MONTREAL – Once again, the Portland Timbers will rue that last quarter of an hour.
The Montreal Impact scored twice in the final 15 minutes on Saturday for a 2-0 victory over the Portland Timbers at Olympic Stadium, the expansion side’s second victory of the season.
Bernardo Corradi struck on a penalty kick in the 76th minute after Timbers newcomer Steven Smith was whistled for a handball in the box, then an unmarked Sinisa Ubiparipovic delivered the insurance goal after finishing a Davy Arnaud cross at the far post in the 84th minute.
Portland have now conceded seven goals in the last 15 minutes of games this season.
The Impact’s 10-day break seemed to revitalize their players, especially in the center of the park. Collen Warner and Felipe distributed the ball well and made the Timbers counterattacks difficult. Moreover, Montreal’s backline, led by an excellent Matteo Ferrari, managed to catch a dangerous Jorge Perlaza offside four times before the tricky attacker was substituted near the hour mark.
Portland struggled to recreate their road form of last week’s upset of Sporting Kansas City, as neither Perlaza nor fellow forward Kris Boyd were given much space to work with. Nor was Darlington Nagbe, who started the game on the right wing before pushing up top when Perlaza came off.
OPTA Chalkboard: Impact defense neutralizes Portland attack
Montreal also struggled to score early on, even though they had their chances. Arnaud and Corradi failed to convert excellent low crosses in the 14th and 44th minutes, respectively.
The Timbers had a scary moment in the 63rd minute goalkeeper Troy Perkins took Sanna Nyassi’s cleat to the face when both went for a dangerous ball in Portland’s penalty area. Joe Bendik came in to replace the Timbers No. 1, and made a couple of good saves, but was powerless to stop Corradi’s penalty or Ubiparipovic’s easy finish.
With the win, Montreal improve to 2-5-2. They next travel to Sporting KC on May 5. Portland, meanwhile, fall to 2-5-1; they’ll host Columbus on the same day.
Scoring Summary
MON: Corradi (penalty kick), 76
MON: Ubiparipovic (Corradi, Arnaud), 84
Misconduct Summary
MON: Nyassi (Caution), 68
POR: Boyd (Caution), 77
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Perkins (Bendik, 67), D Purdy (Braun, 20), D Mosquera, D Brunner, D Smith, M Nagbe, M Jewsbury ©, M Palmer, M Chara, F Perlaza (Songo’o, 59), F Boyd
Substitutes Not Used: D Chabala, D Wallace, M Alexander, F Richards
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Jewsbury, Mosquera, Nagbe, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 4 (Nagbe, 2); FOULS: 10 (Chara, 3); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 3 (Perkins, 2)
MON: GK Ricketts, D Valentin, D Ferrari, D Thomas, D Wahl, M Arnaud ©, M Warner, M Martins, M Mapp (Neagle, 57), F Nyassi (Ubiparipovic, 68), F Corradi (Sebrango, 89)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Sutton, D Brovsky, D Gardner, M Bernier
TOTAL SHOTS: 14 (Arnaud, Warner, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Martins, 2); FOULS: 14 (Martins, 4); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 2; SAVES: 4
Referee: Jorge Gonzalez
Assistant Referees: Philippe Briere, Claudio Badea
4th Official: Jose Carlos Rivero
Attendance: 19,223
Time of Game: 2:01
Weather: Clear
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
