FC Cincinnati Beat: Orange and Blue look to continue Western Conference success as Evander makes return to old stomping grounds

CINCINNATI — Multiple firsts will be prevalent Saturday night when FC Cincinnati heads to Portland, Oregon to take on the Portland Timbers.

For starters, this is Cincinnati’s first trip to Portland since joining MLS in 2019. Speaking of firsts, Portland was FC Cincinnati’s first home opponent as an MLS club back on March 17, 2019. Cincinnati won that match 3-1, which was played at Nippert Stadium.

In addition, Cincinnati is looking for its first win since July 19th. It’s only played two MLS regular-season matches since then, largely due to the League’s Cup, and is 0-1-1 in those matces. With how tight the Eastern Conference table is, with Cincinnati (15-7-4, 49 points) in second place just two points behind Philadelphia, every match the rest of the way is crucial with three points imperative towards climbing to the top of the Eastern Conference and the pole position in the Supporter’s Shield race.

But perhaps the most prevalent first on Saturday night is FC Cincinnati All-Star midfielder, Evander, returning to his old stomping grounds in the Rose City.

A frontrunner for the 2025 MLS MVP, Evander played the previous two seasons with the Timbers as a Designated Player from Danish club FC Midtjylland. In 55 matches with the club, Evander scored 24 goals and added 19 assists.

That success has followed Evander to the Queen City, with 15 goals and nine assists this season.

“I just gotta be focusing on the game, on the club that I’m playing for right now, which is Cincinnati,” Evander said when meeting with the media on Thursday. “I know that I played there for two years, and I know that a lot of things happened throughout those two years, but I gotta represent Cincinnati, this team that I’m playing for right now.

“I know it’s gonna be tough. I don’t know what’s gonna happen with the fans, but that’s not up to me. So I just gotta be focused on the things that I need to do on the pitch and help the team.”

While Cincinnati will be making the cross-country road trip to Portland, they have fared well away from TQL Stadium this season. Its eight road wins are tied for the most in MLS, and its 26 points on the road lead all MLS clubs.

FC Cincinnati has had great success on the West Coast, and the Western Conference, since Pat Noonan became the club’s head coach in 2022.

They are 15-4-5 against Western Conference opponents in MLS regular-season play, with wins in four straight road matches and an undefeated reocrd in their last six matches against Western Conference clubs.

“I think we’ve been consistent in our play. I think guys know how to play on the road. I think we have good players that understand how to navigate different challenges in the league, as far as travel and playing against Western Conference opponents that you might be relatively unfamiliar with,” Noonan said earlier this week. “I think they do a good job of doing their homework and understanding what’s ahead of them. So, hopefully we can find that same success this weekend, but it’ll certainly be a difficult task.”

Indeed it will, with Portland (10-8-7, 37 points) tied for sixth in the Western Conference. The Timbers are an up-and-down team, with a -1 goal differential, but they are rounding into form as the MLS regular season heads into its final two months. Despite not advancing in the League’s Cup, Portland went 2-1 in the tournament with both wins over Liga MX opponents.

Head coach Phil Neville, who played on Manchester United’s premier league and UEFA Champions League winning teams in the late 90s and early 2000s, has his team just four points outside the top four spots in the Western Confernence.

“I think Phil [Neville]’s got the group going in a good direction. They’ve had a good Leagues Cup, despite not advancing, and they’ve got a lot of weapons,” Noonan said. “I think the structure has been a little bit different in the last couple months, as far as what we’ve seen from maybe the beginning of his time there, but defensively organized.

“Home or away, there’s a lot of similarities with the play and understanding how to step to the ball. I think one of the better possession teams, but not afraid in playing direct and knowing how to play in behind. So I think what we’ve seen is a good balance. We’ve been able to analyze some different types of games, and I think there’s just been consistent in their play, and they have a lot of talent on that roster.”

The Timbers have seen changes to their roster during the transfer window. Led by Antony, David Da Costa and Felipe Mora, the trio have combined for 34 goal contributions this season.

Maxime Crepeau is the Timbers starting goalkeeper, a 31-year-old journeyman who is playing for his fourth team in Portland.

Saturday’s match kicks off at 10:30 E.T. on Apple TV+ with MLS Season Pass.