PORTLAND — Quick strike FC Dallas made its first win at Providence Park an emphatic one.
Using its speed to pressure Portland into mistakes, Dallas scored three times in the first half hour on Wednesday and rolled to a 3-1 win over the Timbers.
Dallas improved to 4-1-2 and looked every bit a championship contender during a dominant first half. Despite coming to life in the second half, Portland fell to 1-3-2. The Timbers haven’t won since their season opener and on Wednesday did not handle with the speed or the pressure of the visitors. Dallas jumped ahead by forcing turnovers in midfield and quickly turning those into goals.
The defensive implosion came after a solid outing on Sunday in a 1-1 draw in Los Angeles, an effort that coach Caleb Porter hoped his team would build upon. Now the Timbers must gather themselves for another quick turnaround as San Jose visits Portland on Saturday.
The Timbers did come to life in the second half. Darren Mattocks scored his first goal for Portland mere seconds after coming on for Fanendo Adi. Lucas Melano created a series of chances by running behind the defense or dribbling into the penalty area, but none of those came to fruition.
It was not a the best of birthdays for Jack Jewsbury, who turned 35 on Wednesday. The veteran midfielder was twice stripped of possession leading to goals in the third and 26th minutes.
First, Tesho Akindele won the ball from Jewsbury, dribbled to the top of the 18-yard box and rolled a pass to Michael Barrios who delivered a low shot past Adam Kwarasey before the match was three minutes old.
In the 26th minute, former Timber Maxi Urruti caught up with Jewsbury to knock loose the ball and send Fabian Castillo in alone to chip the ball over Kwarasey. Urruti’s hustle play was the kind of energy play that endeared him to Timbers fans during his time in Portland.
Two minutes later it was 3-0 as Akindele’s shot squirted under Kwarasey. That chance developed after Kwarasey punched away a Maynor Figuroa cross only to see it wind up on the feet of Akindele after Castillo collected it at the top of the 18-yard box.
Mattocks drove home his first shot after a Chris Klute cross bounced off a Dallas defender in the middle of the penalty area. But that was the only breakthrough for the Timbers as FC Dallas won in Portland after six losses and four draws in its first 10 visits.
Lineup notes: Ned Grabavoy made his first start for the Timbers, replacing the injured Darlington Nagbe. The other 10 starters were the same as in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at Los Angeles. Chris Klute made his first start at left back for the Timbers at Providence Park after debuting on Sunday. Grabavoy was replaced by Jack McInerney at halftime. Mattocks came on the Fanendo Adi in the 66th minute. And Jack Barmby replaced Nat Borchers after the center back suffered a gash on his nose while tangled with a pair of Dallas players on a Timbers corner kick.
For Dallas, attacking midfielder Mauro Diaz, who has four assists in four games this season, missed his third consecutive match with an undisclosed injury. Urruti started his seventh consecutive match for FCD. Urruti was Fanendo Adi’s primary backup last season in Portland and scored a season-saving goal late in the wild card playoff win over Sporting Kansas City.
