PORTLAND, Ore. – Paced by a first-half brace from Santiago Moreno and a tenacious defense, the Portland Timbers – down to 10 men for the final 15 minutes of the match – defeated Houston Dynamo FC 2-1 Wednesday evening at Providence Park.
- MATCHCENTER: Stats and Boxscore
The match was Portland's second straight win at home.
Match Moments
3' - CHANCE (POR) - Portland set out on the break with Santiago Moreno on the far sideline lofting a perfect ball forward for Jaroslaw Niezgoda. The Timbers striker dribbled towards goal before playing out to his right for Sebastián Blanco. Blanco cut in and fired, narrowly missing the left post.
31' - BLOCKS (POR) - A loose ball deep in Portland's end led to a shot that defender Bill Tuiloma sprang back to block with his shoulder. The Dynamo quickly collected the rebound and shot again but Tuiloma headed the ball away.
34' - PK GOAL (POR) - The Timbers took a 1-0 lead when Moreno blasted his penalty kick past Houston goalkeeper Steve Clark. Portland was awarded the penalty moments earlier when a ball found Yimmi Chara in the box only to be checked into the ground. Referee Lukasz Szpala immediately pointed to the spot.
36' - GOAL (POR) - Before the North End smoke had even cleared, Moreno had tallied a brace only two minutes after his PK, finishing off a beautiful team goal. Blanco had carried the ball across the edge of the 18-yard box before threading it through to Y. Chara. Chara's squared ball found Eryk Williamson on the run who, in turn, dummied it for Moreno to one-time his shot into the net for a 2-0 Portland lead.
60' - SAVES (POR) - Goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic made a series of three saves in quick succession on a Dynamo free kick that bounced in front of goal. Initially deflecting the free kick, Ivacic then made a hand save on Thorleifur Úlfarsson's attempt before smothering the loose ball.
63' - CHANCE (POR) - Y. Chara outraced Teenage Hadebe only to get tackled at the edge of the box by the Houston defender. Chara popped up, recovered the ball and played it back for Moreno whose low-driven shot towards the near post forced a diving save by Clark.
65' - GOAL (HOU) - The Dynamo cut the score to 2-1 when Darwin Quintero hit a dipping shot up, over and behind a sprawling Ivacic.
72' - CHANCE (POR) - Moreno curled in a corner kick that forward Felipe Mora headed off the cross bar. Y. Chara attempted a bicycle shot off the loose ball but mis-hit his attempt.
75' - RED CARD (POR) - Tuiloma, already on a yellow for a first half foul, was given a second yellow and accompanying red in the 75th minute for a foul near midfield leaving the Timbers with 10 men for the remainder of the match.
90+5' - CHANCE (POR) - Dairon Asprilla broke out on a sprint with the ball deep in second half stoppage time. His shot was stopped but Josecarlos Van Rankin collected the rebound before hitting a driving shot that was saved by Clark.
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The Portland Timbers take to the road this weekend when they face off with Nashville SC on Sunday, July 3 (5:30pm PT, FOX 12 PLUS).
Notes
- Starting the night in 11th place in the Western Conference, Portland jumped to eighth place with a record of 5-6-7 (22 pts).
- Portland is unbeaten in three straight matches (2-0-1).
- The Timbers have scored 27 goals this season, which is tied for the third-most in the Western Conference and tied for fifth-most overall in the league.
- Tonight’s result marked the first time this season Portland has recorded back-to-back wins.
- Portland leads the all-time series against Houston 10-5-7 with a record of 8-1-1 at Providence Park.
- The Timbers are unbeaten against the Dynamo in eight straight matches (W5, D3), and have not dropped a result to them at Providence Park since 2011.
- Portland is one of five teams in MLS that five or more players with three or more goals scored this season (Moreno, Blanco, Y. Chara, Niezgoda, Tuiloma).
- Moreno scored his first career brace and second and third goals of the season.
- Moreno’s penalty-kick attempt was the first of his career with Portland and first conversion.
- The 97-second span between Moreno’s goals was the second-quickest brace scored by a Timbers player in club history (Fanendo Adi, 86 seconds).
- Moreno became the 21st player in Timbers’ history to record a brace for Portland, marking the 52nd brace in Timbers’ regular season play.
- Portland has tallied four braces in the 2022 campaign from four different players (Moreno, Jaroslaw Niezgoda, Nathan Fogaça, Blanco) and a brace in back-to-back matches (Niezgoda, June 25).
- Y. Chara recorded his fifth assist of the season.
- Y. Chara won the most possessions on either team tonight (10).
- Blanco tallied his team-leading sixth assist of the 2022 campaign. His six assists are tied for seventh-most in MLS.
- Blanco has now contributed to a goal in three consecutive matches (1G, 2A).
- Felipe Mora made his 50th regular season appearance for the Timbers since joining the club in 2020.
- It was Mora’s first appearance at Providence Park in the 2022 campaign.
- Aljaz Ivacic made five saves in the match, matching his season best.
Portland Timbers (5-6-7, 22pts) vs. Houston Dynamo FC (6-8-3, 21pts)
June 29, 2022 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Scoring Summary:
POR: Moreno (penalty), 34
POR: Moreno (Y. Chara, Blanco), 36
HOU: Quintero (Úlfarsson, Vera), 65
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Blanco (caution), 17
HOU: Rodriguez (caution), 21
POR: Zuparic (caution), 27
HOU: Zeca (caution), 34
POR: Moreno (caution), 42
HOU: Hadebe (caution), 44
POR: Tuiloma (caution), 54
HOU: Vera (caution), 69
POR: Williamson (caution), 72
POR: Tuiloma (caution, ejection), 75
Lineups:
POR: GK Ivacic, D Van Rankin, D Tuiloma, D Zuparic, D Bravo, M Williamson (Ayala, 78), M D. Chara ©, M Y. Chara (Mabiala, 78), M Blanco (Asprilla, 61), M Moreno (McGraw, 78), F Niezgoda (Mora, 61)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bingham, D Bonilla, M Loría, F Fogaça
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Moreno, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Moreno, 3); FOULS: 18 (Williamson, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 5
HOU: GK Clark, D Steres, D Zeca, D Lundqvist, D Hadebe, M Carrasquilla, M Vera ©, M Rodriguez (Quintero, 58), M Ceren (Picault, 77), F Úlfarsson, F Ferreira
Substitutes Not Used: GK Nelson, D Bartlow, D Junqua, D Parker, M Dorsey, F Avila, F Pasher
TOTAL SHOTS: 24 (Ferreira, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Ulfarsson, 2); FOULS: 11 (Steres, 3); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 10; SAVES: 2
Referee: Lukasz Szpala
Assistant Referees: Ian Anderson, Chris Elliot
Fourth Official: Silviu Petrescu
VAR: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 22,932
Weather: Sunny, 72 degrees
