No Miracle for the Portland Timbers against San Diego

Photo Credit: Major League Soccer.com

No miracle in San Diego as the Portland Timbers went down without a fight against an inspired and red-hot team and its debutante manager, Mickey Varas.

As everything went from bad to worse for the visiting Portland Timbers with a red card to its defender, Juan Mosquera, leaving the team with just 10 players on the pitch and looking desperate, the team ended up not even proving a threat to the home side.

A bad judgment from Mosquera left the Timbers with ten as the game official didn’t hesitate to show him the red card in the 80^th minute, leaving his team unable to mount a comeback, and resulting in the opposing goalkeeper earning a clean sheet.

San Diego got a brace from Anders Dreyer and one from Manuel Pellegrino. That was enough for the team from “America’s Finest City” to come ahead with the win and deliver a one-of-a-kind clean sheet in the end. In the end, the Portland Timbers saw their season come to an abrupt end after Mosquera’s expulsion and saw the score with a whooping 4-0 loss.

There would be no repeat of last Saturday’s win over San Diego–a team that has become their tormentor ever since their inception in Major League Soccer. The Timbers had twelve overall shots, but just two on goal, and the team is looking short of ideas, and manager Phil Neville will need to deliver some ultimate solutions for 2026.

The Timbers will be looking forward to next season with its new prospects as Finn Surman and Kristofer Velde will be the players the Rose City side will focus in the upcoming preseason. If someone was busy, it was James Pantemis with five saves on the evening.

As Gage Guerra is the future for the Portland Timbers, many don’t see coming back the likes of Paraguayan midfielder Matias Rojas, as well as his countryman Cristhian Paredes, who didn’t have many minutes in the season.

Not a way to see the season come to an abrupt end for the Portland Timbers, but as they say, there’s always next year, and looking forward to exciting things happening in Providence Park in 2026!