Less than a year after hoisting the MLS Cup amid fireworks and confetti on the field at Mapfre Stadium, the Portland Timbers saw their 2016 campaign come to a feeble end Sunday on the last day of the MLS regular season.
The Timbers had entered the final week of the year with everything to play for, but walked away empty-handed after two disappointing results over a four-day span.
Portland, which finished the year in seventh place in the Western Conference, became the first team since 2006 to miss playoffs the season after winning the MLS Cup and lost out on the Cascadia Cup after falling 4-1 to the Vancouver Whitecaps Sunday. The defeat came shortly after the Timbers were eliminated from CONCACAF Champions League with a 1-1 draw to Deportivo Saprissa Wednesday.
"We're definitely very disappointed in the season," Timbers coach Caleb Porter said.
While Portland remained firmly in the playoff race until the final day of the season, the Timbers (12-14-8, 44 points) struggled to overcome injuries, a lack of depth and poor road performances throughout the year. And the club ultimately failed to rise to the occasion late in the season as it had in 2015.
The 2016 campaign did began with plenty of promise, but even in the offseason problems were surfacing for the Timbers.
After winning the MLS Cup, the Timbers were forced to make roster changes in a condensed timeline and despite attempting to make strategic moves, the club lost some key players and entered the year with problematic holes.
"We dealt with holes all season long in the squad," Porter said. "Those holes led to inconsistent lineups and lack of continuity, which meant inconsistency in performance and chemistry."
The biggest issues were on the left side of the field. Partly in an attempt to manage a tighter salary cap following the MLS Cup victory, the Timbers transferred left back Jorge Villafana to Liga MX club Santos Laguna in offseason. Despite making an offer, the club also failed to re-sign winger Rodney Wallace.
Losing Villafana and Wallace hurt.
Chris Klute, who was signed to replace Villafana, struggled to meet expectations and was loaned to NASL club Minnesota United in September. Portland spent much of the season searching for an answer at left back until they finally acquired Lithuanian defender Vytas, who gave Portland a boost in the final months of the year.
On the wings, the Timbers turned to Dairon Asprilla and designated player Lucas Melano early in the season. But some undisclosed issues prompted Porter to remove Asprilla from the starting 11 for three-straight games in May and the Timbers loaned the winger to Colombian side Millonarios F.C. in June.
Melano, who the Timbers acquired with a $5 million transfer fee in 2015 and looked promising in the MLS Cup playoff run, had opportunities to shine in 2016, but recorded just three goals and five assists in 27 starts. The 23-year-old Argentine made just one start in the final six MLS games, failing to convert an easy rebound inches away from goal while in the lineup at Vancouver Sunday.
Outside of the lack of offensive production from the wingers in 2016, the Timbers also missed Wallace's presence on the other side of the ball as they struggled to get their wingers to contribute defensively. The Timbers conceded a conference-worst 53 goals in 2016 due to inconsistent play from the backline and poor team defense in big moments.
"We've asked our wingers to defend," Porter said. "We've struggled with that all season long. If you can't defend 2v2 in this league on the flanks, you're going to be vulnerable."
Even in positions where the Timbers shouldn't have had issues, the club struggled due to an unprecedented number of injuries. Nearly every starter dealt with injury at some point in 2016, making it difficult for the Timbers to develop consistency and exposing areas where Portland lacked depth.
"We had injuries, but for me it was more about the depth because you have to be able to manage a season with injuries," Porter said. "If you don't have depth that can get the job done when called upon, you're going to struggle to win games."
The biggest injury of the year came in July when fan-favorite and veteran Nat Borchers ruptured his Achilles tendon in a game against the LA Galaxy. The injury forced the Timbers to sign English defender Steven Taylor, who was thrust into the starting 11 almost immediately after arriving in Portland and never fully settled in on the pitch.
"We had a lot of injuries," Timbers forward Fanendo Adi said. "I think every player was out this season for at least one game because of injuries or cards or stuff like that. Our season has been really rough."
Still, what really derailed Portland's season was its road form.
Buoyed by their exuberant fan base, the Timbers set a club record with 12 wins at Providence Park in 2016. But they failed to earn a single road win in 17 attempts this season and finished the year with seven-straight losses away from home. The Timbers found only six points on the road, while they earned 38 points at home.
"That will be the big one for the group next year, how you're more consistent," retiring midfielder Jack Jewsbury said. "We've won more games than we've ever had at home, which kept us in things, but the road form has to get better."
There were certainly positives that came out of 2016, including Jake Gleeson taking over the starting goalkeeping role and rising to prominence in MLS, Adi finishing tied for fifth in the league with 16 goals scored, Vytas moving into the left back position and the Timbers putting things together at home thanks to a solid core group of players. Still, Porter admitted that the club will need to make some significant changes in the offseason as it aims to avoid the pitfalls from 2016.
For Porter and the Timbers, that work starts now.
"There will be some changes, certainly, and there's going to be some soul searching," Porter said. "We have to reflect on everything, evaluate everything and make those corrections to have a better season next year."
-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com
503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg