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Currently eighth after four games played, Jason Kreis‘ Lions have now earned their first win of 2018 – a dramatic 4-3 triumph over New York Red Bulls in Gameweek 5.
Now embarking on the second of two-game home streak at Orlando City Stadium, Orlando City SC face Portland Timbers with ground to make up in the Eastern Conference standings.
After five straight seasons under the helm of Caleb Porter who led Timbers to their first MLS Cup title in 2015, it’s a brand new world under Giovanni Savarese.
The former New York Cosmos boss has a tough act to follow the much-loved Porter and has started life at the Oregon-based side slowly.
Savarese and Timbers have had to contend with five consecutive away fixtures to start the 2018 MLS season.
This has told with the Green & Gold losing their opener to LA Galaxy 2-1, losing 4-0 at New York Red Bulls, drawing 1-1 at FC Dallas and drawing 2-2 at Chicago Fire.
Despite their slow start, Portland Timbers still have a plethora of match winners at their disposal, in particularly their Designated Players Diego Valeri, Fanendo Adi and Sebastián Blanco.
The third farthest Major League Soccer outpost from Orlando City SC at 3,031.6 miles away, let’s hope that the opposition are feeling weary after their flight down to Central Florida.
2015/17 head-to-head stats
As we’re all too painfully aware, the second half of the 2017 season was pretty much a write-off as far as Orlando City SC were concerned.
Heading into fixtures lacking belief, Portland Timbers away at Providence Park is always a difficult proposition at the best of times.
A game in which Jonathan Spector saw red for two bookable offences, the Lions were on the back foot as early as the 15th minute when Diego Valeri converted a penalty kick following the American’s foul on Darren Mattocks.
With Mattocks making it two just before the half-an-hour mark, a second Diego Valeri goal put the game way beyond Orlando City SC‘s reach in the 59th minute.
To make matters worse, Jason Kreis‘ men ended the game with nine-men following PC‘s red card for an elbow on Diego Chará late on.
Portland Timbers 3 Orlando City SC 0 – Highlights – September 29, 2017 (Credit: Sports News Center)
That September 2017 victory for Portland Timbers was actually their first win over Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer.
Prior to 2017, Orlando City SC had beaten Timbers in both our inaugural season (0-2) and once again in 2016 (4-1).
Only playing Portland Timbers once a season given the fact they’re a Western Conference franchise, the home side is yet to be defeated in this particular game series.
Orlando City SC 4 Portland Timbers 1 – Highlights – April 3, 2016 (Credit: SPORTS NEWS)
Granted, there are fewer stats to assess given the fact these sides have only faced each other three times in MLS.
However, in the three head-to-heads so far, two of these games have produced ‘to nil’ scorelines.
The first ever league meeting between the duo in April 2015 represented Orlando City SC‘s second ever away win in MLS with former Lion Cyle Larin notching his first City goal.
Portland Timbers 0 Orlando City SC 2 – Highlights – April 12, 2015 (Credit: Portland Timbers)
Orlando City SC form
While we were all exuberant to finally grab our first victory of 2018 against New York Red Bulls, Orlando City SC know they have to improve defensively.
The Lions have conceded AT LEAST 2 GOALS in their last THREE Major League Soccer fixtures – a stat that needs improving.
While we accept our new-look squad needs time to gel, we can’t keep giving early impetus to the opposition. After all, Orlando City SC have gone down 1-0 in all FOUR of our fixtures so far this season.
Portland Timbers form
At the outset, we mentioned that Portland Timbers have began 2018 slowly but when comprehending the end of 2017 as well, there’s even more room for optimism.
Timbers have failed to win their last SEVEN away fixtures in MLS and yet to build confidence with a home game at Providence Park so far this season, it’s time to take advantage of this uncertainty.