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Chivas tries to stop the rot against Portland

Aug 9, 2014 - 2:20 AM Portland, OR (SportsNetwork.com) - Two of the bottom three teams in the Western Conference square off at Providence Park on Saturday as the Portland Timbers host Chivas USA.

After finishing last season on top of the West during the regular season, the Timbers have struggled to duplicate their success this term, entering the weekend in seventh place and three points out of a playoff spot.

Chivas, meanwhile, is on the bottom of the table after losing its last three games, and head coach Wilmer Cabrera will be eager to see his team snap out of that funk and attempt to get itself into the playoff picture.

After collecting back-to-back wins Portland hit a bit of a snag last weekend in a 3-1 defeat to the Los Angeles Galaxy despite going up 1-0 through Diego Valeri's 14th-minute goal.

But after taking the lead, Portland head coach Caleb Porter felt as though his team changed its approach, allowing the Galaxy to take charge of the match and score three unanswered goals, including a pair in the second half from Robbie Keane.

"After we got the goal, we stopped playing," Porter said after the match. "We played very reactionary. And it was as if we tried to ride out the 1-0 result, and that's just not us. And LA was the better team in that period, and I thought they were the better team at the end of that game as well. They deserved to win."

Chivas is hoping to use Saturday's game as a way to bounce back from its third straight loss, a 1-0 setback against FC Dallas.

The lone goal of the match came in the 49th minute from FCD's Tesho Akindele, while Chivas continued to struggle in front of goal, having scored just one goal in the last three games.

For Cabrera, last weekend's loss was simple, but he still found positives to take from the match despite not getting a result.

"Throughout the year I have to say this is the best game we have played at home in terms of possession, moving the ball, being organized and putting pressure," Cabrera said. "But in the end, it's not how you play when you play well, or you play better than the other team. It's if you put the ball in the net. They only had two chances and they put one in."