PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing their 12th match at home during the 2017 USL regular season, T2 fell 1-0 to Sacramento Republic FC at Providence Park on Sunday afternoon.
Sacramento (9-6-4, 31pts) scored the game-winning goal when Wilson Kneeshaw got on the end of Matthew Wiesenfarth’s flicked pass inside the box that released him into space behind the T2 defense and slotted past T2 goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh in the 14th minute.
Holding a 14-9 shot advantage in the match, T2 (2-17-3, 9pts) created a number of scoring chances. Starting the second half on the front foot, forward Russell Cicerone played a pass to the edge of the 18-yard box that found midfielder Omar Mohamed, whose left-footed shot was fired inches past the far post in the 50th minute. Racing past his defender at midfield, Bill Tuiloma fired a shot from distance that missed the frame in the 62nd minute. From a set-piece on the left wing two minutes later, Jack Barmby’s in-swinging cross picked out defender Rennico Clarke, whose header was saved by Sacramento goalkeeper Evan Newton. In space from about 25 yards out, Tuiloma struck a driven shot that forced Newton into a low save 84th minute.
Portland had its best scoring opportunity late in the match when Mohamed beat two defenders on the left edge of the penalty area and hit a low shot on target in the 88th minute that forced Newton into a strong save at the near post.
With seven shots in the first half, T2 created additional scoring chances. After earning a free kick on the edge of the penalty area, Barmby’s effort was struck over the wall and saved by Newton at the near post in the 26th minute. Five minutes later, Barmby picked out Clarke inside the box from a corner kick, and Clarke’s headed attempt missed the frame in the 31st minute. Driving forward on the left wing, defender Kyle Bjornethun’s low cross found Cicerone inside the box, where his half-volleyed attempt went wide of the frame in 45th minute.
Next up, T2 will play host to Cascadia-rivals Seattle Sounders FC 2 at Providence Park on Thursday, Aug. 17; kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
On his overall thoughts on the match…
“It’s a disappointing result for us. We’ve seen this before this year – the inability to be patient enough to continue pressing and break the team down that was dropping in and looking to counter. Giving up that early goal didn’t help. It was a real generic, pump it into the box, run off the ball, second-ball win. There wasn’t much to it. It puts us in a tough spot because then they’re going to drop in and we have to defend it. We had 22 open-play crosses into the box and we can’t get on the end of something to score a goal. You’re not going to win games like that. We had massive control of possession. We put them under pressure and got balls into the box, shots, but not enough quality at the right times to be able to score the goal to tie it up or try and push to win the game.”
On the team’s effort in the second half…
“I think we put in a lot of energy. You can’t fault the guys for effort. They’re always going to give effort. We got into some problems in the end. They had a game plan of what they were going to do. They knew they were coming and play the way they were going to play. They put in some guys late in the game with some speed looking to kill the game off at that point, and we were a little bit tired so we gave up a couple of late chances. If we manage the game appropriately, and we have the opportunities that we do and we’re able to get on the end of something – the game changes. But this is how the game goes and you’ve just got to learn from it.”
On heading into this Thursday’s match against Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC 2…
“For me, it’s one of the biggest games of the year. We want to see what these guys are made of and see what we’ve got in that locker room. It’s a very disappointing result tonight, but a Seattle game is a Seattle game. They’ll be up for it for sure. We have to make sure we’re up for it and we’ll see what those guys are made of.”
T2 (2-17-3, 9pts) vs. Sacramento Republic FC (10-6-4, 34pts)
Aug. 13, 2017 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 0 0
Sacramento 1 0 1
Scoring Summary
SAC: Kneeshaw (Wiesenfarth), 14
Misconduct Summary
SAC: Kneeshaw (Caution), 3
POR: Tuiloma (Caution), 13
SAC: Christian (Caution), 24
SAC: Wiesenfarth (Caution), 43
SAC: Hall (Caution), 67
POR: Hanson (Caution), 68
SAC: Gissie (Caution), 76
POR: Hanson (Caution), 85
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK McIntosh ©, D Hanson, D Clarke, D Amick (Jimenez, 89), D Bjornethun, M Bijev, M Tuiloma, M Barmby (Calixtro, 90), F Cicerone, F Williams, F Mohamed
Substitutes Not Used: GK Hamilton, D Batista, M Lowe, M Ornstil, F Anguiano
TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Mohamed, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Four players tied, 1); FOULS: 10 (Three players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3
SAC: GK Newton, D Hord, D Klimenta, D Christian, D Kiffe, M Cazarez, M Hall, M Partain, F Blackwood, F Wiesenfarth (Gissie, 65), F Kneeshaw (Chaney, 53)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Jakubek, M Hategan, F Caesar, F Suma, F Williams
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Blackwood, Caesar, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Four players tied, 1); FOULS: 13 (Wiesenfarth, 3); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 5
Referee: Mark Allatin
Assistant Referees: Pawel Sojka, Mike Hohnholz
4th Official: Chad Stewart
Attendance: 1,976
Weather: Cloudy, 67 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
