KANSAS CITY, Kan. – In Week 22 of the USL season, T2 earned a 2-0 shutout road victory over Swope Park Rangers at Children’s Mercy Park Saturday evening. Midfielder Jack Barmby and forward Jeremy Ebobisse each tallied their fourth goals of the 2018 USL campaign, while midfielder Marvin Loría tallied his team-leading fifth assist of the year.
T2 on the road
With the win, T2 improved to 6-4-3 on the road this season. Portland is 3-1-1 in its last five road contests dating back to June 9. Seven of T2’s nine shutouts this season have come on the road. Additionally, three of goalkeeper Alex Mangel’s four shutouts in 2018 have come on the road.
T2 vs. Swope Park Rangers
With the victory over Swope Park, T2 tied the overall series (3-3-0). Portland defeated the Rangers 2-1 at Providence Park on July 14.
Key plays
T2 took an early 1-0 lead in the seventh minute after Loría cut in from the right wing at the top of the 18-yard box. Taking on three defenders, Loría slipped the ball into the path of Ebobisse just outside the six-yard box and his swiveling shot beat Swope Park goalkeeper Christian Herrera through his legs and into the back of the net.
Six minutes later, Loría’s cross from the right wing picked out forward Foster Langsdorf at the back post, but his header missed wide past the post. In the 21st minute, Barmby laid the ball off onto the edge of the penalty to Ebobisse, whose shot was fired over the crossbar.
Continuing to apply pressure on the Swope Park defense, Langsdorf surged down the left wing, firing a low shot that Herrera saved in the 27th minute. Just before halftime, midfielder Renzo Zambrano’s shot from distance was blasted over the crossbar in the 38th minute.
After T2 earned a penalty following a foul on Langsdorf inside the box, Barmby stepped to the penalty spot and slotted his finish underneath Herrera to give Portland a 2-0 lead in the 55th minute. The goal marked Barmby’s second converted penalty of 2018.
In the 76th minute, Mangels, who finished the match with four saves, dove to his left to deny Swope Park midfielder Wan Zuzain’s shot. One minute later, Ebobisse’s left-footed strike from 25 yards away from goal missed over the crossbar.
Next Game
Next up, T2 begin a five-match homestand, first playing host to San Antonio FC on at Providence Park on Wednesday, Aug. 15. Beginning at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific), the match will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Cameron Knowles
On his thoughts after the team’s road victory…
“I thought it was a really good performance from the guys. It’s a difficult place to come in and play against a very good team that we were tied with in the standings. It was a really, really important three points.”
On the team’s recent success in road matches…
“We’ve shown that we’re a very good team on the road, which has been important. We’ve seen it before because we’ve dropped some points at home. We knew it was going to be important to get back to being a team that can defend and can keep a clean sheet. It was good to see the guys get back to getting a clean sheet. We worked very hard to do that all across the field, and then obviously the guys put the ball in the back of the net to give us the three points.”
On the team’s upcoming five-match homestand…
“For us, it’s one game at a time. It’s nice to come home, but there’s no gimmies at home and we’ve shown that already. We’ve got to just make sure we take it one game at a time and get guys turned around physically before this next one, which will be difficult. The conditions were challenging. We’ve got a few guys who are a little beat up, so we’re just going to get the guys healthy and see who we’ve got available.”
T2 (11-10-3, 36pts) vs. Swope Park Rangers (9-9-6, 33pts)
Aug. 11, 2018 – Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kan.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 1 1 2
Swope Park Rangers 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
POR: Ebobisse (Loría), 7
POR: Barmby (Penalty kick), 55
Misconduct Summary
SPR: Smith (Caution), 55
Lineups:
POR: GK Mangels, D Smith, D Diz Pe, D Miller © (Ornstil, 62), D Batista, M Zambrano, M Lewis, M Loría (Hanson, 79), M Langsdorf (Langsdorf, 86), M Barmby, F Ebobisse
Substitutes Not Used: GK Pack, D Mulligan, M Anguiano, F Jambga
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Ebobisse, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Ebobisse, 2); FOULS: 5 (Loría, 2); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 1; SAVES: 4
SPR: GK Herrera, D Storm, D Smith ©, D Barnathan, D Bilyeu (Maher, 56), M Blackwood (Rebellon, 74), M Fernandez, M Akhmatov (Harris, 86), M Kuzain, M Barry, F Belmar
Substitutes Not Used: GK MacLeod, D Lewis, M Minter, M Rad
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Barry, Belmar, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Four players tied, 1); FOULS: 9 (Akhmatov, 3); OFFSIDES: 7; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 1
Referee: Daniel Gutierrez
Assistant Referees: Justin Mack, Tim Wagner
4th Official: Daniel Ortega
Attendance: 964
Weather: Clear, 90 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
