There was no holding back from Henrik Rydstrom as he evaluated the results of his first game as the Crew's head coach.
"There is big potential on the team," Rydstrom said. "How you use these kind of games and these kind of setbacks, that's the key. I love to win, so right now I feel really black inside. When I see my team hide [offensively], I get very, very disappointed. ... I hope this game will work like a wake-up call."
The Crew fell 3-2 to the Portland Timbers on the road to open the 2026 MLS season Feb. 21. The game-winner was scored in the 88th minute off a series of Columbus defensive miscues.
Defender Yevhen Cheberko had attempted a clearance out of Columbus' box with a header, but sent it right back to Portland.
When defender Jimer Fory launched a pass back into the box, both Crew defender Malte Amundsen and Timbers midfielder Kevin Kelsy went down trying to collect it, though only Kelsy got to the ball. He managed to direct it to forward Ariel Lassiter, who took Kelsy's header and scored an uncontested shot.
Ariel Lassiter with the nifty little finish and @TimbersFC grab the lead late 👊 pic.twitter.com/3CABDeA79w
— Major League Soccer (@MLS) February 22, 2026
"That’s not the result we wanted," Crew defender Rudy Camacho said. "We know that we had to do better and we are able to do better. We could win this game because I think we are better, but we didn't show it."
Columbus Crew's problem with counterattacks from last season show in 2026
When Rydstrom watched film of the Crew in 2025, he found the struggle to stop counterattacks to be glaring, and he spent the preseason emphasizing that area needed improvement.
Rydstrom saw the same problem play out in front of him when Portland's two first-half goals were scored on the counterattack.
"Sometimes you lose the ball," Rydstrom said. "But instead of us taking a step forward and locking their players in, we let them get out from situation. We let them drive against us and we let them turn with the ball. It didn't get better in the second half. ... It looked exactly like the last season."
This was particularly a problem against the Timbers, who thrive on creating goals in the counterattack and off cross passes with their speedy frontline.
While Crew defender Sean Zawadzki never felt that speed got the better of the backline, he acknowledged that there were holes in the defensive performance.
"They know how to manipulate the team," Zawadzki said. "I think we had numbers around the ball when the ball went wide, and kind of left the middle a little too open, especially in the first half. I think the first half we played to their strengths. We left the middle open a little bit too much and allowed them to break on the counter."
Columbus Crew's attacking game falls flat following Abou Ali, Rossi goals
The Crew took a step back offensively last season, finishing 12th overall in MLS with 55 regular-season goals and just 37.5% of their 485 shot attempts on target, so Rydstrom wanted more from the attack in Portland.
Striker Wessam Abou Ali had an impact in his first game back since September when he converted a Portland turnover into the first goal at the six-minute mark.
Additionally, forward Diego Rossi notched a goal.
Beyond that, the Crew had nothing else to show for their 16 shot attempts.
"We depended too much on their ability," Rydstrom said. "We had some nice diagonal attacks where we hurt the opponent, but overall, no. Especially our build-up was really below our standard. I'm disappointed."
Wessam Abou Ali played longer than expected vs Portland
Rydstrom had only planned to play Abou Ali for 60 minutes due to this being the 27-year-old's first game since suffering a season-ending hairline fracture in his right ankle.
However, the Crew coach decided to keep Abou Ali on the field until the 82-minute mark, when he was replaced by recently acquired striker Jamal Thiare from Atlanta United.
"I pushed Wes a little bit longer than the plan," Rydstrom said. "He was reaching for his hamstring, also, but I hope it was no big deal."
Along with Abou Ali, Camacho and midfielder Taha Habroune were also on restricted minutes after both dealt with sports hernias last year.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Crew fall vs Timbers in season 2026 MLS opener: 3 takeaways