The Portland Timbers play host to the English Premier League's Burnley FC tonight in an international friendly at PGE Park at 7 p.m., presented by Spirit Mountain Casino. Click here to listen to a live broadcast or follow updates on Twitter.
Click here for tonight's match notes.
Tonight's starters:
POR: GK Cronin, D Knowles, D Higgins, D Nishimura, D Danso, M Farber, M McManus, M Savage, M Pore, F McLaughlin, F Josten
BFC: GK Jensen, D Mears, D Kalvenes, D Carlisle, D Caldwell, M Alexander, M Guerrero, M McCann, M Elliot, F Blake, F Fletcher
Match Preview:
The Portland Timbers take a break from league play tonight as they play host English Premier League side Burnley FC at PGE Park, presented by Spirit Mountain Casino.
Tonight’s match marks the third international exhibition match for the Timbers this season, facing Mexico’s Club America Reserves (May 31) and Germany’s Bayern Munich II (July 2) previously. Portland is 8-2-1 in international exhibition matches since 2001, and has faced three other English clubs at PGE Park – Sunderland AFC (2005), Coventry City (2006) and Preston North End (2007).
After battling Sunderland to a scoreless draw in 2005, the Timbers used penalty kicks to defeat Coventry City in 2006. Portland defeated Preston North End 2-1 on July 28, 2007. Forward Matt Taylor tallied twice in the second half, including a penalty-kick goal in second-half stoppage to lead the Timbers to victory.
The Timbers currently sit at the top of the USL First Division standings in a three-way tie with the Puerto Rico Islanders and Charleston Battery at 35 points. In league play, the Timbers have assembled a USL First Division record 17-game unbeaten streak.
On Thursday against Puerto Rico, defender Scot Thompson became the new modern franchise all-time career leader in games played, appearing in his 133rd match as a member of the Timbers. He passed former midfielder Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar on the all-time games played. Thompson first joined the Timbers during 2004 season while on loan from Major League Soccer’s Los Angeles Galaxy.
The Timbers return to USL First Division action on Saturday, Aug. 1, when they travel to face the Minnesota Thunder at 5:05 p.m. (Pacific). It will be the third and final regular-season match between the two sides.
