Foxborough, MA (Sports Network) - The expansion Portland Timbers take aim at their first win of the Major League Soccer season when they travel to Foxborough to take on the unbeaten New England Revolution on Saturday.
The Timbers (0-2-0) have been outscored by four goals in their first two games in MLS, but have some optimism heading into this weekend's fixture after topping Chivas USA in a mid-week U.S. Open Cup game.
"We did lots of good things [vs. Chivas USA] and at the end of the day I think the best team came out with the win," Timber coach John Spencer said after the 2-0 win. We didn't make the individual errors; we kept ourselves in with a chance to win the game, worked hard off the ball. We still created chances, missed a couple and then managed to get a couple."
Now the team hopes it can build on the result in league play, starting at New England on Saturday.
"We're going to New England, which is a tough place to play flying across the country but we're going to have to come with the attitude we had [vs. Chivas USA] and know the feeling we had when we won and all the hard work we put into it," Portland defender Eric Brunner said.
The Revolution (1-0-1) are happy with their unbeaten start, but coach Steve Nicol sees lots of room for improvement.
"We're happy with the points," he told his club's website. "We've caught a couple of breaks, as well, which is always nice. We're happy, but we're not content. We'd still like to be doing some things better."
The Revs actually have gotten a couple controversial calls the past two games that greatly aided them in getting positive results, something they know not to expect on a consistent basis.
"I think at some point we have to realize that our luck is going to run out," New England midfielder Pat Phelan told his club's website. "We've had some lucky calls, but we've also made our own luck in a sense.
New England will be without defender Franco Coria and midfielder Andrew Sousa, while midfielders Ousmane Dabo and Marko Perovic are doubtful, goalkeeper Matt Reis is questionable, and defenders Kevin Alston and Didier Domi are probable, all with injuries.
Portland will be without forward Bright Dike and goalkeepers Troy Perkins and Adin Brown, while forward Eddie Johnson and midfielder Sal Zizzo is questionable and midfielder Darlington Nagbe is probable, also with injuries.