Dynamo hope to bounce back after Open Cup loss in trip to Portland

The Houston Dynamo are back in action following a disappointing Lamar Hunt US Open Cup elimination by Minnesota United FC earlier this week at BBVA Stadium. The Dynamo will hope to turn it around Saturday and get their first regular season win since last month’s 2-1 win over D.C. United as they travel to Providence Park to face the Portland Timbers.

Portland has not had it easy in 2019. The 2018 MLS Cup runner-ups currently sit in last place of the Western Conference. Much of that has been due to the club’s heavy away schedule while Providence Park was being renovated, but with the updates completed, Portland will be hoping to get their first regular season home win in front of their fans.

The Dynamo on the other hand are in 4^th place in the West. The club’s form has dipped slightly as summer has approached, but they had some room to cushion the draws and losses after they got off to their hottest start in club history. With a stretch of games on the road ahead of them, the Dynamo will look to get some positive results and getting them against lowly Portland (for the moment anyways) is a good place to start.

Both Portland and the Dynamo had midweek US Open Cup matches. The Dynamo match against MNUFC featured a nearly perfect first half by the home Dynamo even though they were without many starters and Head Coach Wilmer Cabrera opted to rest others such as A.J. DeLaGarza and DaMarcus Beasley. Despite a 2-0 lead going into halftime, the team collapsed in the second half as familiar Cabrera defensive tactics crept back into view and the Dynamo would go on to lose 2-3.

Portland’s Round of 16 game against the LA Galaxy went a little differently. At Providence Park, the Galaxy conceded an own goal courtesy of Perry Kitchen followed by Brian Fernández and Sebastián Blanco scoring before halftime. Jorge Moreira scored in the 82^nd minute to close out the 4-0 win by the Timbers.

The Dynamo and Portland met earlier this year at BBVA Stadium which resulted in a 1-1 score line. Mauro Manotas broke through first in the 40^th minute, but the Dynamo conceded late to Brian Fernández in the 77^th minute. Both sides will be hungry so it should be a good one.

Kickoff will be at 10 PM CT at Providence Park, Portland, OR.