The Portland Timbers make it two wins in a row after beating the Los Angeles Galaxy 3-0 at home. What seemed a hard matchup on paper turned out to be their most comfortable win of the season so far. 2 goals from Felipe Mora and a penalty from the eternal captain, Diego Valeri, gave the Northwestern team all 3 points on Saturday.
Not a Great Start For the Galaxy
The Timbers may have been relieved after being able to hold a Chicharito-inspired attack for the first 45 minutes, which isn’t anything small as the Mexican striker alone has scored 7 goals so far this season for the visiting team. The frustration in the visiting team was seen in the 44th minute when center-back, Derrick Williams was sent off after tackling Portland attacker, Andy Polo in the middle of the field. There were no protests from the Irish center-back, as he got up and went straight to the locker room after being shown the red card by the referee.
No Polo, No Problem!
Despite having to sub off Andy Polo at halftime due to the tackle received by Williams, the Timbers seemed to have no missed him as substitute striker, Felipe Mora scored two goals in the second half.
Mora’s impact off the bench was seen instantly as the Chilean striker scored in the 47th after heading a cross into the net, thus the Timbers taking advantage of their number (of players) superiority on the field.
In the 60th minute, Mora scores his second goal of the match after right-back Van Rankin’s attempted chip-shot hit the crossbar, only for the Chilean striker to header the rebound into the back of the net. The ex-Pumas UNAM striker scored a brace in a lapse of 12 minutes to ultimately make Chicharito’s task to overturn the score a bit harder.
The Icing On the Cake
To top things off, the Timbers were awarded a penalty in the 69th minute. Portland’s long-time attacker, Diego Valeri, converted the penalty to secure all 3 points with a score of 3-0. The Argentinian scored his 99th goal for the Portland Timbers, a player who has been crucial for the team’s success throughout the past decade.
The Timbers move up to 6th place in the Western Conference, where they currently stand with 9 points. Despite having a rough start to the season, the Oregon-based team has now won two games in a row and is looking to keep getting more points to get as close to their eternal rivals, the Seattle Sounders.
The Timbers’ next game will be at home against the Philadelphia Union on Sunday, May 30th at 4:00 pm (PST).
Northwest Sports Desk 