Timbers’ 2015 MLS Cup anniversary celebration soured by loss to Real Salt Lake

On a night celebrating a beloved championship team, the

Portland Timbers

had their worst home performance since opening night, falling 1-0 to Real Salt Lake at Providence Park.

Diogo Goncalves broke a scoreless tie in the 83rd minute for RSL (8-10-4, 28 points), which broke a five-game winless streak against Portland (9-7-6, 33 points). The Timbers have lost three of their last four matches.

“We can’t shy away from the fact that we’re going through a dip,” said Timbers coach

Phil Neville

. “And we’ve not had many dips this season, so there was always a time when we were going to hit a little bit of a patch where the ball doesn’t roll for us or the decisions aren’t going for us.”

The result put a damper on a memorable night that included a halftime ceremony commemorating the 10-year anniversary of the 2015 Timbers, who captured the club’s only MLS Cup title and lone postseason championship of any kind in the team’s 50-year history across multiple leagues.

Ten players from the team were honored on the field — 12 if you include

Diego Chara

, the only member of the 2015 squad who still plays for the Timbers, and Liam Ridgewell, who is now an assistant coach for the club. Diego Valeri and Rodney Wallace, who each scored in the 2-1 victory over Columbus in the MLS Cup final, drew roars from the Portland fans, as did the team’s captain, Jack Jewsbury.

“I can’t believe it’s already been 10 years; it makes me feel old,” said Jewsbury. “Some of these guys I haven’t seen in eight or nine years. That group of guys who went through that, you leave with special friendships and bonds.”

Goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey, who notably scored to win a marathon penalty shootout in the first round of that postseason, was also in attendance along with Nat Borchers, George Fochive, Jorge Villafana, Taylor Peay, Andrew Weber and Ben Zemanski.

Each former player had an opportunity to hoist the MLS Cup trophy in front of the Timbers Army one more time, which brought considerably louder cheers from the supporters than the current Timbers induced with their play.

“It was heavier than I remember, but it felt great,” Borchers quipped about lifting the trophy. “To see that response and feel the energy the crowd used to give us, to do it all again is special.”

“We had some ups and downs that season and had some games we needed to win, but at the end, we got hot and you can only do that with a special group of guys,” Borchers added. “When you see everyone, it’s like being brothers again.”

Despite a tough night on the field, the Timbers remain well in the playoff picture in sixth place in the Western Conference, one point behind Seattle and two behind fourth-place LAFC. Portland had been unbeaten in 10 straight home matches since a season-opening loss to Vancouver on Feb. 23. Wednesday was the first time this year the Timbers were held scoreless at Providence Park.

With MLS all-star

David Da Costa

scratched with an injury just before kickoff, the Timbers couldn’t quite connect offensively.

In the 40th minute,

Santiago Moreno

slid a nice through ball to Kevin Kelsy behind the RSL defense, but Kelsy didn’t have enough space to lift a shot over charging goalkeeper Rafael Cabral, who smothered the attempt.

Kelsy nearly got to a ball across the face of the goal in the 64th minute that looked like it could be the breakthrough for the Timbers, but a defender poked the ball away just before Kelsy arrived.

The Timbers’ best chance at a goal might have been a potential penalty that went uncalled. Ariel Lassiter appeared to be shoved to the ground by RSL’s Noel Caliskan in the penalty area in the 59th minute, but referee Alexis Da Silva waved off the appeals of Neville and the Portland players while the home crowd loudly booed after a replay was shown.

“We had a referee that wasn’t giving us anything we thought we deserved,” said Neville. “But that’s not an excuse. It’s just not going for us at this moment in time.”

On the RSL goal, three Timbers got stuck too close to the ball in the middle of the field, allowing Ariath Piol to find Goncalves open on the right wing for a clear shot that beat Portland keeper Maxime Crepeau to the short side.

“A mistake cost us the goal and gave them their victory,” Neville said. “We have to bounce back. It’s our first defeat in 10 at home, so I told the team we were on a hell of a run and now let’s go on another 10-game unbeaten run.”

Diego Luna of RSL, who broke out as a U.S. national team star in the recent Concacaf Gold Cup, put the ball in the net in the 76th minute off the rebound of a fine save by Crepeau, but Luna was flagged for being offside and the game remained scoreless. Luna had two other prime scoring chances that he put over the crossbar.

The Timbers next face Minnesota at home Saturday, when they will host more festivities honoring the 50th anniversary of the club.

“In this league, you’re going to have difficult moments and you have to dig in,” Neville stated. “We’re going to have to find other ways of winning, and it’s not going to be beautiful at times because we have players missing, but it’s my job to make sure the team is ready to go Saturday.”

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