PORTLAND, Ore. – Club América star midfielder Ángel Reyna came into Thursday’s friendly against the Portland Timbers at JELD-WEN Field with a big crowd to please, and he didn’t disappoint, helping las Águilas soar over the Timbers with a 1-0 win.
Eager to see one of Mexico’s premier players on one of the country's most historic clubs, Águilas supporters came in droves, armed with drums, horns and chants that rivaled the famed Timbers Army. In front of a crowd of 17,198, Reyna found the net in the 16th minute on a right-footed blast to lift his team to victory.
The goal came after a series of beautifully placed passes. First, defender Oscar Rojas sent in a pass to Vicente Sánchez through several defenders. The forward then found Reyna through traffic in the goal box to set up the shot, and Reyna did his part by finding the net.
Reyna, who played on Mexico’s recent Gold Cup-winning squad, scored 13 goals for América in Mexico’s Primera División to take home the Golden Boot for the 2011 Clausura. He has been a fan favorite since he joined the club in 2008.
The fashion in which América started the match — attacking and advancing possession up the field — it seemed as though it was only a matter of time before they found the net. The Mexican side fired off three shots, including one off the goalpost, in the game’s first 10 minutes.
América, preparing for the upcoming 2011 Apertura season, which they will kick off July 24, had nine shots to Portland’s six in the first half. Both teams used a number of reserves in the second half.
With most the Timbers' top players looking on — obviously resting for perhaps their most important and highly anticipated match of the season against bitter rivals Seattle Sounders on Sunday — the team started slowly. While América was fast on the ball, the Timbers did make effective adjustments and regrouped following the goal, picking up the pace and showing some fight.
Forward Kenny Cooper had three shots, while defender Kevin Goldthwaite took four of his own and goalkeeper Adin Brown recorded three saves to lead the Timbers. The second half marked the return of forward Bright Dike to the pitch for Portland. Dike, one of the first players to be signed by the MLS Timbers, suffered a ruptured Achilles in a preseason match back in February.
Portland's best chance at a first-half goal came when forward Kenny Cooper found himself behind the defense and onside, but his attempt sailed over the goal.
Forward Ryan Pore also had an open chance at a goal, but goalkeeper Armando Navarrete came up huge to punch out Pore's header.
Chasing the equalizer, Cooper opened the Timbers’ second-half attack in the 59th minute, with a shot from the top left corner of the box that forced Navarrete to secure a slicing ball on his near post. That opened a sequence of chances over next few minutes, which included a pair of shots by trialist defender Aleksandar Ignjatovic and a series of corner kicks.
In the final 10 minutes, Portland had a follow-up shot by Kalif Alhassan just miss the mark from 19 yards out. In the 89th minute, midfielder Rodrigo Lopez’s corner kick connected with Goldthwaite on the back post, but Goldthwaite’s volley curled high and wide of the top right corner of the goal.
The Timbers return to MLS play Sunday as they play host to Cascadia rival Seattle Sounders FC at JELD-WEN Field at 1 p.m. before a nationally televised audience on ESPN. Sunday’s match will be the team’s third in a nine-day span.
Portland Timbers vs. Club América (Exhibition)
July 7, 2011 – JELD-WEN Field
Scoring Summary:
CAM -- Angel Reyna (Vicente Sanchez) 16
Misconduct Summary:
CAM -- Joaquin Martinez (caution; Reckless Foul) 30
POR -- James Marcelin (caution; Reckless Foul) 62
CAM -- Isaac Acuna (caution; Reckless Foul) 86
POR -- Chris Taylor (caution; Reckless Foul) 94+
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Brown (Gleeson, 46), D Taylor, D J. Thompson, D Goldthwaite ©, D Ignjatovic (Danso, 83), M Braun (Alhassan, 83), M Marcelin (Lowry, 71), M Lopez, M Zizzo (Dike, 71), F Pore, F Cooper (Umony, 68)
Substitutes Not Used: n/a
* denotes trialist
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Goldthwaite, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Four players, 1); FOULS: 11 (Cooper, 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 4 (Brown, 3)
CA: GK Navarrete (Gonzalez, 71), D Rojas (Corral, 46), D Reyes, D Valenzuela, D Castillo (Pimentel, 46), M Molina (Acuña, 46), M Reyna (Layun, 46), M Martinez, F Montenegro (Chavez, 46), F Sanchez © (Marquez, 46), F Vuoso (Jimenez, 46) (Trevino, 71)
Substitutes Not Used: n/a
TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Reyna, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Reyna, 2); FOULS: 16 (Molina, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
Referee: Alejandro Mariscal
Referee's Assistants: Baboucarr Jallow; Desmond Miller
4th Official: Ronald Lagraff
Attendance: 17,198
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Cloudy and 66 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
