It’s hard enough to beat the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass, where La Naranja are 5-0-2 this season and where Portland have never won, but that task was made more complicated for the Portland Timbers Wednesday night without midfield destroyer Diego Chara.
Chara was suspended for yellow card accumulation. While it was next man up for the Timbers and Renzo Zambrano, who has captained Portland Timbers 2, earned that start, winning without Chara historically is darn near impossible.
Per the Portland broadcast, the Timbers were 0-14-9 in their last 21 matches (including MLS Cup Playoffs) without Chara, with their last win when the Colombian was out of the lineup coming on July 15, 2015 — 1-0 over the San Jose Earthquakes. Following Wednesday's 1-1 draw, which featured a debut goal for newcomer Brian Fernandez, that winless stretch now runs to 0-15-9.
This is the second match this season Portland were without Chara. He was also suspended for a 3-0 loss at FC Cincinnati on March 17.
