PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing their fourth road match in their last five games, T2 were unable to overcome a one-goal deficit in the second half, falling 1-0 to Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC in front of a sold-out crowd of 4,012 fans at Switchbacks Stadium on Friday night.
T2 (3-5-1, 10pts) threatened in the 23rd minute when forward Ben Polk sent a teasing ball from the left side toward the oncoming run of forward Kharlton Belmar, but it was corralled by the goalkeeper at the near post. In the 45th minute, forward Neco Brett delivered a dangerous free kick from outside the box toward the near post for defender Michael Gallagher, but the goalkeeper reacted quickly off his line to punch the ball out of danger.
Colorado Springs (5-2-0, 15pts) benefited from forward Michael Seth’s header at the edge of the six-yard box in the 52nd minute to build a 1-0 lead early in the second half.
Searching for an equalizer, T2 created several additional scoring opportunities in the second half. In the 47th minute, forward Villyan Bijev took a leading touch toward the edge of the box before sending his long-range strike over the crossbar. Portland nearly leveled the score in the 75th minute when Polk’s left-footed effort in the box skipped just wide of the post. Eight minutes later, midfielder Seth Casiple lofted his corner kick service to the far post toward the streaking run of Gallagher, who redirected his header wide of the post in the 83rd minute.
Next week, T2 will return home to play their second consecutive home match at Providence Park, facing Whitecaps FC 2 on Friday, May 20; kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Single-game tickets for T2 home games are available at the Providence Park box office, online at www.timbers2.com, and on game day at the venue box office.
Friday’s match will also be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
Overall thoughts on the match…
“It was a disappointing result for us. I thought we stuck to what we wanted to do. I thought the guys did a really good job with the game plan. It came down to certain moments on both sides of the ball for us.”
On substitutes making an impact…
“I think for the most part, the subs came in and made a positive impact on the game. For me, it’s going to be about those moments. Can the players that come in affect the game in a positive way and help create opportunities for the team to win? I thought there were those moments there for us, but we didn’t put them away.”
On threatening late in the second-half…
“There’s a lot of good fight in this young team, which is a good sign. It’s not an easy place to go play and it’s not an easy team to play against, but we kept going towards the end and we had a couple chances that were good opportunities. If we continue to play like this on the road as the season moves forward, we will get the results we want. We’ve already showed that we can win on the road, but I think if the guys continue this mentality moving forward, a result like tonight will turn into a point or three points.”
T2 (3-5-1, 10pts) vs. Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC (5-2-0, 15pts)
May 13, 2016 – Switchbacks Stadium (Colorado Springs, Colo.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 0 0
Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC 0 1 1
Scoring Summary
COS: Seth, 52
Misconduct Summary
COS: Burt (Caution), 44
POR: Thoma (Caution), 86
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK McIntosh, D Richards (Meva, 72), D Morley, D Gallagher, D Farfan (Thoma, 81), M Lowe, M Besler, M Brett, F Bijev, F Polk, F Belmar (Casiple, 45)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Luthy, D Palacios, M Duarte, M Idowu
TOTAL SHOTS: 8; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 10; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 2
COS: GK Gorrick, D Burt, D Phillips, D Ibeagha, D Suggs, M Argueta, M Vercollone (Harada, 90), M Kim (Greer, 84), F Gonzalez (Armstrong, 83), F Seth, F Maybin (Robinson, 61)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Thompson, M Cawsey, F King
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 3; FOULS: 7; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
Referee: Malik Badawi
Assistant Referees: Robert Keiffer, Lauren Parliament
4th Official: Adam Zarrin
Attendance: 4,012
Weather: Sunny, 68
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
