was frozen in his goalmouth at a critical moment.

The key stats

As alluded to earlier, Verde managed 11 shots to the Timbers' eight and four shots on target to the Timbers' two. Stuver saved a 5th-minute shot from Felipe Mora and then wasn't tested again with a shot on target until Da Costa's goal. Austin did lose the possession battle, but not by so much that it was especially telling, getting 46.4% to the Timbers' 53.6%. The Timbers edged Austin in xG, but it was nominal at 0.7 to 0.6, and as happened in the last match between these teams – in October in this stadium – the match was won on a low-chance shot, this one being a 0.04 xG free kick.

An integral sub

Though Julio Cascante's non-contact injury led to him being swapped out in the 42nd minute for Oleksandr Svatok – Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez said post-march he suspects that injury will be relatively mild though he'll know more when Cascante undergoes a scan on Monday – the anticipated sub-in for Myrto Uzuni happened in the 62nd minute, as part of a double sub that also brought in Besard Šabović.

While Uzuni didn't register a particularly dynamic debut in slightly more than a half hour on the field, Estévez had positive things to say about the Albanian's debut.

"I think he worked really hard," Estévez said. "He gave us a lot of energy. He helped us a lot of defending. And when we didn't have the ball, and when we had the ball, he was moving all the time, these moments that the pass was there and the opportunity was there to find him, but we didn't make the pass, because the movements were really, really good. And I think he just needs to keep working, keep getting his fitness in, because we see every single day his quality and in front of goal, his quality in training and in the game."

Initial assessments

"I think we want to be on the other side," Estévez said regarding the loss. "We want to be the team that celebrates, not the team who gets sad for that moment, because I think they guys put a lot of effort into the game. The game had different phases. I think at the beginning they start strong, as we expected, because they're playing at home. But I think after the first minutes, we controlled the game really well. We were able to start to create some dangerous plays that allow us to get into their box, getting some corner kicks and shots and overall, I think we grew throughout the game.

"We have to create more," he added. "We have to be a team that can create more goal scoring opportunities today. We didn't a good job on that, but we didn't do a bad job to lose the game, to be honest."

"Soccer is a cruel game," said Brandon Hines-Ike regarding the outcome, noting that Verde had opportunities to flip the 1-0 outcome their way. "We understood exactly what we needed to do. You know, we managed the game really well in a lot of moments, even in times when we didn't have possession. We just kept doing our work, the dirty work, sort of shifting and moving, a lot of good things.

"And at the end, it feels very sour because of the way we conceded. And it was always going to be if they did concede something like that, and we understood that. So even more so, you know, something to be aware of and prepare us for future road trips. And, you know, it's the second game of the season. A lot of things to learn. And I think this is a group that keeps getting more gel together each game, and it's only going to get better."

We'll do our usual day-after coverage with additional quotes later on Sunday. (I was going to say tomorrow but it's already tomorrow!)

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