PORTLAND, Ore. – Closing out a three-match home stand, T2 defeated Sacramento Republic FC 2-0 Wednesday night at Providence Park. Dairon Asprilla and Modou Jadama each recorded their first goals of the USL season, while goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh registered five saves and his third shutout of 2018 as T2 handed Sacramento its first loss of the year.
T2 against Sacramento Republic FC
With the victory, T2 evened the all-time series against Sacramento at 4-4-0 in eight all-time matches between the two clubs. T2 improved to 3-2-0 against Sacramento in five matches in Portland. The two teams will face off against one another one more time in 2018, as Sacramento will play host to Portland at Papa Murphy’s Park on Sept. 29 at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific).
Key plays
T2 scored the opening goal of the match when defender Lamar Batista whipped in a cross from the left flank that picked out Asprilla. Knocking the ball down, Asprilla calmly tapped in from inside the six-yard box to give his side a 1-0 lead in the 16th minute.
Midfielder Marvin Loría, making his first start of 2018, was first to a loose ball in the penalty area, striking his shot on the half volley past the target in the 20th minute. Three minutes later, midfielder Eryk Williamson’s delivery from a corner kick found Asprilla, whose powerful header just missed over the crossbar.
Continuing to threaten Sacramento’s goal, Loría drove past two defenders on the left edge of the box, forcing a strong, diving save from Sacramento goalkeeper Josh Cohen at the near post in the 24th minute.
Fending off his marker on the edge of the penalty area, Asprilla’s right-footed effort was saved by Cohen in the 35th minute.
Portland increased its lead to 2-0 in the 38th minute following a corner kick. Williamson delivered a pinpoint cross at the back post to an unmarked Jadama, who powered his header into the ground and past the outstretched arms of a diving Cohen. The assist marked Williamson’s first of the season, as he finished the match with a game-high five chances created.
Just before halftime, Loría found forward Foster Langsdorf at the top of the penalty area. With two defenders closing him down, Langsdorf’s shot from the center of the box was saved by Cohen in the 43rd minute. Three minutes later, Loria blasted a powerful shot from the edge of the 18-yard box that missed inches past the post.
In stoppage time, Williamson released Victor Arboleda into space behind the Sacramento defense, but his shot from the right edge of the penalty area struck the left post before second-half substitute Devyn Jambga’s follow-up effort was fired over the crossbar.
Next Game
Next up, Portland travels to face Saint Louis FC at Toyota Stadium in Fenton, Mo., on Saturday, May 5. Beginning at 5:30 p.m. (Pacific), the match against Saint Louis FC will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Cameron Knowles
On this overall thoughts after tonight’s win…
“It was a good performance. We talked about a clean sheet and three points and they got it. They worked hard to come into a position at halftime leading the game. They did the work they needed to do to see out the result.”
On standout performances from the group today…
“We talked about how the game might not see some of the best performances, but the game might need a lot of effort from the guys. If we had the best effort from our guys, then we’d have a really good team performance. I think, collectively, we had a really good performance against a very, very good team.”
On heading into Saturday’s road match against Saint Louis FC…
“Right now, we’ve got to focus on recovery. We’ve got to focus on recovering and turn it around. We’ve had a lot of these short windows between games. We have to look at guys that are tired, that have played more minutes than they have done in the past. It’s just recovery, getting them turned around and going from there.”
T2 (4-3-1, 13pts) vs. Sacramento Republic FC (4-1-3, 15pts)
May 2, 2018 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 2 0 0
Sacramento 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
POR: Asprilla, 16
POR: Jadama (Williamson), 38
Misconduct Summary
POR: Zambrano (Caution), 21
POR: Williams (Caution), 89
Lineups:
POR: GK McIntosh, D Mulligan, D Phillips ©, D Jadama, D Batista, M Zambrano (Lewis, 83), M Williamson, M Arboleda, M Langsdorf, M Loría (Jambga, 77), F Asprilla (Williams, 58)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Mangels, D Elliot, D Hanson, M Enriquez
TOTAL SHOTS: 16 (Asprilla, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Asprilla, 2); FOULS: 11 (Arboleda, 5); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 5
SAC: GK Cohen, D Gomez, D Hall, D Taintor, D Schmidt, M Villarreal (Partain, 54) M Kneeshaw (Espino, 77), M Bijev, M Moffat, M Matjasic, F Eissele (Iwasa, 54)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Diaz, D McEntosh, D Rodriguez, D Seiler
TOTAL SHOTS: 19 (Bijev, 6); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Bijev, 2); FOULS: 10 (Gomez, 3); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 3
Referee: Mark Allatin
Assistant Referees: CJ Koll, Justin St. Pierre
4th Official: Lucas Brooks
Attendance: 1,937
Weather: Partly cloudy, 73 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
