The Portland Timbers Remain Undefeated against the San Jose Earthquakes

The numbers do not lie when it comes to the Portland Timbers’ dominance over the San Jose Earthquakes. The Timbers’ MLS record against the ‘Quakes is now 13 wins, 4 draws, and 0 losses with Wednesday’s victory at Providence Park. The Timbers have moved into 8th place in the Western Conference and have gone 5 matches undefeated. San Jose dropped from 5th to 7th with their loss to Portland. 

Christian Paredes wore the captain’s armband for the Timbers and commanded the game with an overall stellar performance. Diego Chara is still recovering from appendicitis surgery so Bryan Acosta played in the midfield alongside Paredes. Franck Boli took point in a 1-3-2-4 formation with David Bingham in goal. 

Portland earned their first corner kick in the 2nd minute but the header by defender Dairo Zuparic missed the left of the goal. The Timbers showed chemistry and good communication as they pressed for their next opportunity. That moment came in the 20th minute when Blanco’s cross found Evander, who’s sneaky back-footed shot from close range, was saved by San Jose keeper Daniel. 

Evander had another attempt saved in the 25th minute off a free kick situation. The free kick was awarded after the Timbers were given advantage on the play and San Jose’s coaching staff was not happy with the call. Evander’s shot from the top of the arch cleared the wall on target but was collected by Daniel at the last minute. 

Bingham made a great one handed save in the 29th minute on a Carlos Gruezo shot that was later called offsides. Head referee, Ramy Touchan, gave the first yellow card of the night to San Jose’s Paul Marie in the 31st minute for pulling Santiago Moreno to the ground by the neck. 

Gruezo also found his way into Touchan’s book with a yellow card in the 34th minute for pushing Evander from behind. The Timbers followed in the 41st minute with a yellow card given to Paredes for kicking the ball away after a foul whistle had been called. He will have to miss next Saturday’s home match against Colorado. 

There was 2 minutes of stoppage time called at the end of the first half. In the 45+3 Paredes sent a shot flying to the back of the net from the center of goal with the assist from Bryan Acosta. The Timbers end the first half up 1-0 on the Earthquakes.

The second half started with a VAR review on a potential foul on Blanco in the box. After review no foul was called. Evander connected with Cladio Bravo twice for shots on goal in the 50th and 53rd minute. Bravo’s first shot went high and wide and his second was saved in the bottom left corner of the goal by Daniel. 

Blanco received a pass from Paredes at the top of the box in the 57th minute and sent a shot towards goal that was deflected off of San Jose defender Rodrigues. Evander was there to collect and sent a right footed shot from the left of goal to the back of the net. The Timbers doubled their lead. 

San Jose made their first three substitutions of the match directly after the second goal. Then, in the 60th minute, Christian Espinoza took a one touch strike on a cross by former Timber, Jeremy Ebobisse, that was deflected by Bingham in the center of goal. San Jose forward Mathew Hoppe was right in the path of the deflection and sent the ball past Bingham to immediately take one back from the Timbers. 

Rodrigues seemed to have an injury not related to the play on the field and was substituted off in the 62nd minute for defender Jonathan Mensah. The Timbers made three substitutions in the 64th minute. Felipe Mora entered the match for Franck Boli, Yimmi Chara relieved Evander, and Antony came on for Blanco. 

Ebobisse’s attempt in the 66th minute missed to the right of goal; he was assisted by Espinoza. Three minutes later, Paredes sent a ball towards the net but it also missed to the right. Paredes got another shot off in the 71st minute but it was saved by Daniel in the center of the box. 

Timbers defender Zac McGraw won a header off a corner kick in the 75th but it went high and to the left. Two minutes later, Chara connected with Jean Mosquera off a fast break. Mosquera’s shot was too far left. 

In the 78th minute, Dairon Asprilla was brought into the match for Moreno. When asked about the decision to substitute on a forward rather than a defender, Timbers coach Joseph Miles said, “We felt tonight that our structure and the way we were controlling the game and defending on the counter, as they push forward, that we might be able to catch them again and get a third goal. Our structure defending and the way they were playing was really good and we didn’t want to disrupt that. So, we decided to put on another attacker and make them think about us a little more.” 

The Timbers continued to look for that third goal with Mora getting a shot off in the 88th that missed just right of the goal. Six minutes of stoppage time were added with the Timbers winning two corner kicks in extra time. Acosta had a shot go high and wide of goal in 90+7.

Two more yellow cards were handed out during extra time. Bingham was shown the yellow for delay of game and San Jose’s assistant coach was given a caution for yelling at the referee. The match ended with the Timbers still undefeated against the Earthquakes, winning 2-1. 

Coach Miles’ thoughts after the match, “I would say probably our best performance so far front to back. In the first half, I feel like we controlled a lot of the game, especially with our ability to step into the front half of the field and press them and cause a lot of turnovers. We gained possession out of that in the front half of the field which is great; we created a lot of chances off that. In the second half we continued, and we refreshed with some exciting players again. We were able to get in behind and create some more scoring chances. After we gave up the goal, we didn’t have to sit all the way back and protect ourselves. We still tried to progress and keep it in the front half of the field. Really, really good performance from our guys. They really stepped up for the challenge in the short period of time between games and now we have to get ready for the game on Saturday.”