PORTLAND, OR – The Timbers wrapped up a disappointing three-game homestand Wednesday evening, falling to the LA Galaxy 2-3 at Providence Park. It was a frustrating stretch of games that saw the Timbers concede ten goals to their opponents; a far departure from their stingy defensive performances in the MLS is Back Tournament.
The Timbers sent out a rotated starting eleven against the Galaxy, including the return of Jeff Attinella in goal. Attinella grabbed four saves in his first appearance in over a year after recovering from shoulder surgery.
The Galaxy played with most of their usual starters in the mix, however, they were still without Designated Player Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez due to injury.
Midfielder Efrain Alvarez got the Galaxy on the board early, scoring in the 15th minute. A series of calculated Galaxy passes cleared the way for Alvarez to take his shot inside the box, where his left-footed blast found the top left corner of the goal.
The rest of the first half saw a Portland squad slowly build some momentum and comfort after a shaky start. By the time the halftime whistle blew, the Timbers managed few opportunities on goal, but Attinella made some big stops to keep the game within Portland’s reach.
The Galaxy doubled their lead early in the second half, courtesy of another eye-catching performance from DP Cristian Pavon in the 50th minute. Pavon took a phenomenal first-touch around midfield to cut around Portland defender Pablo Bonilla on his way to putting a calm, right-footed shot past Attinella.
After trailing 0-2, the Timbers made a triple substitution in the 56th minute to inject fresh legs and proven goal scorers into the match. Sebastian Blanco, Eryk Williamson, and Jeremy Ebobisse made a quick impact on the flow and possession of the game and Portland looked much more potent as a result.
Felipe Mora scored for the second straight game for the Timbers in the 67th minute after cleaning up Galaxy keeper David Bingham’s drifting, one-handed clearance from a Renzo Zambrano attempt just moments earlier. Whatever momentum the Timbers gained after Mora’s goal seemed to dissipate quickly when just four minutes later, Joe Corona regained the two-goal advantage for the Galaxy after catching the Timbers defense flat-footed in the box.
In the 80th minute, it appeared forward Jeremy Ebobisse had pulled one back for Portland when his header found the back of the net. The assistant referee flagged for offside and VAR took a look at the play, but ultimately the call was upheld. It was a highly contentious moment and in his post-game interview, Portland coach Gio Savarese said, “I thought the referee was a disaster today because we should have been at least 3-3.” Ebobisse wasn’t the only Portland player to have a goal wiped out by an offside call, but it was clearly the most controversial.
Portland made things interesting late in the match when Diego Valeri scored in the second minute of stoppage time. It was a bittersweet and historic moment for the Timbers captain who became just the third player in MLS history to notch 80 goals and 80 assists.
The Timbers look to bring a mostly rested first-choice team to Seattle for another Cascadia showdown on Sunday, September 6th at 7 pm PST (TV: Root Sports).
