It was a familiar result for the Portland Timbers in game two of the MLS is Back Tournament. The Timbers were impressive once again in possession and chances created, keeping pressure on Houston early and often. Jeremy Ebobisse opened things up in the 36th minute with a tidy left-footed finish that Houston keeper Marko Maric had little chance of ever keeping up with. Left with plenty of time and space inside the box, Diego Valeri doubled the Timbers’ advantage in the 61st minute with a clinical finish, courtesy of Eryk Williamson’s first assist of the tournament. Houston made a late push, despite an organized and compact defensive effort from the Timbers for most of the match. In the 86th minute, VAR deemed Portland defender Jorge Villafana guilty of a handball and awarded Houston a penalty kick. Keeper Steve Clark was unable to repeat his PK heroics against Houston’s Alberth Elis, who launched a frantic finish to the match after pulling one back from the spot.
Shortly after his penalty kick, Elis was shown a second yellow card in the 88th minute for unsporting behavior after a charging attack on the right flank resulted in him putting his hands in the face of Portland defender Bill Tuiloma. A down, but not quite out Houston offense tallied 24 shots over the course of 90 plus minutes, but were unable to breakthrough with an equalizer before the final whistle blew.
Given the starting lineup Coach Gio Savarese went with tonight, it was perceptible to believe Portland wanted to secure a spot in the knockout rounds prior to their showdown with LAFC. Portland sent out a largely unchanged lineup from their first match against the LA Galaxy. Defender Pablo Bonilla made his first team debut, replacing veteran Chris Duvall. The young Venezuelan held his own and made a strong case for staying in Coach Gio’s favor.
As for what’s next for the Timbers, keeper Steve Clark indicated in a post-match interview:
“We’re building confidence slowly, I think we feel good about where we are as a team… we’re looking forward to the next game.”
After two matches, the Timbers sit alone atop Group F with six points and will move on to next round of the MLS is Back Tournament. The Timbers will face a Carlos Vela-less LAFC squad on Thursday, July 23rd at 7:30 pm PST on ESPN2.
