Portland Timbers Defeat Toronto FC at Home
Portland Timbers defeated Toronto FC at Providence Park led by Diego Valeri and Fanendo Adi who scored his seventh goal of the season during the club’s win. Timbers’ Head Coach Caleb Porter claims his side played some of its best soccer all season as the club comes out of the weekend with three points.
Soccer News: The Portland Timbers defeated Toronto FC 2-1 before a sold-out crowd of 21,144 fans at Providence Park on Sunday afternoon, extending their unbeaten run in league play to three games. Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri provided a goal and an assist, while forward Fanendo Adi scored his seventh goal of the season during the win, continuing the Timbers undefeated record at home against Toronto FC (2-0-1).
Portland Timbers head coach Caleb Porter stated:
“In this game we wanted to build on that defensively and play a little more aggressive in the attack. Performance-wise I thought it was pretty good. Mentality-wise I thought it was great. Investment level we put into the game, I told the guys, is the epitome of what it takes to win games in MLS. Guys left it all on the line.”
The Timbers (3-3-3, 12pts) struck early in the match when Adi found the back of the net just 17 minutes into the first half, marking the quickest goal for Portland in MLS play so far this season. The finish stemmed from a quick combination play between Valeri and forward Darren Mattocks on the edge of the area, with Valeri quickly playing the ball across the six-yard box to Adi, who calmly tucked it into the back of the net to move into a tie for the league lead for goals scored this season (7).
With five minutes remaining in the opening half, Toronto (3-3-2, 11pts) managed to level the score when midfielder Will Johnson placed a shot into the bottom corner after the ball landed to him on the edge of the box.
Johnson played for Portland in recent years but was sidelined due to injury before transferring to Toronto late last season.
When asked about the reception he received from the fans Johnson stated, “Same as always. Other than the game I have all the respect in the world for those guys and they know it. I think the feeling is mutual. Obviously, I compete for my team during the 90 minutes but there’s always a part of me that respects them no matter what.”
But, in the 74th minute of play, Valeri, who entered Sunday’s game ranking fifth in MLS for chances created from open play (15), scored the game-winner with a sharp free kick from distance, bending an effort that curled over the wall and into the back of the net.
“You need a guy like Valeri, your big-time player to step up and pull a rabbit out of the hat. That’s what he did. That’s what you need out of your players and we got that today. Everybody brings something different to the table, but we need everybody’s strengths to be showing up in these games and we saw that today” – stated Porter on Valeri’s performance.
With the finish, Valeri recorded his second goal of the season and 25th regular-season goal since joining the Timbers in 2013, while also becoming the only MLS player to score multiple free kicks in 2016, previously finishing from a set piece against Columbus Crew SC on March 6.
“It was a good situation before the foul. We created a good counter, and with the free kick, it was just take it and put it into the goal. It was a good distance to kick and it was a good goal.” stated Valeri on scoring on his birthday. “It’s my first time scoring a goal on my birthday. I’m really happy about that. Thanks to Melano for giving me the ball and saying, ‘Hey, you score.’ It’s special for me and my family, of course. It’s a gift and getting three points is much better.”
Recording 12 tackles and winning 35 duels, the Timbers were solid on the defensive end, including four saves from goalkeeper Jake Gleeson, who made his second consecutive start during Sunday’s match. Following a close-range save on Toronto forward Jozy Altidore’s header in the 63rd minute, Gleeson produced an acrobatic save to deny midfielder Michael Bradley’s powerful strike in the 77th minute of play, before stopping another point-blank header in stoppage time.
Next up, the Timbers will face Cascadia-rival Vancouver Whitecaps FC at BC Place on Saturday, May 7; kickoff is set for 2 p.m. (Pacific). The match against Vancouver will feature a live broadcast on KPTV FOX 12 with local radio broadcast on 750 AM/102.9 FM The Game (English) and La GranD 1150 AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).
Source: Portland Timbers Communications. Photo Credit: Portland Timbers/Craig Mitchelldyer
