The Portland Timbers came ready for their long awaited home opener and at the same time showing off their state of the art renovation of Providence Park.
With a total sold out attendance of 25,218 on hand, the price tag of the colossus of Goose Hollow of $85 million was a well worth investment for Club Owner Merrit Paulson and his vision that made all of this possible.
With the league leading and Western Conference leaders LAFC in town, the outcome was to be one of the most contested and exposing in the end a bitter rivalry.
In the first half we saw why the Angelino squad is becoming the favorite to win the league and Supporters Shield, as this squad is one dominant entity.
Still do not count the Portland Timbers out after the scores that gave the Black and Gold the lead going into the half, the locals were pressuring but coming short of their objective.
As early in the game with just six minutes a play that Timbers goalkeeper Jeff Attinella mistakenly gave the ball to Carlos Vela instead of his intended target Jorge Villafaña.
That play left the whole of Providence Park silent but not for long as the Mexican international solidified his lead in the Golden Boot race with his sixteenth goal of the season.
Once again the Portland Timbers had their new striker in Brian Fernandez from the start but not visible in the attack of the home side but in the second half the man was hard at work in his quest to score and uplift the Timbers attack.
Coming in the second half down by a two goals when Diego Rossi scored in the 34′ minute of the first half, beating the Timbers defender Jorge Moreira going to the half with the lead.
However one thing these Timbers have is fight and in the second half their persistence finally paid off when a rebound from Brian Fernandez header found an opportune Cristhian Paredes scoring in the 46′.
The Portland sqaud being within one goal and becoming a contest came the spoiler when Jordan Harvey found an open Latif Blessing for the cushion goal for the LAFC in the 54′.
The comeback for the Timbers when Jeremy Ebobisse coming for Cristhian Paredes his header open up the door for Brian Fernandez fourth goal of the season with a bicycle kick and this becoming a contest again.
In the end time ran off in spite of the eight minutes given by the game official.
In the end the way these two clubs gave the game a nasty tone and with a melee in the sidelines near the LAFC bench, the game almost got out of hand for the game official.
Goals
Carlos Vela 6′ LAFC, Diego Rossi 34′ LAFC, Cristhian Paredes 46′ PTFC, Latif Blessing 54′ LAFC, Brian Fernandez 84′ PTFC
Hiighlight
Brian Fernandez being a lead men in the field and later scoring on a bicycle kick.
Cristhian Paredes perseverance paid off to score his second goal of the season.
Diego Chara being a total leader and seeing how the offensive game getting a boost.
Man of the Match
Brian Fernandez and Cristhian Paredes
Next Match: (11) Portland Timbers (4,7, 2, 14 points) vs (4) Houston Dynamo (7, 3, 3, 24 points)
Providence Park, Portland, Oregon Saturday June 22, 2019 8:00 PM PST/ 11:00 PM EST
