EDINBURG, Texas – Closing out a two-match road trip, T2 defeated Rio Grande Valley FC Toros 1-0 at H-E-B Park Saturday night behind defender Josh Phillips’ first goal of 2018.
Stingy defense
With the clean sheet, T2 posted their sixth shutout on the road and their USL-leading eighth shutout this season. Goalkeeper Alex Mangels finished the match with two saves and his third shutout of 2018.
T2 vs. Rio Grande Valley FC
T2 improved to 4-1-1 (2-0-1 on the road) in six all-time matches against Rio Grande Valley FC dating back to April 8, 2016, as Portland handed Rio Grande Valley its first loss at home this season.
Road form
With the win, T2 improved to 4-3-2 in nine matches on the road this season. Portland is now 2-1-2 in its last five road matches dating back to April 7.
Key plays
Early on, midfielder Jack Barmby delivered his set-piece service into the center of the six-yard box to Phillips, who sent a looping header over the crossbar in the second minute.
T2 took a 1-0 lead in the 14th minute after Barmby’s in-swinging corner-kick service picked out Phillips, whose strong header was redirected past RGVFC goalkeeper Nicolas Corti. The assist from Barmby was his first of 2018, while Phillips’ goal was his first in USL play since May 28, 2016.
Six minutes later, midfielder Foster Langsdorf was on the receiving end of Barmby’s cross from the left flank, but his header was saved by Corti at the back post in the 20th minute.
Just before halftime, midfielder Marvin Loría’s left-footed shot from outside the box was fired over the crossbar in the 40th minute.
Midfielder Renzo Zambrano denied an RGVFC scoring chance when he blocked forward Aldo Quintanilla’s shot just outside the six-yard box in the 75th minute.
On a counter-attacking play in the second half, second-half substitute Augustine Williams released Langsdorf into space behind the RGVFC backline, but his off-balance shot from the right edge of the penalty area was saved by Corti in the 77th minute. Two minutes later, Loría’s long-range shot from about 35-yards out flashed inches past Corti’s near post.
Williams nearly doubled T2’s lead in the 83rd minute after he was played in behind by a pass from defender Jimmy Mulligan, but his shot from a tight angle was saved by Corti.
Next Game
Next up, T2 begin a two-match homestand when they play host to OKC Energy FC at Providence Park on Wednesday, June 13. Beginning at 7 p.m. (Pacific), the match against OKC Energy FC will be streamed live on ESPN+.
Postgame Quote Sheet
T2 head coach Cameron Knowles
On the team’s win on the road…
“It’s a great three points in a difficult place to play against a very good team. They hadn’t lost at home this year so we knew it was going to be a difficult game. We had a lot of defending to do in that first half, managed to find a goal and see out the victory and get the three points.”
On the team’s defensive performance after earning its eighth shutout of 2018…
“It’s a team effort defending and we’ve had a lot of guys that are committed to defending. A lot of the attacking players put a lot of work in today for the team in those defensive moments and some guys made some really big plays in our defending third. It was a collective effort to grind out the three points and get another shutout.”
On the team’s upcoming homestand…
“We’ve got a quick turnaround for the next game. The guys will be very excited to be back home. We’ve had a good run, but we need to make sure we’re healthy and get the guys physically turned around for what will hopefully be a pretty good homestand.”
T2 (8-4-2, 26pts) vs. Rio Grande Valley FC (1-5-7, 10pts)
June 9, 2018 – H-E-B Park (Edinburg, Texas)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
T2 1 0 1
Rio Grande Valley FC 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
POR: Phillips (Barmby), 14
Misconduct Summary
POR: Lewis (Caution), 53
POR: Loría (Caution), 78
Lineups:
POR: GK Mangels, D Mulligan, D Phillips ©, D Diz Pe, D Smith, M Lewis, M Zambrano, M Loría, M Langsdorf (Ornstil, 89), M Barmby (Ebobisse, 62), F Vuelto (Williams, 70)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Pack, D Batista, D Hanson, F Jambga
TOTAL SHOTS: 7 (Three players tied, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Langsdorf, 2); FOULS: 8 (Zambrano, 2); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 2
RGV: GK Corti, D Padilla, D Donovan, D Ontiveros, D Adams, M Wharton, M Perea, M Montano (Marion, 37), M Zaldivar, M Enriquez (Delgado, 80), F Quintanilla
Substitutes Not Used: GK Sanchez, D Castellanos, D Greene, M James, F Aguilar
TOTAL SHOTS: 17 (Zaldivar, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Adams, Wharton, 1); FOULS: 9 (Padilla, Quintanilla, 2); OFFSIDES: 5; CORNER KICKS: 10; SAVES: 3
Referee: Baltazar Peral Hana
Assistant Referees: Jessus Cancino, Mark Novosel
4th Official: Julian Trevino
Attendance: 3,995
Weather: Sunny, 98 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
