MATCH RECAP | Portland Timbers extend unbeaten streak, defeat Los Angeles FC 2-1

PORTLAND, Ore. – Headed goals on either side of halftime – one from Dairon Asprilla, one from George Fochive – gave Portland an important 2-1 victory over Los Angeles FC Sunday evening at Providence Park.

• MATCHCENTER: Stats and Boxscore

The win also extended Portland's unbeaten streak to five games.

MATCH MOMENTS

3' - CHANCE (POR) - Midfielder Yimmi Chara dribbled towards the near corner flag before lofting a cross to the back post that Dairon Asprilla headed down but just wide of the left LAFC goalpost.

14' - SAVE (POR) - LAFC pushed forward into the Timbers box to get a shot off at close range that goalkeeper Steve Clark made the save on. LAFC recovered the loose ball but Portland defender Claudio Bravo blocked José Cifuentes' shot away for a corner.

21' - GOAL (POR) - Portland took a 1-0 lead in the 21st minute. On a Timbers corner kick, forward Felipe Mora, positioned near the top of the box, headed the ball towards goal where it bounced off a player to the near post. Sebastián Blanco looped his header off the cross bar but it fell to Asprilla on the far post who headed it into the goal.

27' - PK GOAL (LAFC) - LAFC tied the game at 1-1 as Cristian Arango converted a penalty attempt. Referee Chris Penso had awarded the penalty following an LAFC free kick from about 20 yards out that hit the Portland wall but was ruled a handball on Blanco.

29 - CHANCE (POR) - Coming down the other way, Blanco dribbled through the LAFC defense and hit a low shot that LAFC goalkeeper Tomas Romero dove to his left to save.

55' - CHANCE (POR) - Asprilla, with space, dribbled along the edge of the LAFC 18-yard box and hit a dipping shot that deflected off an LAFC defender and just wide of the left post.

59' - CHANCE (POR) - Asprilla chipped a ball across for Mora who bicycle-kicked it on frame but Romero made a diving save.

60' - SAVE (POR) - Clark made a nice save on an angled shot from LAFC's Brian Rodríguez. Rodríguez had received a rolled pass from Cifuentes on the left side but Clark was alert to make the stop.

68' - GOAL (POR) - Midfielder George Fochive, who had subbed on in the 61st minute, headed home Portland's go-ahead goal in the 68th. Blanco had quickly dispatched his defender along the LAFC endline before zipping a ball across the face of goal where Fochive raced in to smash home.

-----------

The Portland Timbers next match is Saturday, Sept. 25 when they host Real Salt Lake at Providence Park (7:30pm PT, TICKETS, FOX 12 PLUS).

Portland Timbers (11-10-4, 37pts) vs. Los Angeles FC (9-10-6, 33pts)
Sept. 19, 2021 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Scoring Summary:
POR: Asprilla, 21
LAFC: Arango (penalty kick), 27
POR: Fochive, 68

Misconduct Summary:
POR: Mabiala (caution), 24
POR: Blanco (caution), 27
POR: Bravo (caution), 42
POR: Valeri (caution), 83

Lineups:
POR: GK Clark, D Van Rankin, D Mabiala, D Zuparic, D Bravo, M D. Chara ©, M Paredes (Fochive, 61), M Y. Chara (Moreno, 78), M Blanco (Loría, 78), M Asprilla (Valeri, 61), F Mora (Niezgoda, 88)

Substitutes Not Used: GK Ivacic, D Bonilla, D McGraw, M Zambrano

TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Asprilla, Blanco, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Five players tied, 1); FOULS: 11 (D. Chara, 3); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 1

LAFC: GK Romero, D Fall, D Murillo, D Ibeagha (Palacios, 75), D Kim, M Crisostomo, M Ginella (Musovski, 75), M Cifuentes (Duke, 85), F Arango, F Edwards (Blessing, 75), F Rodríguez

Substitutes Not Used: GK Blackman, D Harvey, D Farfan, F Jennings, F Torres

TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Cifuentes, Rodríguez, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Arango, Cifuentes, 1); FOULS: 13 (Arango, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 3

Referee: Chris Penso
Assistant Referees: Apolinar Mariscal Chantal Boudrawu
Fourth official: Malik Baldawi
VAR: Joshua Patlak
Attendance: 21,311
Weather: Rainy, 67 degrees

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial

Notes

• The Timbers are undefeated in the last five matches (4-0-1), improving their overall record in the 2021 campaign to 11-10-4.
• Portland improved its home record in the 2021 regular-season campaign tonight to 7-3-2.
• The Timbers are unbeaten against LAFC in their last four matchups (2-0-2).
• Portland has scored a goal in 15 consecutive matches this season.
• Out of Portland’s 36 goals this season, 10 have been headers.
• The Timbers are 10-1-1 when scoring first this season.
• Dairon Asprilla scored his sixth goal of the 2021 campaign and 13th in the regular season with the Timbers since 2014.
• Asprilla is the only Timbers player to appear in all 25 regular season matches in 2021.
• George Fochive scored his second goal of the 2021 campaign after scoring his first MLS goal against Seattle on Aug. 15.
• Fochive is the eighth player to record two or more goals for the Timbers this season.
• Diego Valeri earned his 300th career appearance in all competitions for the Timbers.
• Claudio Bravo leads the league in tackles won (47) and is in third place in the league for interceptions made (50).
• Larrys Mabiala received his sixth card and will not be available for the next match due to yellow card accumulation.
• Dario Zuparic leads the team in minutes played this season with 1890.