A 120-minute slog in San Jose on Tuesday night wasn’t exactly how Phil Neville wanted to start his week — especially with Orlando looming on Saturday. Had the Portland manager gotten his way, his Timbers would have at least gotten a win to show for it. Instead, the Timbers were left exhausted after a 1-0 loss to the Earthquakes in the Open Cup’s Round of 16 in a game that may have more ramifications to it than just an early exit from the tournament. By the time Jack Skahan scored the game’s only goal in the 116th minute, Neville had emptied his bench. Jonathan Rodriguez, who “can only play 20 to 30 minutes,” played 59 minutes. David Da Costa, who came off the bench into midfield, logged 48 minutes. Meanwhile, the backline — Dario Zuparic, Finn Surman, Kamal Miller and Claudio Bravo — gutted out the full 120. RELATED: David Da Costa is taking the next step to stardom in Portland It was a group that pulled blocks, saves and interceptions out of thin air against a constant San Jose attack, and one that played well enough to steal a win for Portland until a midfield turnover in the second half of extra time proved fatal. “We were just let down by a lack of concentration — lazy defending — at the end when we didn’t sprint back in with our man,” Neville said. “We’ve come all the way to San Jose. We’ve put in a hell of a shift. And to get beat in the 117th minute, for me, is probably the worst I’ve felt all season — the most disappointed I’ve felt all season.” It was a lot of minutes for a Timbers club that flies across the country to face the potent Orlando City on Saturday. Orlando is fifth in the Eastern Conference and has scored a conference-leading 27 goals this season. It’s not much of a reprieve from Tuesday night, when the Timbers faced San Jose’s MLS-leading offense. And if it weren’t for Maxime Crepeau, the outcome would have looked far worse. Crepeau stopped eight shots in the match, including four credited saves after the 88th minute. He was vocal, controlled his backline and potentially saved a few Timbers from costing the team something worse. After a Miller foul just outside the box in the 86th minute, Miller, Mora, Rodriguez and Juan Mosquera lit into the officials. Mora and Rodriguez were both given cards and looked on their way toward earning more before Crepeau came over to pull his teammates back to get order restored. Once Crepeau returned to his net, he calmly batted away Cristian Espinoza’s free kick attempt to keep the game scoreless. While the Timbers’ Open Cup loss did not count in MLS standings, it did carry two of the same themes the club has displayed as of late: 1. Crepeau’s showing why he was the club’s No. 1 to start the season. Portland’s swinging pendulum at keeper isn’t ideal, but who is to complain when the production is this good? Crepeau started cold, got hurt, James Pantemis came in hot, got hurt, and now Crepeau is the hot hand on the best streak of his Portland career. Counting the Open Cup, Crepeau has allowed two goals in his last four starts — including a pair of clean sheets. After playing 120 minutes on Tuesday, it’ll be interesting to see if the Timbers stick with Crepeau on Saturday or go with Pantemis (presuming he’s healthy). On Wednesday, Canada Soccer announced Crepeau has been called up to the Canadian Men’s National Team for the June FIFA international period. Before he was injured, Pantemis had tallied three clean sheets in nine starts, though his last three matches saw opponents score seven goals. 2. Portland needs to find something on offense. Yes, the Timbers were without Santiago Moreno and Kevin Kelsy on Tuesday while Da Costa and Felipe Mora started the match on the bench. But Portland’s attack was near non-existent for much of the loss. And that’s not a new development. The Timbers have scored three goals in their last five matches against MLS opponents. On Saturday, they managed just four shots against Seattle and barely threatened in the second half. It’s not surprising the Timbers cooled off after significantly outperforming their Expected Goals early in the year, but the drop-off this past month has been jarring for a team that played so freely to start the season. Oddly enough, the Timbers have displayed most of their struggles since Rodriguez came back into the fold. The Timbers hardly missed their designated player for the season’s first two months, as Antony scored four goals in Portland’s first six games. But the 23-year-old Brazilian hasn’t scored since March 30, and while Rodriguez has now played in seven matches since returning from a knee injury, the 31-year-old has yet to display the form that saw him lead Portland with 16 goals in 2024. He played a season-high 59 minutes on Tuesday — a number that doesn’t seem like it will increase any time soon. The Timbers head to Orlando sitting fourth in the Western Conference and still just two points behind second-place Minnesota. At 3-2-2 on the road in MLS play, the Timbers have held their own — but if the goals don’t come soon, that flight home from Florida will feel a whole lot longer than San Jose. “I think we can show more composure, more quality on the ball. That’s something we just need to keep working on,” Neville said. “But I think the most important thing now is to accept it, lick our wounds and make sure that we’re ready for Orlando on Saturday.” This article originally appeared on The I-5 Corridor. -- Tyson Alger