PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Timbers lost 2-0 to the New York Red Bulls Sunday at Providence Park.
New York struck for two goals in the first half. In the 43rd minute, Red Bulls midfielder Felipe scored on a long shot from distance to make the score 1-0. They then doubled their lead when defender Damien Perrinelle sent a looping header over Timbers goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey.
Despite the loss, the Timbers remain in the sixth and final playoff spot in the West with 41 points from 29 games, a point ahead of the San Jose Earthquakes and three over Real Salt Lake.
With the Red Bulls press dominating proceedings, the Timbers looked to hit on the counter. This led to a couple of quality opportunities for Maximiliano Urruti and Diego Valeri.
Another close shot for the Timbers, this time from center back Nat Borchers following a corner kick in the 34th minute, went begging for more after it was went over the bar.
The Red Bulls kept the pressure on out of the break, firing off two shots – the first by Perrinelle and then Bradley Wright-Phillips – that required the work of Kwarasey.
Portland saw good opportunities for a goal in the waning minutes. First, Luis Robles dealt nicely with two Fanendo Adi headers in the 82nd and 86th minutes. Then, Robles sprawled out to parry away an 87th-minute deflected free kick by Valeri and subsequent Borchers attempt off the rebound.
The Timbers return to action Saturday on the road against Columbus Crew SC (4:30pm PT, KPDX), while the Red Bulls play host to Orlando City SC on Friday night (4pm PT, UniMás).
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
Portland Timbers (11-10-8, 41pts) vs. New York Red Bulls (14-8-6, 48pts)
Sept. 20, 2015 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
New York Red Bulls 2 0 2
Portland Timbers 0 0 0
Scoring Summary
NY: Felipe (Lawrence), 43
NY: Perrinelle (Kljestan), 45+2
Misconduct Summary
POR: Melano (Caution), 8
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Kwarasey, D Powell (Asprilla, 76), D Borchers, D Ridgewell, D Villafaña, M Chara, M Johnson © (Wallace, 66), M Nagbe, M Valeri, M Melano, F Urruti (Adi, 56)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Gleeson, D Paparatto, D Peay, M Jewsbury
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Adi, Valeri, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Adi, Valeri, 2); FOULS: 13 (Valeri, 4); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 3
NY: GK Robles, D Zizzo (Zubar, 85), D Miazga, D Perrinelle, D Lawrence, M Felipe, M Davis, M S. Wright-Phillips (Grella, 67), M Kljestan ©, M Verón (Sam, 62), F B. Wright-Phillips
Substitutes Not Used: GK Reynish, D Ouimette, D Wallace, F Abang
TOTAL SHOTS: 20 (S. Wright-Phillips, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Perrinelle, 2); FOULS: 12 (Four players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 10; SAVES: 4
Referee: Drew Fischer
Assistant Referees: Jeff Hosking, Greg Barkey
4th Official: Daniel Radford
Attendance: 21,144
Time of Game: n/a
Weather: Partly Cloudy, 73 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
