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Sporting hopes to rebound against Portland

Apr 26, 2013 - 7:53 PM Kansas City, KS (Sports Network) - Sporting Kansas City will attempt to start another long unbeaten run on Saturday when the club welcomes the Portland Timbers to Sporting Park.

Kansas City went into last weekend riding a three-game winning streak and a five-game unbeaten run, aided by a 519-minute shutout streak.

All of that came to an end last Saturday thanks to a 27th-minute goal from Marcelo Sarvas, which set the table for Landon Donovan to seal a 2-0 victory for the Los Angeles Galaxy at The Home Depot Center.

Sporting has managed to score just two goals over its last three games, but head coach Peter Vermes is not worried about a perceived lack of offense from his side.

"I think we're good," Vermes said. "I guess I'm not - I would say that it's fine, because it's not anything I'm really concerned about. If I was, I'd be trying to figure out a lot of different things, and I'm not."

The offensive output may be lacking on Saturday as many clubs arrive at Sporting Park with the intention of sitting back and absorbing pressure, making it difficult for Kansas City to break down such a compact unit.

Sporting's odds of claiming maximum points on Saturday also appear to be in question as Portland brings the league's last remaining unbeaten road record to the meeting.

Portland most recently played to a 1-1 road draw against the San Jose Earthquakes, a result that left the Timbers disappointed given the fact that they threw away two points by conceding a late equalizer.

"What's even more impressive is we're not happy with the draws," Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said after Tuesday's training session. "That means that you genuinely have belief in your group. These guys, no matter if we're home or away or who we're playing, they believe we can get a result."

The Timbers have tied all three of their road matches so far this term, a far cry from the club's form away from Jeld-Wen Field last season. According to Porter, that level of success is down to his side's belief within themselves.

"We genuinely believe that if we play well then we will have a chance to win," Porter said. "This group believes we have the talent and the methodology to put ourselves in position to get results."