PORTLAND, Ore. – T2 were unable to overcome a two-goal halftime deficit in a 4-0 loss to San Antonio FC on Friday night at Providence Park in Week 6 of the 2017 USL season.
San Antonio FC (6-0-1, 19pts) took the lead in the 20th minute after midfielder Billy Forbes cut in from the right wing and placed his shot into the bottom left corner of the net. San Antonio doubled their lead in the 34th minute when midfielder Cesar Elizondo finished from the center of the six-yard box.
Searching for a goal in the first half, T2 (1-6-0, 3pts) nearly scored in the 13th minute when defender Marco Farfan picked out midfielder Blake Bodily on the left flank, but his left-footed attempt went just wide of the target. Just before halftime, midfielder Villyan Bijev struck a right-footed shot from outside the box that forced goalkeeper Diego Restrepo into a save in the 38th minute.
Portland created several scoring chances in the second half and nearly capitalized off a set-piece play in the 48th minute when Bijev whipped in a cross inside the box and the ball deflected off a San Antonio player and off the post before being cleared away from danger. In the 65th minute, midfielder Andre Lewis settled a pass near the edge of the 18-yard box from midfielder Tomás Granitto, firing a shot wide of the post. T2 produced their best chance in the 84th minute after forward Augustine Williams got on the end of cross from Bijev served into the box from the right flank, directing a header from close range just off the inside of the left post.
San Antonio received two additional goals in second-half stoppage time from substitute Zach Herivaux and Elizondo to claim the win.
Next up, T2 will travel to play Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC 2 on Friday, May 5, at Starfire Stadium in Tukwila, Wash.; kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).
The May 5 match will also be available via a live, high-definition web stream at www.timbers2.com.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Andrew Gregor
On tonight's result...
“We know the style that they want to play, and you've got to be able to manage that. You've got to be able to manage a team that's going to drop in and counter. That's what they did all game. Obviously we dominated possession. We had a hard time figuring out how to break them down. The patience for me wasn't there. We saw the youth in the group tonight. They were experienced in what they did, and we were on the younger side. It was difficult for us, but that's the experience that we've got to have. They've got to learn how to play against that. Hopefully the group will learn from this tonight and we can get better moving forward."
On the team hitting the post twice in the second half...
"We knew we were going to have a lot of the ball. If we would have managed the game better. They wouldn't have had those opportunities to score the two goals, and the pressure would have been on them and we would have created more opportunities. We're still learning and still developing."
On facing Cascadia-rival Seattle Sounders FC 2 next week...
"It's the same situation. We'll see the same from Seattle next week. It's a difficult place to play on a smaller field. It's something the team should be up for. It's always fun to play against Sounders FC 2. It's a good rivalry. They got us already once this year, so it's a chance for us to go back and make amends for that game and tonight."
T2 (1-6-0, 3pts) vs. San Antonio FC (6-0-1, 19pts)
April 28, 2017 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 0 0
San Antonio 2 2 4
Scoring Summary
SA: Forbes (Elizondo), 20
SA: Elizondo, 34
SA: Herivaux (Vega), 90+1
SA: Elizondo (Reed), 90+3
Misconduct Summary
SA: Newnam (Caution), 45+2
POR: Farfan (Caution), 74
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Hamilton, D Jimenez (Hanson, 73), D Clarke, D Batista, D Farfan, M Granitto, M Lewis, M Bodily (Mohamed, 79), M Bijev, M Brett (Cicerone, 46), F Williams
Substitutes Not Used: GK Herrera, D Bjornethun, D Ornstil, M Damraoui
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Bijev, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Bijev, 1); FOULS: 12 (Williams, 3); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 4 SAVES: 1
SA: GK Restrepo, D Newnam, D Ibeagha, D McCarthy, D Cochrane, M Pecka, M Reed, M Tyrpak (Herivaux, 84), M Castillo (Vega, 89), M Forbes (Chin, 69), F Elizondo
Substitutes Not Used: GK Johnston, D Roushandel, F Ajeakwa, F Hassan
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Elizondo, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Elizondo, 2); FOULS: 13 (Newnam, Pecka, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 1
Referee: Ekaterina Koroleva
Assistant Referees: Joshua Haimes, Seth Martin
4th Official: Andrew Marihart
Attendance: 2,511
Weather: Partly cloudy, 55 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
