It wasn’t just the 3-0 win last Saturday at previously undefeated Colorado that pleased Portland Timbers coach Phil Neville. It was that so many young players contributed to it.

“I think what we saw tonight, we saw in (David) Ayala, in (Finn) Surman, in (Jimer) Fory, in Santi (Moreno), in (Juan) Mosquera, in Antony, in (Kevin) Kelsy, in Ian Smith — I think I’ve named eight young players there under the age of 23/24,” Neville said. “I think it’s so exciting to see the growth.”

Neville will keep looking for growth — and wins — when Portland welcomes the Houston Dynamo to town on Sunday.

The Timbers (2-2-1, 7 points) managed only three goals in their first four matches, none in the first half. Joshua Atencio ended that dry spell in stoppage time, while Antony and Kelsy tacked on in the second half to round out the team’s best performance of the young season.

For Neville, Kelsy’s goal was particularly noteworthy. Acquired from Cincinnati after he scored six goals last year, Kelsy got on the scoresheet just 53 seconds after entering the match, his first with his new team.

“He needed that goal,” Neville said.

While Portland broke out last weekend, Houston (0-3-2, 2 points) did not, but the Dynamo at least salvaged a scoreless draw out of its trip to Seattle. Goalies Jimmy Maurer and Blake Gillingham combined for four saves in the team’s second clean sheet of the year.

And the Dynamo added some much-needed help on Friday, acquiring Ondrej Lingr from Czech powerhouse Slavia Prague. The 26-year old Lingr has 24 caps for his country and has scored 42 goals in 196 matches with two Czech clubs and one in Holland.

“I’m a more direct attacking midfielder,” Lingr said. “I like to be in the 18, be around the chances, scoring goals. I’m a warrior. I will die for my team and this is what I can bring to Houston. This is the reason why they chose me.”

Lingr signed through 2028 with club options through 2029.

–Field Level Media