Minnesota United, Portland looking to right ship after home losses
Two top-six teams in the Western Conference will try and bounce back from 1-0 home losses on Wednesday when third-place Minnesota United visits the sixth-place Portland Timbers on Saturday night.
The match will celebrate Portland's 50-year anniversary with a celebration night. The Timbers (9-7-6, 33 points), who have lost three of their last four matches, are coming off a 1-0 setback to Real Salt Lake that snapped a 10-game home unbeaten streak (6-0-4) dating back to a 4-1 loss to the Vancouver Whitecaps on Feb. 23.
'We have to bounce back,' Portland coach Phil Neville said. 'It's our first defeat in 10 at home, so I told our team we were on a hell of a run and now let's go on another 10-game unbeaten run.'
Minnesota United (11-5-7, 40 points) are 5-2-4 on the road, the third-most road wins in the Western Conference. The Loons have gone 2-0-2 in their last four road matches dating back to a 2-0 loss to the Houston Dynamo on May 14.
Minnesota had a four-match unbeaten streak snapped with a 1-0 loss to visiting Los Angeles FC on Wednesday. Defender Nicolas Romero was called for a foul after getting tangled up and falling down with LAFC striker Jeremy Ebobisse in the middle of the penalty box late in the first half, and Denis Bouanga converted the ensuing penalty kick for what proved to be the game-winner.
'I think we did fairly comfortably dominate a large part of that game,' Minnesota head coach Eric Ramsay said. 'We created a lot of half-chances. We had a lot of territory, but we were lacking real precision around the top of the box.'
Despite the loss, the Loons remain just two points behind first-place San Diego FC in the Western Conference.
'I think for us, it's just a matter of how we respond to it,' forward Tani Oluwaseyi, who leads the team with nine goals, said. 'I think we've done a good job of responding all year, and I think we'll do that on Saturday.'
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