On Wednesday evening in our nation’s capital, a message was delivered to the Timbers’ sideline during the second half that read simply this: “Reports of Wayne Rooney’s death have been greatly exaggerated.”
Or, something to that effect. Wednesday night, despite deploying a first-choice lineup against DC United, Portland was, quite simply, run out of the building by the previously bottom-dwelling team from the District of Columbia.
The sobering loss comes on the heels of a frustrating end to a 15 game unbeaten run just a few days prior at the hands of the Vancouver Whitecaps, and while there are certainly areas of concern, short rest and the hangover of a long stretch of strong play should be accounted for before we use one game to frame an entire season.