Phil Neville wants lessons to have been learned after his Portland Timbers team were hammered 4-1 by the Vancouver Whitecaps last week.
Portland’s 2025 MLS season got off to a dismal start on home soil.
They were reduced to 10 men early on when Kamal Miller received his marching orders.
Miller’s 11th-minute red card was the second-fastest red card any player has been shown in a season-opening match in league history after Maxime Chanot was sent off just three minutes into New York City FC’s opening match in 2020.
Portland, who face Austin FC on Saturday, went on to capitulate to a heavy loss, but Neville believes his team can use the defeat as a learning curve.
As reported by Oregon Live, Neville said: “I think those younger players will have learned a lot.
“Sometimes as a young player, you need an experience like this. I think my first game in football, I thought I was a really good player, and then went to Aston Villa, first Premier League game, and I think we were 3-0 down after 20 minutes.
“I thought, ‘Oh wow.’ It’s a real check, and today was probably a check for a lot of our players in terms of what’s needed to compete.
“I think it’s better off feeling it in the first game – even though it hurts – than later in the season, when it can be painful.”
The kid on the block.
Congratulations to Ian Smith on making his professional debut pic.twitter.com/Zrk6SOHPZ0
— Portland Timbers (@TimbersFC) February 25, 2025
Portland also lost heavily to Vancouver in the playoffs last season, and defender Zac McGraw echoed Neville’s sentiments.
“Fortunately, last year this loss happened at the last game of the season, and we got knocked out,” McGraw said.
“This year, it’s the beginning of the year so we can actually improve off it. There are a lot of new guys in the locker room and a lot of new guys in the field, but we’ve been together all preseason. They’re going to adapt.”
Austin beat Sporting Kansas City 1-0 in their opening game.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Portland Timbers – Antony
Antony grabbed a consolation for Portland against the Whitecaps, converting with his only shot of the match.
He registered 0.64 expected goals, which was by far the highest of any Portland player in that game.
Austin FC – Osman Bukari
Austin’s winning goal against Kansas City came via a Bukari header in the second half.
Since the start of last season, 11 of Austin FC’s 40 regular-season goals (28%) have been scored via headers, the highest percentage in MLS.
Bukari had three shots against SKC, more than any of his team-mates.
MATCH PREDICTION: PORTLAND WIN
Despite their heavy opening-day defeat, Portland are backed by the Opta supercomputer for this one.
That is also in spite of Austin having ended a six-match winless run against Portland (D1 L5) with a 1-0 victory at Providence Park last October.
It was Austin’s first-ever win in Portland after losing twice and drawing once in their first three visits.
Austin won their season-opening match for the second time in club history. The only previous season Austin won their season opener was the only time they made the playoffs, as they opened with two straight wins in 2022.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Portland Timbers – 46.4%
Austin – 27%
Draw – 26.6%
