SAN JOSE, CA – For the second time this week, the Timbers made the quick trip south to Earthquakes Stadium. The first matchup saw plenty of positive play and potential from Portland, but ultimately the team left with a disappointing result. Round two on Saturday evening was a different story.
Coach Savarese continued to manage minutes for his players through this compact stretch of games and sent out Diego Valeri and a mix of regular starters alongside the likes of Julio Cascante, Bill Tuiloma, and Tomas Conechny. Gio also gave keeper Steve Clark the night off, prompting the MLS debut of Aljaz Ivacic in goal.
Matias Almeyda and his Earthquakes put their direct, lung-busting style of play on display once again, but this time the Timbers were ready for it and took the game to the Earthquakes.
Diego Valeri finished the night in fine form, notching a brace for the Timbers. His first, the opening goal of the match, was a successful penalty kick in the 26th minute after Shea Salinas was whistled for a handball in the box while attempting to block a shot from Cristhian Paredes.
Just two minutes later, Jeremy Ebobisse rose high and headed down and in a terrific Jorge Villafana cross to double the Timbers lead. Ebobisse started the evening in his natural striker position after playing on the wing in the previous match.
The Earthquakes looked most threatening the last five minutes of the first half and the Timbers conceded right before halftime. After making a strong, one-handed save to deny San Jose just minutes earlier, keeper Aljaz Ivacic was left high-and-dry in the 44th minute as Carlos Fierro pulled one back for the Earthquakes.
The second half was a dominant performance by the Timbers and much more reminiscent of their MLS is Back Tournament form. Diego Valeri scored his second goal in the 57th minute to put the Timbers up 3-1 and after that, the Earthquakes were ready to gamble and throw more numbers forward.
Despite conceding possession 62-38 on the evening, the Timbers ran with every chance San Jose gave them and capitalized quickly on defensive lapses. With San Jose’s unconventional man-on-man marking, the Timbers found success when playing direct and saw their center backs dribble well past midfield on a number of occasions to break down the San Jose defense.
Yimmi Chara found the back of the net for the second consecutive game after cleaning up a blocked Jeremy Ebobisse shot in the 70th minute. Chara was quick to recognize the play developing and reacted to the rebound before the Earthquakes could put forth any kind of defensive effort.
It was a career night for center back Julio Cascante. Cascante scored his first goal for the Timbers in the 85th minute after Diego Valeri orchestrated a picture-perfect set piece near the right corner flag. Valeri’s outward-swinging kick found an open Cascante, who headed it down and in. Julio paid tribute to his expecting wife in his unforgettable goal-scoring moment.
Jaroslaw Niezgoda wrapped up a busy night for the Timbers in the 87th minute. Niezgoda combined with Diego Chara for some quick one-two play in the San Jose box to get the sixth goal of the night. Niezgoda’s finish ricocheted off defender Tanner Beason before finding the back of the net.
Coach Savarese said of his team’s performance compared to Wednesday’s match:
“Today we have patience to build up, move players up a little higher, make sure that we find more space in the buildup, and find the right movement to be able to get one of our players free in order to find space… The different things we asked the players to do, they did and we found good moments to be able to generate opportunities.”
The Timbers look to continue their momentum with another showdown with Seattle on Wednesday night (7 pm PST on FOX 12 PLUS KPDX). The Timbers will be back to training outdoors after hazardous air conditions brought on by massive wildfires have finally cleared up in Portland.
