David Da Costa delivered when Portland needed its All-Star most

PORTLAND It’s okay to look at those Evander highlights; they’ve been difficult to miss.

With 12 goals, the former Timbers designee is tied with third place in the MLS. He has scored five goals in his last three games and is still doing the ridiculous things with the ball that earned him a spot on Portland’s 2024 All-Star team.

He is the only player in Major League Soccer with at least 25 goals and 25 assists since the beginning of the previous season, and seven of his 12 goals with Cincinnati have occurred outside the 18-yard box.

To put it briefly, he has been excellent.

For Portland, that has been acceptable. The Timbers had their best 10-game start in club history and established a sufficient point cushion to withstand an increasing number of injuries that have caused the offense to cool. This was made possible by a team that was built on improved defensive structure and a flowing offensive attack that depended on quick ball movement and the counter.

After a disappointing 3-0 road performance in Toronto and a 1-1 home draw with San Jose, the Timbers entered Saturday’s game in fourth place in the Western Conference, but they were in shaky form. After rolling his ankle during the Toronto loss, Omir Fernandez was unable to practice all week, Jonathan Rodriguez was done for the season, and Antony was still expected to miss at least a month.

Although New England hadn’t been very good, the Timbers had trouble navigating the Eastern Conference, especially with Caleb Porter still making his comeback.

Do you want to know what could have hurt more than seeing the player who left on Saturday score another goal? observing how the departing coach stopped the green and gold from winning three points at home.

And it appeared to be going that way as Ian Smith’s opening goal for Portland in the 20th minute was equalized by a New England goal in the 35th, and the game was inactive for the following 36 minutes.

***

It didn’t fit perfectly.

As part of a promotion for the July 21 All-Star game in Austin, Texas, David Da Costa, Finn Surman, David Ayala, and Antony traveled to Portland Outdoor Store earlier in the summer to get fitted for cowboy hats and boots. The four were Portland’s contenders for the game, hoping to become the city’s lone honors for this decade, along with Evander (2024).

Da Costa said that the boots were a bit tight. However, that appearance is excellent.

The boots will get more comfy as they are used. And when Da Costa was named Portland’s only All-Star last week, he found out he would be donning them once more. In addition to leading all Timbers attackers in passes (774), Da Costa ranked second in goal contributions (behind Antony) and led Portland in minutes (1,519), scoring opportunities created (34) and successful crosses (18).

Da Costa scored two goals going into Saturday, which put him seventh on the team. That was the only significant flaw in his stat line.

And once more, Portland was fine with that. Da Costa wasn’t brought in by the Timbers to replace Evander exactly. But after losing to Toronto and limping home with New England on the way, Neville was quite direct with the highest-paid player on the active roster.

“You have to win us football games,” Neville stated when we chatted with him in the middle of the week. The pressure is that. We brought you in for that reason.

And for that reason, despite a persistent shoulder ailment, Neville kept Da Costa in the game against New England after halftime. A spark was needed in the game. It took a second. To be honest, it took Da Costa to do what Evander did and make something out of nothing for the first time this season.

Da Costa’s third goal of the year and the 2-1 victory came in the 72nd minute when he came up to the net from 25 yards out, cut inside from left to right to create space against his defender, and unleashed a curling, right-footed effort that curled inside the far post.

For months, they have been requesting that from David Da Costa! The broadcast featured a shout from Jake Zivin.

Neville remarked, “He won us a game of football today.” That should give him a lot of confidence.

The I-5 Corridor was the original home of this narrative.

— Tyson Alger

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