CARSON, Calif. — The Portland Timbers played the LA Galaxy to a 1-1 draw in a preseason match Tuesday afternoon at The Home Depot Center Track and Field Stadium. Trialist forward Brian Umony scored the second-half equalizer for the Timbers as they faced their first Major League Soccer opponent of the preseason.
Similar to their preseason exhibition last week against the Ventura County Fusion, the Timbers featured a split squad and fielded a different lineup in each half. Portland goalkeeper Adin Brown helped keep the Galaxy off the board in the first half – seeing his first action in preseason – as the two sides entered halftime tied at 0-0. After the Galaxy grabbed the lead early in the second half, Umony was able to level the score off a deflected corner kick in the 50th minute.
Tuesday's exhibition was the second and final preseason game for the Timbers during their preseason camp in Ventura, Calif. The club returns to Portland on Wednesday and will finish the week training in the Rose City.
The Timbers faced a star-studded lineup for the Galaxy in the first half, featuring 2010 MLS Best XI selections Landon Donovan and Donovan Ricketts and recently acquired forward Juan Pablo Angel. Forward Chad Barrett provided some dangerous chances for the Galaxy early on, but the Timbers were able to match efforts as midfielder Ryan Pore had shot from inside the box miss just wide right in the 19th minute. The two teams traded scoring opportunities late in the first half. After Angel lifted a header just over the cross bar, moments later Timbers defender Rodney Wallace settled a cross inside the box and had a shot from the door step blocked by a pair of Galaxy defenders.
Two minutes into the second half, the Galaxy claimed a 1-0 lead on a goal by midfielder Paolo Cardozo. Midfielder Bryan Jordan whipped the ball in from the right side to Cardozo located inside the box. With time and room, Cardozo drilled home a shot into the top left corner of the goal. Portland responded in the 50th minute. A corner kick by Rodrigo Lopez was deflected down and inside the box and Umony was able to slot a shot inside the far post past LA goalkeeper Josh Saunders. Umony almost added another goal to his account in the 57th minute, out-racing a defender to earn a one-on-one with Saunders. Just inside the box, Umony’s shot was stopped by a sliding save from Saunders. The Timbers defense held strong through a physical second half, and limited the Galaxy’s shots on goal over the final 20 minutes of the contest.
Scoring Summary:
LA: Cardozo (Jordan), 47
POR: Umony, 50
Lineups:
POR (First Half): GK Brown, D Purdy, D Brunner, D Horst, D Wallace, M Hall, M Braun, M Marcelin, M Pore, F Nagbe, F Johnson
LA (First Half): GK Ricketts, D De La Garza, D Leonardo, D Gonzalez, D Hejduk, M Lopez (Cardozo, 26), M Juninho, M Stephens, M Donovan, F Angel, F Barrett
POR (Second Half): GK Gleeson, D Cameron, D Danso, D Goldthwaite, D Taylor, M DeMartin, McManus, M Lopez, M Alhassan, F Umony, F Perlaza
LA (Second Half): GK Saunders, D McCarty, D Franklin, D Berhalter, D Thomas, M Jordan, M Birchall, M Kirovski, M Cardozo, F Magee, F Christman
Notes:
· Galaxy midfielder Miguel Lopez was sent off in the 26th minute with a straight red card. He was carded following a hard challenge with Timbers defender Steve Purdy at midfield. Lopez was replaced by Cardozo in the Galaxy’s first-half lineup.
· Including Brown, four different Timbers players saw their first preseason action Tuesday. The others were defenders Wallace and Kevin Goldthwaite and forward Eddie Johnson.
· The Timbers will conduct a training session Wednesday morning before departing California for Portland.
