IRVINE, Calif. – Playing their first game of a three-match road trip, T2 were unable to overcome a one-goal halftime deficit, falling 1-0 to Orange County Blues FC at Anteater Stadium on the campus of UC Irvine Wednesday night.
Searching for an early goal, T2 (1-4-0, 3pts) threatened in the eighth minute when forward Victor Arboleda released defender Brent Richards to the right corner flag. On his first touch, Richards sent a low, driven ball into the six-yard box that narrowly eluded the collapsing run of Kharlton Belmar. Three minutes later, T2 were on the attack again when midfielder Neco Brett volleyed a one-time ball into the box for Arboleda, but his touch at the top of the box led him away from goal.
Orange County Blues FC (2-2-1, 7pts) benefited from forward Trevin Caesar’s finish in the 39th minute to build a 1-0 lead heading into halftime.
In the second half,Arboleda sent an out-swinging cross from the right side towards the near post run of Belmar in the 60th minute, but the ball narrowly missed the forward’s leaping effort. Ten minutes later, midfielder Dylan Damraoui, who continued his driving run from T2’s defensive half, sent a weighted ball into the box for Belmar, but his left-footed attempt sailed high over goal.
Portland nearly pulled a goal back in the 89th minute when midfielder Christian Duarte, after combining with forward Villyan Bijev on the left side, sent a low, driven ball into the six-yard box for Belmar, but the forward’s chance skipped wide of goal.
Next up, T2 will travel to Oklahoma to play Tulsa Roughnecks FC on Saturday, April 23, at ONEOK Field; kickoff is set for 5 p.m. (Pacific).
Saturday’s match will be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
Post match quotes
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
Overall thoughts on the game…
“I thought it was a pretty choppy game all around. There really wasn’t much play on either side of the ball. Overall, I though we had some moments, but we didn’t take advantage of those moments, and the one moment on their goal, we didn’t do a good job of managing it.”
On the team’s second-half effort…
“We keep saying the same stuff about moments but we had about three moments there in the second half where if we had a little bit more composure and a little bit of luck, we could’ve easily tied the game or won the game. Again, it’s about this development process of guys having composure in those moments and to be able to finish the play off. It’s unfortunate, but we’ll have to continue to learn from it and continue to move forward.”
On the energy from the second-half substitutes…
“I thought it was good. For the most part, I thought the subs came in and helped bring some energy and change the game a bit. Christian [Duarte] and Villyan [Bijev] had a nice combination play that kind of deserved a goal there, and we were a little unlucky not to finish it off, but that’s what you want from the subs when they come in. They want to make changes in the game and I thought they did a good job of that. I thought they were hungry coming into the game, they wanted to prove a point and I thought they did a good job.”
T2 (1-4-0, 3pts) at Orange County Blues FC (2-2-1, 7pts)
April 20, 2016 – Anteater Stadium (Irvine, Calif.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 0 0
Orange County Blues FC 1 0 0
Scoring Summary
OC: Caesar, 39
Misconduct Summary
OC: Caesar (Caution)
POR: Arboleda (Caution)
POR: Duarte (Caution)
POR: Lowe (Caution)
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Hamilton, D Richards, D Peay ©, D Gallagher, D Farfan, M Lowe, M Lewis (Duarte, 67), M Damraoui, M Arboleda (Polk, 78), F Belmar, F Brett (Bijev, 67)
Substitutes Not Used: GK McIntosh, D Morley, M Meva, M Besler
TOTAL SHOTS: 2; SHOTS ON GOAL: 0; FOULS: 14; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 4
OC: GK Miller, D Meeus, D Purdy (Griffiths 59), D Plunkte, D McCracken, M Mirkovic, M Cortes (Valimaa, 15), M Popora (Bjurman, 72), M Crettenand, M Ajaekwa (Feeley, 59), F Caesar
Substitutes Not Used: GK Cohen, M Silva, F Baccielo
TOTAL SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 5; FOULS: 10; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 0
Referee: Eduardo Jeff
Assistant Referee: Osvaldo Delgado-Landeros
4th Official: Andrew Brooks
Weather: Sunny, 78 degrees
