CARSON, Calif. – Playing their second match in four days, T2 scored four second-half goals to overcome a three-goal deficit and defeat LA Galaxy II 4-3 at the StubHub Center Track & Field Stadium on Saturday night. Midfielder Villyan Bijev tallied a brace and added an assist on the game-winning goal from midfielder Neco Brett in stoppage-time, while midfielder Blake Bodily scored his second goal of the season to begin the second-half comeback.
T2 (6-11-4, 22pts) began the comeback after the home team was reduced to 10-men when LA forward Adonis Amaya was issued a red card in the 59th minute. Two minutes later, Bodily scored his second goal of the season when forward Augustine Williams played in a ball behind the Galaxy II defense that Bodily got on the end of and slotted a left-footed finish past Galaxy II goalkeeper Bennett Sneddon in the 61st minute.
After Galaxy II were whistled for a penalty for a handball inside the box, Bijev converted his penalty kick in the 67th minute when he placed his shot into the upper right corner of the net to make it a 3-2 game. T2 leveled the score in the 87th minute when Bijev was first to a loose ball inside the 18-yard box and fired his right-footed shot into the back of the net to notch his third goal of the season.
Portland scored the game-winning goal in stoppage time off of a counter-attacking play that began when midfielder Victor Arboleda dispossessed a Galaxy II defender at midfield. Arboleda passed to Bijev at the top of the 18-yard box, with Bijev then playing in Brett on the left wing. Brett took on his defender, cutting back onto his right-foot and blasted his shot off the palms of the goalkeeper and into the top right corner of the net to score his fifth goal of the season for T2.
LA Galaxy II (9-4-8, 35pts) opened the scoring in the ninth minute from a T2 own goal and doubled the lead in the 15th minute when forward Ariel Lassiter’s long-range effort from outside of the box beat found its way in the lower left corner of the net. LA extended the lead to 3-0 in the 45th minute when Lassiter got in behind the Portland defense and slotted his left-footed finish into the back of the net.
Next up, T2 will play host to Orange County Blues FC on Sunday, Aug. 14, at Merlo Field; kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (Pacific). The Aug. 14 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 overall thoughts on the match…
“I think we started the game pretty well and were pretty disappointed to give up those two early goals and then giving up another prior to the half. It was disappointing because I thought we were actually doing quite well. We came out at the second half with the right mentality. The red card obviously affected them and we took advantage of it and had a belief that things were going our way. We did a good job of believing and finding a way to go and get the result. I couldn’t be happier with the boys. I felt like we’ve really been grinding lately. The goals haven’t been going in for us. We’ve been creating opportunities, but they’re just not going in, and it’s really nice that they got rewarded for the hard work they put in.”
On midfielder Villyan Bijev’s two-goals and one assist performance…
“I thought Bijev was very good tonight. He was finding really good pockets in between the lines and causing them problems with good movement off the ball. He took his opportunity, which is good to see because I think he’s been a little unlucky with some opportunities. It’s really good to see him get on the board with a couple of goals and hopefully it just pushes him through and they start going in bunches.
On building off of tonight’s performance…
“It was a strong week for us – four points out of two games. This game was a high point for us. We’re going to have to get back to work during the week and dig back in on training and get focused. We’re going to have a tough week coming up with three games in a week. There’s points out there to be had and the guys need to make sure that we continue this momentum and push through here.”
T2 (6-11-4, 22pts) vs. LA Galaxy II (9-4-8, 35pts)
Aug. 6, 2016 – StubHub Center Track & Field Stadium (Carson, Calif.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 0 4 4
LA Galaxy II 3 0 3
Scoring Summary
LAG: Own Goal, 9
LAG: Lassiter (Sorto), 15
LAG: Lassiter (Amaya), 45
POR: Bodily (Williams) 62
POR: Bijev (Penalty Kick), 67
POR: Bijev (Unassisted), 87
POR: Brett (Bijev, Arboleda), 90
Misconduct Summary
LAG: Sorto (Caution), 16
LAG: Covarrubias (Caution, 53
LAG: Amaya (Red Card), 59
POR: Thoma (Caution), 65
LAG: Arellano (Caution), 79
LAG: Payeras (Caution), 83
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Hamilton, D Gallagher (Richards, 32), D Taylor © (Morley, 60), D Clarke, D Thoma, M Lewis (Casiple, 45), M Besler (Belmar, 83), M Arboleda, M Bijev, M Bodily (Brett, 73), F Williams
Substitutes Not Used: GK Luthy, M Polk
TOTAL SHOTS: 10; SHOTS ON GOAL: 7; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 3
LAG: GK Sneddon, D Smith, D Nishanian, D Payeras, D Sorto (Arrellano, 45), M Rebellon (Fujii, 89), M Covarrubias (Slager, 89), M Mendiola ©, M Jamieson IV (Vera, 85), F Lassiter (Zubak, 73), F Amaya
Substitutes Not Used: GK Diop, M Bailey,
TOTAL SHOTS: 6; SHOTS ON GOAL: 6; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 3
Referee: Daniel Radford
Assistant Referees: Alexander Luttmann, Melissa Gonzalez
4th Official: Michael Radchuk
Attendance: 2,019
Weather: Clear, 69 degrees
