Portland Timbers 2- Toronto FC 0
With many thinking of midweek, match against the defending champions Toronto FC in town. The specter of another meltdown came to the minds of many. Not in Gio Savarese thoughts after his Sunday post-match press conference praising his squad amazing game in the Derby.
That was then and with TFC in town, who were without some of its notable players in the starting eleven. That did not matter for Gio and company as his squad was ready to play. They applied all the right moves in this match and walked away with the win.
Among one of them was the novelty in his eleven of Jorge Villafaña long awaited debut. After last week, return of Liam Ridgewell in the starting eleven and now with Villafaña back. Suddenly the Portland Timbers defensive backfield got the boost and performance they been looking for quite a while.
Still give credit to the whole Portland starting eleven playing with total unity and hunger since the start of this match. This win puts Portland above the red line in fifth place with 40 points.
The first half ended scoreless for both sides with Portland generating several opportunities but coming short. Still the Rose City squad with the support of their faithful these started to take control of the match in the second half. However, this time they had the right touch and moves for the right moment.
This time the Rose City attack started the pressure in the second half. Being one of its leaders Sebastian Blanco took it upon himself to create havok in the Reds defensive third. With a couple of plays in the 54 and later in the 61 that the first one almost cause an OG play for the champions.
However the best was yet to come. In the 64th minute Zarek Valentin laid a pass into Blanco in the right side of the box. The Argentine then found a streaking Diego Chara who scored the first goal. That saw a revival in the Timbers attack, culminating in a David Guzman goal in the 83rd minute.
What a relief this win brings to the Portland Timbers after enduring a four game losing streak. Although Toronto was without Giovinco, Osorio, and other key starters, in the end the win should uplift Portland’s all-around spirits and confidence.
Goals
Diego Chara 64’ PTFC (Blanco and Valentin), David Guzman 83’ PTFC
Highlight
The return of Jorge Villfaña to the staring eleven became an important part of the Portland defense all around revival and putting on a strong performance.
The other is the scoring drought put on the past with two scores from Diego Chara netting his first goal of the campaign and David Guzman scoring his second with a Toronto generous giveaway. In addition Lucas Melano came on as a substitute in the 82nd minute and almost netted his first goal as a Timber.
Overall, the whole Portland Timbers initial eleven gets a praise for one-of-a-kind performance tonight and their efforts to stop their negative skid.
Next Match
(5) Portland Timbers (11-7-7, 40 points) vs (7) New England Revolution (7-10-8, 29 points) Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, Mass 4:30 PM PST/ 7:30 PM EST
Toronto FC
Portland
