Bill Oram: Timbers coach Phil Neville silences his critics — for one night, at least

The pressure was mounting on Phil Neville and, you would imagine, inside of him, too. The Portland Timbers manager had overseen a string of nine consecutive matches without a victory, dating back to March 9. On Wednesday, before the Timbers stormed back for a galvanizing 4-2 win over San Jose, they were well on their way to yet another concerning defeat. “I think at halftime there was probably a lot of people inside and outside the club probably lost a little bit of faith in the club,” Neville said, “and more importantly probably in me.”