Portland puts on a show with a 6-0 win over a weak Sporting Kansas City

On Saturday night, as the Timbers Army supporters’ group chant goes, there was a party in Portland, with the Timbers’ 6-0 rout of a very weak Sporting Kansas City. The visitors were mere spectators at Providence Park.

The Timbers took the lead early in minute 6 with a long-distance shot by Kristoffer Velde. From there, the home team’s effectiveness kept adding to the tally: Kevin Kelsey in the 15th minute, Cole Bassett in the 22nd, and, thanks to an unfortunate deflection, Jacob Davis (Sporting KC’s superior form aight back) scored an own goal, leaving the Midwest side down by four before the half-hour mark.

With 4-0 and a half to play, MLS has shown itself capable of big surprises. In 2014, Seattle Sounders came back after a great first half by Caleb Porter’s pupils; a hat trick by US Soccer legend Clint Dempsey stunned the then-called Jeld-Wen Field crowd, securing a 4-4 draw. Last week, Orlando blanked Messi’s side, Inter Miami, turning around a 3-1 deficit in a goal-filled second half to take all three points at their archrival’s home. This was not the case Saturday night at Providence Park.

Sporting, instead, kept sinking, and even as they attempted to rally and had a few opportunities to cut the deficit, they gave Portland a chance to showcase their goalkeeper James Pantemis’s great form. The lack of conviction in the attack made him work enough to earn the fans’ applause with his first clean sheet. Portland would score again in minute 71 with a free kick from Ariel Lassiter, and Kevin Kelsey would add his second goal in minute 74 to make the final 6-0.

Both teams stayed true to their season mantras. Kansas City showed why it is sitting deep at the bottom of the table with just one win and a staggering -24 goal difference. Portland’s lack of consistency is worrisome; Saturday, they showed their potential, but they are still struggling to stay within the playoff cutoff line.

It has been two months since Sporting Kansas City’s only win away at LA Galaxy in California, and aside from two draws, they have lost all their other games by more than two goals. They are having a very poor season, and they are making the case for why a relegation system is the healthiest thing that US Soccer could implement, rather than keep getting creative with the Football book.

From Portland’s perspective, while everybody celebrated, Timbers coach Phil Neville looked rather annoyed, knowing he wouldn’t be able to draw any conclusions to help improve the team’s form as we approach the halfway point of the season.

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