SACRAMENTO, Calif. – Playing the final of three matches in seven days, T2 fell 4-0 to Sacramento Republic FC at Bonney Field on Saturday night in the second game of a two-game road trip.
Sacramento Republic FC (11-6-7, 40pts) benefitted early after defender Mike da Fonte’s headed finish inside the six-yard box in the fourth minute and took a 2-0 lead on forward Cameron Iwasa’s goal in the 45th minute after T2 goalkeeper Wade Hamilton’s stop on Iwasa deflected behind him and the Sacramento forward tapped in from close range for his 10th goal of the season.
Just after the start of the second half, Sacramento forward Tommy Thompson made it 3-0 when he received a ball over the top of T2’s defense and slotted it home in the 48th minute. Sacramento substitute Wilson Kneeshaw capped the scoring after latching on to defender James Kiffe’s long ball, taking a touch inside the box and finding the back of the net in the 81st minute.
Holding a 16-12 shot advantage, T2 (7-13-4, 25pts) created a number of goal-scoring opportunities, including forward Augustine Williams’ shot that was saved by the right boot of Sacramento goalkeeper Evan Newton, who finished the match with four saves, in the sixth minute and midfielder Neco Brett’s follow-up shot inside the area that was cleared off the line by a Sacramento defender. In the 17th minute, defender Brent Richards cut inside from the right flank and fired a left-footed shot that was punched aside by Newton.
Midfielder Blake Bodily almost scored in the 33rd minute when he beat his defender on the left flank and his left-footed blast deflected off of a defender and struck the top right post and was cleared away from danger. Following a set-piece play, second-half substitute Kharlton Belmar nearly scored in the 87th minute after he was first to a loose ball inside the box and his shot was cleared off the line by Kiffe.
Next up, T2 will travel to play Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC 2 at Starfire Stadium on Monday, Aug. 29; kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific). The Aug. 29 match will also be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
On his overall thoughts on the match…
“It was a disappointing result tonight. I thought we were pretty good in the first half. We created enough opportunities to score goals, but we came in at halftime 2-0 down. The next goal is always going to be the decider in a 2-0 game at halftime and unfortunately we got scored on and the game was pretty much over at that time. I think we created enough opportunities in the first half to walk in at halftime in the lead, but statistics are one thing and the score line is the most important thing. They took their opportunities and we didn’t.
On the positives he can take away from tonight’s loss heading into the next match against Seattle Sounders FC 2…
“I think we moved forward with some of our confidence in our play when we have the ball. I think defensively we can maybe sharpen some things up and the transitions could be a little bit better, but overall we’ll continue to move forward and look to create opportunities to score goals, just like we did tonight, just like we did at Real Monarchs and we’re hoping the next game that the opportunities go in.”
T2 (7-13-4, 25pts) vs. Sacramento Republic FC (11-6-7, 40pts)
Aug. 20, 2016 – Bonney Field (Sacramento, Calif.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 0 0
Sacramento 2 2 4
Scoring Summary
SAC: da Fonte (Thompson), 4
SAC: Iwasa (Unassisted), 45
SAC: Thompson (Barrera), 48
SAC: Kneeshaw (Kiffe), 82
Misconduct Summary
SAC: Lagrassa (Caution), 22
POR: Farfan (Caution), 25
POR: Besler (Caution), 37
SAC: Thompson (Caution), 67
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Hamilton, D Richards, D Clarke ©, D Morley, D Farfan (Gallagher, 77), M Besler, M Casiple (Damraoui, 82), M Brett, M Bijev (Polk, 72), M Bodily (Arboleda, 66), F Williams (Belmar, 66)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Luthy, M Lewis
TOTAL SHOTS: 16; SHOTS ON GOAL: 4; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 5
SAC: GK Newton, D Guzman (Rodriguez, 85), D Da Fonte, D Christian, D Kiffe, M Barerra, M Hall (Motagalvan, 65), M Koval (Kneeshaw, 69), M Lagrassa (Pridham, 89), F Iwasa, F Thompson (Trickett-Smith, 85)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Jakubek, D Rivas
TOTAL SHOTS: 12; SHOTS ON GOAL: 9; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 4
Referee: Michael Zapata
Assistant Referees: Deleana Quan, Eric Erhardt
4th Official: Alex Marquand-Willse
Attendance: 11,569
Weather: Clear, 79 degrees
