ORLANDO, Fla. – Finishing the game with 10 men, the Portland Timbers defeated the LA Galaxy, 2-1, Monday evening in their first match of the MLS is Back Tournament Group Play presented by Heineken at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Orlando. Portland was paced by a second-half strike from forward Jeremy Ebobisse along with a goal and assist performance from midfielder Sebastián Blanco.
9' - CHANCE (POR) - Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri lofted a free kick from 35-yards out that found Eryk Williamson but his header flashed wide of the left post.
13' - DOUBLE SAVE (POR) - Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark came up big with a double-save moment on an LA penalty kick attempt in the first half. Cristian Pavón had his shot blocked by Dario Zuparic's hand and referee Ramy Touchan pointed for a penalty. Galaxy forward Chicharito stepped to the spot and went low to right with his shot but Clark dove quickly to block the ball away. LA's Sacha Kljestan pounced on the rebound for a follow-up attempt but Clark again stopped the shot with a kick save and then smothered the ball.
41' - CHANCE (POR) - Portland, who dominated possession throughout the first half, pushed forward with Marvin LorÃa down the right channel. With space from 25-yards out, LorÃa hit a hard rising shot that LA goalkeeper David Bingham had to dive high and to his right to parry away.
59' - GOAL (POR) - Portland, who had been swarming the LA goal in the second half, saw a good chance from Yimmi Chara get deflected away by Bingham only to have the ball fall for Valeri near the edge of the area. Valeri fed the ball to Sebastián Blanco who spun to the endline before patiently cutting it back to Jeremy Ebobisse atop the six-yard box. Ebobisse one-timed his shot into the Galaxy net for a 1-0 Timbers lead.
64' - CHANCE (POR) - With the Timbers searching for a second goal, Blanco went near the Galaxy corner flag and then sent a ball to the back post for Ebobisse who leapt high but headed his ball just wide of the left post.
66' - GOAL (POR) - Two minutes later, Blanco again went to work. A poorly cleared ball went only as far as Ebobisse who headed the ball back to Blanco, again near the Galaxy right corner. The Portland midfielder charged along the endline, beating two LA defenders before quickly firing his shot past Bingham for a 2-0 Timbers lead.
75' - RED CARD (POR) - The Timbers went down to 10 men when Zuparic, who had received a yellow card in the first half that led to LA's penalty kick attempt, received a second yellow and accompanying red card with another foul just outside his own box.
88' - GOAL (LA) - The Galaxy pulled a goal back back as Gordon Wild cut a ball back from the endline for Chicharito who hit it into the net to make the score 2-1.
90+2' - CHANCE (POR) - Yimmi Chara picked the pocket of Sebastian Lletget deep in the LA end, sprinted towards goal but rifled his shot wide of the right post.
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The Timbers continue MLS is Back Tournament play on Saturday, July 18 when they face the Houston Dynamo at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex. Kickoff is 5pm PT on ESPN.
Portland Timbers (2-1-0, 6pts) vs. LA Galaxy (0-2-1, 1pt) – MLS Is Back Tournament
July 13, 2020 – ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex (Orlando, Fla.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
LA Galaxy 0 1 1
Portland Timbers 0 2 2
Scoring Summary:
POR: Ebobisse (Blanco, Valeri), 59
POR: Blanco, 66
LAG: Chicharito 88 (Wild, Pavón)
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Zuparic (caution), 11
POR: Zuparic (caution, ejection), 75
POR: D. Chara (caution), 90+4
Lineups:
POR: GK Clark, D Duvall, D Mabiala, D Zuparic, D Villafaña, M D. Chara, M Williamson (Polo, 89), M LorÃa (Y. Chara, 58), M Valeri © (Tuiloma, 78), M Blanco, F Ebobisse (Niezgoda, 80)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Ivacic, D Bonilla, D Cascante, D Farfan, D McGraw, M Conechny, M Paredes, M Zambrano
TOTAL SHOTS: 12 (Ebobisse, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Blanco, Ebobisse, 2); FOULS: 12 (D. Chara, 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 3
LAG: GK Bingham, D Insua, D Steres, D Gonzalez, D Feltshcer, M Kitchen, M Kljestan (Wild, 78), M Lletget, M Pavon, M Dunbar (Cuello, 66), F Chicharito
Substitutes Not Used: GK Lopez, GK vom Steeg, D Traore, D DePuy, D Araujo, D Harvey, M Alvarez, F Zubak
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Chicharito, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Chicharito, Kljestan, 2); FOULS: 9 (Cuello, Lletget, 2); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 4
Referee: Ramy Touchan
Assistant Referees: Chris Wattam, Claudiu Badea
4th Official: Ismail Elfath
VAR: Jair Marrufo
Weather: Clear, 84 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
