denversun
The Portland Timbers will aim to end a six-match winless run when they welcome the Colorado Rapids to Providence Park on Saturday night. Portland (9-14-6, 33 points) is tied for 10th in the Western Conference with Real Salt Lake and San Diego FC, while Colorado (11-13-5, 38 points) occupies the ninth and final playoff position.
The Timbers' struggles continued on Wednesday with a 2-0 road defeat to the LA Galaxy. Head coach Marti Cifuentes acknowledged the team's shortcomings: “There are a lot of things we need to improve, that's for sure. You can be unlucky in one game at the end, you can be unlucky in two games, but when we have this trend, that means that we have not done well enough in certain areas.” Portland was without forward Antony (knee) and midfielder Cole Bassett (illness) against the Galaxy, though both could return on Saturday.
Forward Kristoffer Velde, the Timbers' leading active scorer with eight goals, took a match-high six shots against LA, three on target. However, over his past five matches, Velde has fired 24 shots—five on goal—without finding the net.
Colorado, meanwhile, is winless in its past four matches (0-1-3) and has struggled on the road, posting a 2-10-2 away record. The Rapids have also lost five straight visits to Providence Park across all competitions, including one Leagues Cup match, with the Timbers outscoring them 16-4 in those games.
The Rapids played to a 2-2 draw with Minnesota United on Wednesday, a result that frustrated head coach Matt Wells despite his team playing the final quarter of the match a man down. Minnesota's equalizer in the 83rd minute came via an own goal after Colorado's Loic Williams misplayed a clearance. “It's only in your own hands until it's not,” Wells said of the playoff race. “I don't concern myself too much with looking at the table or the results of the other guys. We need to do our job. Of course, we want to get to the playoffs, but we don't want to sneak in there by default because other teams also haven't put results together.” Forwards Darren Yapi and Georgi Minoungou scored for Colorado.
The Rapids claimed a 2-0 home victory over the Timbers on Feb. 28 earlier this season.
Originally reported by denversun.