BEAVERTON, Ore. – The Portland Timbers will certainly be looking for a spark when they face the San Jose Earthquakes on the road Sunday (5 pm ET, ESPN2) at Avaya Stadium.
In the Timbers' last four road games in all competitions, they’ve been outscored 14-1 following last weekend’s 4-1 loss to FC Dallas. And in their last five games across all competitions, they’ve scored just three goals, leading to a 1-3-1 record.
One thing is for sure, if a spot in the postseason is in the cards, something will need to change from their recent run of poor form that has snuck in on the heels of a stretch of six wins in seven games that had them knocking on the door of first place in the Western Conference in early July.
That spark could come in the form of Lucas Melano.
The recently signed Designated Player could be in line for his first start in a Timbers jersey following his debut in a 26-minute shift against Dallas.
“He’s definitely going to be in there because he brings some things to the table that we need, which is why we signed him,” Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said at the team training facility earlier this week.
What Portland needs is explosiveness in the attack. In their five games since a 4-1 win over the Seattle Sounders on June 28, including a 2-0 US Open Cup loss to Real Salt Lake, Portland have just two goals from the run of play – and another off a Fanendo Adi penalty kick against Dallas – and only one of those came from an attacking player (Diego Valeri in a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps on July 18).
Melano, who replaced left winger Rodney Wallace when he came on in Dallas, created two dangerous chances in his brief appearance, one a shot saved by goalkeeper Dan Kennedy and another a run that drew the Adi-converted penalty.
“I thought he did well when he went in, obviously he got in behind twice in the 25 minutes he was in, which is a good impact,” Porter said. “Obviously drew the PK, which is good. We moved him from the right to the left, and when we moved him from the right to the left he got in behind twice.”
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How Melano fits into the attack could be paramount for the Timbers’ fortunes for the remainder of the season. Their swoon has dropped them into a tie for fifth place in the standings with 32 points from 22 games, three points clear of seventh-place Real Salt Lake and seven ahead of ninth-place San Jose.
Fellow Argentine Valeri, the team’s offensive lynchpin, said he’s been spending extra time with Melano to help him get on the same page, while also helping integrate quickly into his new city.
“He’s adapted very well,” Valeri said. “He came in the middle of the season, almost the final part of the season, so it’s a difficult time to adapt. We are spending time outside the training facility. … He wants to play.”
Porter seemed to indicate that Melano wouldn’t be ready for a 90-minute shift and that if he started he would be in line to play for an hour.
“Will he be ready to start and manage 60 minutes because typically you’re not going to start a guy to play 45 minutes… it might be tight,” Porter said. “So those are things we have to decide.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
