PORTLAND, Ore. – Timbers2 found the back of the net in both first-half and second-half stoppage times as they beat Whitecaps FC 2 by a score of 2-0 to pick up its second win of the season on Friday afternoon at Providence Park. Defender Sawyer Jura and forward Kyle Linhares both added to their season goal tallies, as Serge Dinkota won his first game as T2’s fulltime head coach.
Two Wins, Two Clean Sheets
Both of T2’s wins so far have come in clean sheets. The club won 2-0 against Colorado Rapids 2 on April 14 at Providence Park.
T2’s defense held WFC 2 to just two shots –– none of which were on target –– and only allowed the visitors eight touches in their box.
Timbers2 looks to pick up two consecutive wins for the first time this season when it hosts Tacoma Defiance next Friday.
Racking Up Goals
With his late goal, Kyle Linhares became T2’s leading scorer with three goals in MLS NEXT Pro play this season. The forward put his technical skill on full display with his insurance goal against Whitecaps FC 2, showing control in the box to keep the ball close as he built an angle to fire a shot into the roof of the net.
Jura scored his second goal of the season just before halftime. Notably, both of his goals this year have come against WFC 2 and from distance. The defender scored a goal from outside the box when the two sides first played to a 2-2 draw March 30 in Vancouver, Canada.
Jura became the fourth T2 player to tally multiple goals this season, joining Linhares, Mataeo Bunbury (2) and Nathan Fogaça (2).
Goal-Scoring Plays
POR – Sawyer Jura, 45+1 minute: Whitecaps FC 2 goalkeeper Max Anchor punched away a corner kick, but only as far as T2 defender Sawyer Jura, who chested the ball down before unleashing a powerful left-footed shot from outside the box to give the hosts the lead.
POR – Kyle Linhares, 90+2 minute: Harvey Neville received the ball in midfield, turned and found Kyle Linhares at the top of the box. The forward dribbled into the penalty area before using his left foot to fire the ball into the roof of the net from a narrow angle.
Next Game
Up next, Timbers2 takes on another Cascadia rival when Tacoma Defiance comes to town. The game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific) Friday, May 10, at Providence Park. The two club’s first showdown of the season will be streamed on MLS Season Pass on the Apple TV app.
Timbers2 (2-3-3, 10pts) vs.Whitecaps FC 2 (1-3-3, 7pts)
May 3, 2024 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Scoring Summary:
POR: Jura, 45+1’
POR: Linhares (Neville), 90+2’
Misconduct Summary:
WFC 2: Morgan (caution), 36
POR: Santos (caution), 42’
WFC 2: Sjoberg (caution), 43’
POR: Penn (caution), 50’
WFC 2: Gherasimencov (caution), 62’
WFC 2: Goldthorp (caution), 73’
WFC 2: Fleuriau Chateau (caution), 75’
WFC 2: Mehri (caution), 76’
Lineups:
POR: GK Muse, D Jura, D Clegg (Ferdinand, 46), D Rad ©, D Pope, M Moreno, M Enriquez (Neville, 69), M Linhares, M Penn (Mendoza, 61), M Jones-Riley ©, F Santos (Bunbury, 69)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bilichuk, M Najib, F Eisenberg
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Jones-Riley, Santos, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Linhares, Jura, Penn, Jones-Riley, Santos, Mendoza, 1); FOULS: 11 (Penn, 3); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 0
WFC 2: GK Anchor, D Saidykhan, D Sjoberg, D Linder, M Gherasimencov, M Simmons (Lee, 82), M Badwal, M Goldthorp (Romero, 76), F Morgan (Fleuriau Chateau, 46), F Kachwele (Mehri, 64’), F Herdman ©
Substitutes Not Used: GK De Souza, D Chen, D Ndakala
TOTAL SHOTS: 2 (Sjoberg, Herdman, 1); SHOTS ON GOAL: 0; FOULS: 10 (Goldthorp, Morgan, 2); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 4
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
Assistant Referees: Hunter Zachwieja, Cephas Quartson
Fourth Official: Justin St. Pierre
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial.
