Phil Neville has been going out of his way lately to talk about how unselfish his club is — the latest instance coming after Portland’s 4-2 victory over the LA Galaxy on Sunday, a win that extended Portland’s unbeaten streak to seven games and clinched the best 10-game start to a season in club history. With 18 points, the Timbers are second in the Western Conference standings. Earlier in the season, when Neville talked about the chemistry and togetherness he saw in this roster in the preseason, it felt a bit hyperbolic. The team had just gotten rid of Evander after a tumultuous offseason, and it’s not like Neville avoids grandiose talk from time to time. But in Los Angeles, after Antony assisted on goals to three different teammates and after Jonathan Rodriguez came off the bench to score his first goal of the season, it’s become clear that the results on the field have inspired some genuine feelings from the coach. “We got the most unselfish group that I think I’ve ever coached,” Neville said. “Everybody’s pulling in the right direction. Everybody wants to do the things to help the team win. And we’ve got some players that are playing at a very, very high level and it would be foolish or silly to single anyone out for praise.” But then he did: “Joao Ortiz tonight, I think he was our best player.” Throughout the season, Neville has expressed similar sentiments about Antony, Kamal Miller, David Ayala, and Finn Surman. Now, it was Ortiz, whom the Timbers acquired in January from Ecuador. It’s been a slow burn here in 2025 for the 28-year-old. Ortiz started the first three games of the year in the midfield but seemed a step behind as he adjusted to playing outside of his home country for the first time in his professional career. Since he played the first half of Portland’s 2-0 loss at Nashville on March 8, Ortiz’s only substantial minutes in the next six games came during a spot start for Diego Chara against Austin FC on April 5. But just days before Ortiz played 70 strong minutes against the Galaxy, Neville hinted that something like this may be coming. In comparing this Timbers team to where the club was a year ago — mired in a nine-game winless streak — Neville hammered home the depth of the roster. “We played 11-on-11 on Wednesday and it was high-level. Both teams could play in the MLS. Both sets of players are competing for places,” Neville said. “And I’d say that there’s been a majority of players that I’ve selected consistently so far this season, and they’re under real pressure now because those coming from below are playing at a really high level and they deserve to get an opportunity.” Ortiz got his opportunity against the Galaxy. So did Kevin Kelsy, another offseason acquisition for the club who has largely come off the bench in place of Felipe Mora. Kelsy started on Sunday, and it was his one-timed, bar-down goal on a pass from Antony in the 63rd minute that would prove to be the game-winner. And when Neville felt the team needed a spark after two quick LA countering goals, Portland’s manager had the luxury of bringing on Mora (4 goals, 2 assists in 2025) and Rodriguez, who scored a team-leading 16 goals in 2024 and is gradually making his way back from a knee injury, to close the game out. It was Rodriguez’s penalty kick goal in the 76th minute that iced the game for the Timbers. “I look at Antony, and then bringing Jono on — I wouldn’t want to be a right-back playing against the Portland Timbers,” Neville said. “[Antony] is selfless. He’s got a high ceiling. I think last season we saw Santi rise, we saw Mosquera rise, we saw Ayala rise. And I think this is going to be Antony’s year.” Through 10 games, Antony’s four goals and five assists have nearly matched his six goals and six assists he put up in 33 games in 2024. In a year where the Timbers began the season wondering where the goals would come from with Evander gone and Rodriguez injured, nobody has scored more than Portland’s 20 goals through 10 games. And it’s come through this balance: Antony: 4 goals Kevin Kelsy: 4 goals Felipe Mora: 4 goals David Da Costa: 2 goals Santiago Moreno: 2 goals David Ayala: 1 goal Jonathan Rodriguez: 1 goal Two of those players — Da Costa and Kelsy — are new additions to the roster. Two other new adds — Jimer Fory and Surman¹ — have been stalwarts of Portland’s revamped backline. And while things looked pretty bleak after Portland opened the season with a 4-1 loss to Vancouver, general manager Ned Grabavoy said they saw too much during the team’s month of preseason to start sounding any alarms. “I felt coming out of that game for us, we had a great meeting about where we were at coming through preseason, what our major focus was the next three or four games, and then where we wanted to see ourselves 10 games into the season,” Grabavoy said. “I’m really happy with the progress from that game one to where we’re at now. I think we’re seeing what the team is capable of with still more upside. I think we’ve gotten some individual players settled into the group. We look more cohesive. In a lot of ways, at times, it almost looks easy for them. I think that there’s an understanding and an unselfishness to the group right now on both sides of the ball, and I think it gives us something to build on as we go through what everybody knows is a pretty relentless season in MLS.” And building is what the Timbers continue to plan on doing. The Timbers added veteran midfielder Omir Fernandez last week just before the Primary Transfer window closed — a move that Grabavoy said sets the Timbers up to target a “top-quality starting player” in the late-summer window. “That’s what could potentially take this group to the next level,” he said. And while Neville won’t argue with his general manager about adding more talent, Portland’s coach seems to think there’s still a lot of room for the roster to grow as is. On Sunday, he was upset about the two goals the Timbers conceded in the 67th and 69th minutes that allowed the Galaxy back into the game. And while the Timbers have been markedly better on defense this season, Portland’s recent form has seen opponents score seven goals across the last three games. Mind you, two of those games have been on the road — and none of those games the Timbers have lost. But when you’re off to the best start in club history and currently sitting in what would be a hosting position for the playoffs, the standard rises a little higher. “The spirit of everybody from one to 20 was so good and we’re a team that’s continuing to learn and improve,” Neville said. “And there’s still so much room to go…We don’t want any plaudits now. We just want to keep going from game to game.” This article originally appeared on The I-5 Corridor. -- Tyson Alger ¹A late 2024 add.