MIAMI, Fla.
- Former World Cup MVP Romario scored twice, including a dramatic 89th-minute game winner, as Miami FC defeated the Portland Timbers 3-2 Friday night in front of 2,433 at Tropical Park Stadium.
Romario got his second goal and the match winner when he headed in a floating cross at the back post to seal the win. The victory was the first in franchise history for Miami (1-1-2, 5pts), who joined the league as an expansion team this year.
The Timbers (1-2-1, 4pts) took the early lead in the sixth minute on a back-pass to Miami goalkeeper Chris Doyle. Forward Mamba Chisoni, who was making his Timbers debut, managed to get in front of the ball and it deflected off Chisoni's back and into the net for the 1-0 advantage.
Miami knotted the score at 1-1 in the 13th minute when a cross from Mario Rodriguez found Romario inside the penalty box. The Brazilian chested the ball down, squared and launched a shot from 12 yards past diving Timbers keeper Josh Saunders.
Sean Fraser increased Miami’s lead in the 51st minute when he received a pass near the Timbers’ penalty box. Fraser’s shot hit the underside of the crossbar and it was ruled a goal by the referee.
Chisoni was taken down in the penalty box in the 84th minute, and midfielder Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar sent Doyle in the wrong direction and slotted the ball into the bottom right corner to even the score at 2-2.
Next, the Timbers travel south to take on the Puerto Rico Islanders on Sunday, May 14. Kickoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. (Pacific).
HEAD COACH CHRIS AGNELLO ON THE MATCH:
“Romario is a world-class player and we have a very young team. We came out sluggish and looked like we didn’t travel well. We never looked like we were in the game; of the four matches we’ve played so far, this is the only one where I felt that we weren’t in the game at all.”
“As far as positives from the match, I felt that Josh Brown came on for the last 10 minutes and played very well. We’ll assess things tomorrow, see who’s healthy and we’ll go from there.”
NOTES:
Timbers defender Mike Randolph was a late scratch from the lineup due to a stomach illness … this was the first time Miami and Portland faced each other … defender Scot Thompson suffered a head injury in the opening minute and had to be taken to the hospital for stitches.
SCORING SUMMARY:
POR: Chisoni 7’ (UA), Alcaraz-Cuellar 86’ (pen.); MIA: Romario 13’ (Rodriguez), Fraser 51’ (Jean-Jacques), Romario 89’ (Gil).
MISCONDUCT SUMMARY:
POR: Nsien YC (39’), Chisoni YC (41’), Gutierrez YC (49’), Miranda YC (71’); MIA: Pulido YC (36’), Erush YC (65’), Adeyemi YC (71’).
LINEUPS:
MIAMI (1-1-2) C. Doyle GK, T. Lee D (Koniver 77’), M. Erush D, Jean-Jacques D (Ramirez 78’), J. Rodrigues D, M. Adeyemi M, J. Pulido M, S. Fraser M (Gil 66’), Zinho M (Harrington 83’), M. Rodriguez F (Walsh 55’), Romario F.
PORTLAND (1-2-1) J. Saunders GK, J. Goodfellow D (Brown 77’), S. Thompson D (Kreamalmeyer 1’), M. Nsien D, G. Marcum D, L. Morrison M, H. Alcaraz-Cuellar M, A. Gutierrez M (Bartlomé 63’), E. Miranda M, M. Chisoni F (Ready 87’), B. Alvarez F.
