PORTLAND, Ore. – Led by a second-half Jaroslaw Niezgoda brace and a goal from Felipe Mora, the Portland Timbers won their fifth game in a row via a 3-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on a rainy Sunday night at Providence Park.
Midfielder Diego Chara contributed two assists to give him a career-high and team-leading six on the 2020 campaign while goalkeeper Steve Clark made seven saves for the Timbers to earn their third clean sheet in their last four games.
The win also put the Timbers even on points (30pts) with Seattle Sounders FC atop the Western Conference.
6' - SAVE (POR) - Early in the first half, Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark made a brilliant reaction save on a header from San Jose forward Chris Wondolowski.
26' - CHANCE (POR) - Timbers defender Marco Farfan, upfield on the right, cut inside, besting a SJ defender and hit a left-footed shot from just outside the box that went narrowly wide of the left post.
46' - GOAL (POR) - Portland went out to a 1-0 lead just 35 seconds after halftime. Midfielder Diego Chara charged ahead from midfield on a give-and-go with Eryk Williamson in the right channel. Chara then lofted a cross into the box where forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda backed off his mark and gently headed the ball back across the face of goal into the corner to score.
52' - GOAL (POR) - Six minutes later, Portland jumped to a 2-0 lead as they capitalized on a San Jose mistake. Diego Chara sent a cross into Diego Valeri in the box where Quakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski came off his line to grab but he bobbled it. SJ defender Tanner Beason made a poor clearance attempt with the ball rolling to Niezgoda who quickly fired it into the open net.
60' - SAVE (POR) - Clark made another great save when he denied San Jose defender Tommy Thompson on the back post with a point-blank attempt.
70' - SAVE (POR) - San Jose's Cristian Espinoza hit a knuckling shot from just outside the Timbers 18-yard box that Clark dove to his right to push away.
84' - CHANCE (POR) - Midfielder Tomás Conechny sent in an outswinging corner kick that defender Bill Tuiloma headed down on frame but Marcinkowski made a diving save.
86' - GOAL (POR) - Midfielder Marvin LorÃa weighted a ball into the box for a speeding Diego Chara. Chara went to the endline and chipped a ball to the back post where an unmarked Felipe Mora headed the ball into the back of the net for a 3-0 lead. The goal marked Mora's third-straight game with a tally and was his seventh goal in nine games.
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The Portland Timbers next travel to Utah to face Real Salt Lake on Wednesday, Oct. 14 at Rio Tinto Stadium. Kickoff is 6:30pm PT ROOT SPORTS.
Portland Timbers (9-4-3, 30pts) vs. San Jose Earthquakes (5-7-5, 20pts)
Oct. 11, 2020 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Portland Timbers 0 3 3
San Jose Earthquakes 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
POR: Niezgoda (D. Chara, Williamson), 46
POR: Niezgoda, 52
POR: Mora (D. Chara, LorÃa), 86
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Williamson (caution), 18
POR: Farfan (caution), 29
SJ: Beason (caution), 69
SJ: RÃos (caution), 79
Lineups:
POR: GK Clark, D Farfan, D Zuparic, D Tuiloma, D Villafaña, M D. Chara, M Williamson, M LorÃa (Zambrano, 88), M Valeri © (Conechny, 74), M Y. Chara (Ebobisse, 61), F Niezgoda (Mora, 61)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Ivacic, D Bonilla, D Duvall, D Mabiala, M Flores
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Mora, Tuiloma, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Three players tied, 2); FOULS: 7 (D. Chara, 2); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 7
SJ: GK Marcinkowski, D Lima, D Alanis, D Beason, D Thompson (Salinas, 65), M Judson, M Yueill, M Espinoza, M RÃos, M Fierro, F Wondolowski ©
Substitutes Not Used: GK Vega, D Akanyirige, D Marie, M Skahan, M Calvillo, M Felipe, F Cowell, F Haji
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Espinoza, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Espinoza, 3); FOULS: 20 (RÃos, 5); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 5
Referee: Guido Gonzales, Jr.
Assistant Referees: Logan Brown, Jeremy Hanson
Fourth Official: Farhad Dadkho
VAR: Joe Dickerson
Weather: Showers, 57 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
