SAN JOSÉ, Costa Rica – Preseason games come with specific objectives for coaches, many of which, in a season’s first stages, come down to fitness and the team’s approach. From beyond the locker room and coach’s offices, that makes preseason games difficult to judge. Final scores aren’t bottom lines. Meeting team objectives are.
According to Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese, Portland met both standards on Saturday. Facing Costa Rican hosts, Deportivo Saprissa, at Estadio Ricardo Saprissa Amaya, the visitors got goals on each side of halftime – one each from captain Diego Valeri and Timbers 2 midfielder Ken Krolicki – to earn a 2-1 victory in the team’s first competitive action of the preseason.