PORTLAND

It’s not that Timbers reserve ’keeper Jake Gleeson was good in Sunday’s 2-1 win over Toronto FC.

Rather, the Reds’ finishing was horrific, according to TFC’s Greg Vanney, whose team squandered a trio of open second-half looks from inside five metres.

Toronto’s lack of finesse in front of frame at Providence Park made Gleeson look like something more than backup earning his first MLS start in five years.

The 6-foot-4 netminder stoned Drew Moor’s header from a corner coming out of halftime before doing the same to Jozy Altidore five minutes later. Both attempts were unimpeded.

After finding an equalizer minutes before halftime, Will Johnson put a similar header attempt too close to Gleeson in stoppage-time, sealing the Timbers 2-1 win after Diego Valeri converted a free kick in the 74th minute.

Going back further, Toronto’s Tsubasa Endoh also whiffed on a cross from Sebastian Giovinco five minutes in. Heck, the Reds might just have produced a record on Sunday for point-blank misses.

“I thought our finishes were in his wheelhouse,” Vanney said of Gleeson’s game. “I don’t think it had anything to do with the ’keeper. (Gleeson’s) a big guy. We put every finish right around his shoulder area.”

Gleeson will take credit nonetheless. And the Timbers, who struck early through a well-worked sequence that ended with a Fanned Adi tap-in, will feel as though they escaped with a win.

The MLS Cup champs were beatable here Sunday afternoon, choosing to sit back in a defensive posture and keep Giovinco and Altidore in front of them. The Reds’ defence were rarely troubled beyond a few moments that made all the difference.

“They set up a game plan to, in transition, get guys behind the ball,” Vanney said. “They wanted to try and sit and counter us and use some of their pace on the flanks ... Their strategy was to quickly drop and push us outside.”

Whether it worked is up for the debate. On another day, the Reds undoubtedly grab at least a point to end what was the final match of an eight-game trip.

The Reds return to Toronto on Monday with a respectable 3-3-2 road record they don’t seem satisfied with. Vanney told the Toronto Sun post-game he wanted third-place TFC to enter May atop the East.

“It comes down to performance analysis,” Vanney told the Sun. “In each of our eight road games — by and large — we should have got something out of the games. That’s why I’m not satisfied. With a couple of plays we’re probably on more points.”

Losses in Kansas City and Colorado were a result of egregious referee blunders while Sunday’s match here in the Pacific Northwest was there for the taking.

“I’m content in that we’ve played well,” Vanney added. “We’ve taken a solid number of points. We’ve positioned ourselves near the top.”

As the adage goes, had you offered TFC president Bill Manning 11 points from these first eight games, he would have taken it before the season. Under Vanney, there’s far more clarity than there has ever been.

Ahead of Saturday’s home opener, we know the Reds are stingy, having conceded just one goal from the run of play through their previous three road games.

Offensively, TFC is producing enough chances to win every game. That they didn’t score multiple goals here Sunday was a crime they’ll look to move past when FC Dallas visits Toronto this coming weekend.

“We’re not satisfied, but we’re content with what we’ve done,” Vanney said. “There’s a lot of work still in front of us. There are no guarantees you get points at home.”

That TFC’s staff are demanding more is a good sign for long-suffering supporters who’ve asked for nothing more than a competitive team for 10 seasons.

The early returns indicate the club’s top brass have built that and, maybe, more.

May is a crucial month with international call-ups looming in June and July. The Reds host four straight games beginning Saturday.

The momentum garnered in March and April will quickly subside if things go sideways at home as they did early in 2015.

The Reds need to be nearly unbeatable an their newly renovated home.