Darlington Nagbe is out injured.
Liam Ridgewell is out injured.
Alvas Powell is out injured.
But in this, the third game in seven days for the Portland side, the Timbers dug deep and pulled out a 3-1 win at home against the San Jose Earthquakes.
After a fairly evenly-matched first half, things started to look rocky for the Timbers when keeper Adam Kwarasey had to sub out on the 50th minute with an injury to his right hand. Coach Caleb Porter speculated after the game that Kwarasey may have torn a ligament.
Forward Jack McInerney registered his third goal of the season, giving the Timbers a 1-0 lead in the 52nd minute.
The Prost Amerika Portland staff recently discussed whether striker Jack McInerney might be Scottish. Clearly he is not. Clearly he is a leprechaun.
Another injury came for the Timbers in the 63rd minute when Darren Mattocks went down after a collision with Earthquake Victor Bernardez. Mattocks was slow to get up and eventually had to be helped to the locker room.
Portland training staff help Darren Mattocks off the field and to the locker room in the 63rd minute. Mattocks’ condition is unknown at this time.
His replacement on-field, Fanendo Adi added an immediate spark to a Timbers attack that had slowed a bit as the game wore on and, within minutes, added a second goal to the Timbers’ tally in the 65th minute.
With nearly a half hour left to play, there was still plenty of time for mistakes to be made. Timbers defender Nat Borchers made one such mistake, hauling San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski in the box. The Quakes were awarded a penalty and Wondo converted, bringing the San Jose side within striking distance of a point (or three) for the table.
Eight minutes of stoppage time turned into nearly ten when a yellow card to Diego Valeri in the 94th turned into a bit of a scuffle. SJ keeper David Bingham was also booked in the scrum when he came forward to shove Valeri. A second yellow was issued to Valeri and, through some miracle (or choose your own word there), Andres Imperiale was not carded for literally trying to drag the Timbers midfielder off the pitch.
Playing a man down, the Timbers still managed to score again, this time when Lucas Melano found Adi in near-perfect position. Adi tucked the ball past Bigham, lifting the Timbers to a 3-1 win.
Well, that was a big mess, wasn’t it?
The Timbers will face the New England Revolution April 27 at Gillette Stadium. San Jose will host Sporting Kansas City April 24.
Scoring Summary:
POR: McInerney, 52
POR: Adi, 65
SJ: Wondolowski (penalty kick), 90+1
POR: Adi (Melano), 90+9
Misconduct Summary:
SJ: Godoy (Caution), 55
POR: Borchers (Caution), 90
SJ: Bingham (Caution), 90+4
POR: Valeri (Caution), 90+4
POR: Valeri (Caution), 90+5
POR: Valeri (Ejection), 90+5
Lineups & Stats:
POR: GK Kwarasey (Gleeson, 50), D Valentin, D Borchers, D Taylor, D Klute, M Chara, M Grabavoy (Jewsbury, 85), M Melano, M Valeri, M Mattocks (Adi, 63), F McInerney
Substitutes Not Used: D Peay, D Barmby, M Asprilla, M/F Brett,
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Valeri, 4) ; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Adi, 2); FOULS: 13 (Five players tied, 2) ; OFFSIDES: 3 ; CORNER KICKS: 1 ; SAVES: 3
SJ: GK Bingham, D Sarkodie, D Bernárdez, D Imperiale, D Colvey, M Quintero (Salinas, 71), M Alashe (García, 82), M Godoy, M Dawkins, F Wondolowski, F Amarikwa (Innocent, 71)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Meredith, D Wynne, F Jahn, M Thompson
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Amarikwa, Dawkins, 5) ; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Amarikwa, 2) ; FOULS: 7 (Godoy, 3) ; OFFSIDES: 1 ; CORNER KICKS: 4 ; SAVES: 2
Referee: Chris Penso
Assistant Referees: Corey Parker, Apolinar Mariscal
4th Official: Alex Chilowicz
Attendance: 21,144
Weather: Partly cloudy, 64 degrees
San Jose Earthquakes
Portland
