PORTLAND, Ore. – Playing the first of a two-match home stand, T2 fell 4-3 to LA Galaxy II at Providence Park on Sunday afternoon. Midfielder Victor Arboleda, forward Jeremy Ebobisse and defender Max Ornstil each recorded a goal, while defender Marco Farfan tallied two assists.
T2 (1-14-2, 5pts) opened the scoring in the 25th minute when midfielder Villyan Bijev played a long ball that found defender Farfan in space on the left wing. Farfan took a touch and played a perfect cross into the six-yard box that found Ebobisse, and his strong-leaping header beat LA Galaxy II goalkeeper Bennett Sneddon at his near post for his first goal of the campaign.
Portland doubled its lead in the 33rd minute when Ornstil broke up a Galaxy II attacking play in midfield. Ebobisse collected the loose ball and played a through ball into the path of Ornstil on the left edge of the 18-yard box. Ornstil cut inside onto his right foot and sent a curling shot from just outside the six-yard box into the top right corner of the net to give T2 a 2-0 lead.
LA (4-11-2, 14pts) got on the scoreboard just before halftime when defender Tyler Turner converted from the penalty spot in the 44th minute.
Galaxy II scored two quick goals at the start of the second half to take a 3-2 lead when midfielder Adrian Vera scored in the 47th and 50th minute. LA forward Justin Dhillon recorded the game-winning goal in the 60th minute when he slotted past T2 goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh from inside the six-yard box to give his side a 4-2 advantage.
T2 got a goal back in the 82nd minute when Farfan played a ball in behind the LA defense towards the path of Arboleda, who blasted a powerful-curling effort from the left edge of the penalty area into the far corner of the net to make it a 4-3 game. The goal marked Arboleda’s third tally of the 2017 season, which ranks second on the team behind Bijev (6).
Three minutes later, T2 almost equalized when Arboleda whipped in a cross from the left wing that picked out second-half substitute Augustine Williams, whose strong header forced Sneddon into a save in the 85th minute.
Portland, which held a 15-8 shot advantage throughout the match, created a number of scoring opportunities. In the first half, midfielder Omar Mohamed struck a right-footed shot from outside the box that flew over the crossbar in the 35th minute. In the second half, midfielder Jacob Montes played a ball to Bijev at the top of the box, and his long-range shot was fired over the crossbar in the 53rd minute. Midfielder Tomás Granitto found space near the edge of the penalty area and struck a right-footed shot that Sneddon saved in the 69th minute.
Four minutes later, Arboleda played a pass with the outside of his boot into the penalty area into the path of Williams, and his toe-poked shot was saved by an onrushing Sneddon in the 73rd minute. From a corner kick, Granitto’s in-swinging delivery picked out Arboleda, and his leaping header missed the target two minutes later. After gliding past a Galaxy II defender on the left edge of the penalty area, Arboleda’s right-footed shot was struck over the crossbar in the 78th minute.
Next up, T2 will play host to Swope Park Rangers at Providence Park on Sunday, July 16; kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (Pacific).
The July 16 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 his thoughts on the match…
“Extremely disappointed in the match. We were in a good spot with a 2-0 lead with five minutes to go in the first half, and to give up that goal was what for me changed the game. It’s a situation with a young group of guys that you’ve got to learn. It’s another tough lesson to learn. They got that penalty kick. LA got themselves back into the game, so give credit to them. Last year, we were down 3-0 at halftime against them, and then beat them 4-3 at their place. They know the feeling that we have right now. It’s not a very good feeling.”
On defender Max Ornstil’s first-career goal…
“It’s an odd one where you see a counter attack from a center back. He did a good job. He showed composure, got into a good spot and scored the goal. That one was tough for LA to deal with too, because if a center back is getting down the field and cutting into the inside and scoring a goal, things aren’t going well for them. For them to get that goal right before halftime gave them life. It’s an unfortunate situation, but a learning lesson that we’re going to have to learn to deal with. We’re going to learn to play with the lead sometimes.”
On the improved offense from the team heading into next Sunday’s home match against Swope Park Rangers…
“Yeah. I think there’s decent production. I think it can be even better. I think there were more goals in this game for us today. I think for us to only get three [goals]… I think you’ve got to look at the technique in certain situations, things that we can look at to clean up like making better decisions on certain balls. It’s good to score three goals. When you score three goals at home, you expect not to lose the game. That’s another tough lesson for the guys. With Swope coming in next week, they’re flying right now. They’re a very good team, they’ve got some good players and it’s going to be a difficult game for us.”
T2 (1-14-2, 5pts) vs. LA Galaxy II (4-11-2, 14pts)
July 9, 2017 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 2 1 3
LA Galaxy II 1 3 4
Scoring Summary
POR: Ebobisse (Farfan), 25
POR: Ornstil (Ebobisse), 33
LA: Turner (penalty kick), 44
LA: Vera (Dhillon), 47
LA: Vera, 50
LA: Dhillon (Covarrubias), 60
POR: Arboleda (Farfan), 82
Misconduct Summary
LA: Amaya (caution), 18
LA: Engola (caution), 28
LA: Vera (caution), 57
LA: Hernandez (caution), 77
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK McIntosh ©, D Hanson, D Ornstil, D Amick, D Farfan, M Montes (Lowe, 66), M Granitto, M Arboleda, M Bjiev, M Mohamed (Williams, 66), F Ebobisse (Cicerone, 81)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Hamilton, D Bjornethun, D Clarke, D Jimenez
TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Three players tied, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 8 (Williams, 2); FOULS: 15 (Ornstil, Williams, 3); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 7; SAVES: 3
LA: GK Sneddon, D Turnley, D Castellanos, D Engola, D Turner © (Hernandez, 76), M Fujii, M Covarrubias, M Zanga, M Vera, F Amaya (Zubak, 22), F Dhillon (Estrada, 70)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Lopez
TOTAL SHOTS: 8 (Three players tied, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Fuji, Vera, 2); FOULS: 18 (Estrada, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 3
Referee: Joseph Dickerson
Assistant Referees: Andrew Brooks, Billy Baldwin
4th Official: Lucas Brooks
Attendance: 1,891
Weather: Clear, 76 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
