David Da Costa strikes quickly, but injury hangs over Timbers’ Leagues Cup rout

David Da Costa was the player who got the crowd to stand up the fastest in Portland Timbers history on Wednesday night.

Fewer have even deflated a stadium while winning a match by a significant margin.

The good: Da Costa opened the scoring just 36 seconds into the Timbers’ 4-0 thumping of San Luis in their Leagues Cup group round opener.

The bad: When Da Costa departed the game in the 38th minute, clutching his left shoulder, the victory—and possibly the tournament—became less important.

At 24, Da Costa, Portland’s only active designated player, has been the team’s attacking focal point in his first MLS season and is ranked second on the team with 12 goal contributions.

Another glimpse of that potential was what he aimed for. Da Costa jumped on a weak clearing after an Ian Smith cross was deflected and smashed a one-timer inside the near post. Suddenly, the score was 1-0, the third-fastest goal in Leagues Cup history, and green smoke billowed across Providence Park in the sunlight.

Thirty-six minutes was the duration of the celebration.

Da Costa fell to the turf close to midfield when his left arm was pulled while he was trailing back in transition. As the fan section fell into startled stillness, he finally left on his own initiative and made his way to the locker room.

The team stated during the game that X-rays showed Da Costa’s injury was not significant and that he would probably recover.

The bright side was that Portland didn’t require Da Costa to finish. The Timbers’ most decisive victory of the season came via goals in the second half from Kevin Kelsy (56), Ariel Lassiter (73), and Felipe Mora (78).

Next up: In Matchday 2 of the Leagues Cup group stage, Portland will host Queretaro on Saturday.

— Tyson Alger of OregonLive/The Oregonian