KANSAS CITY, Kan. - The Portland Timbers fell 1-0 against Sporting Kansas City before 19,098 fans at Children’s Mercy Park on Sunday afternoon after conceding to the home side five minutes into the second half. The Timbers will face Sporting Kansas City in the second of back-to-back league meetings on Sunday, Aug. 7.
- VOTE: Man of the Match
- MATCHCENTER: Stats
- MATCHCENTER: Boxscore and Chalkboard
The game against Sporting Kansas City snapped the Timbers’ road shutout streak at 248 minutes, which is the longest the club has gone without conceding a goal on the road since joining MLS in 2011.
The Timbers (7-8-8, 29pts) opened the game with several chances in the first half, including midfielder Darlington Nagbe’s effort in the 10th minute of play that forced Sporting KC goalkeeper Alec Kann to make a strong save to push the shot wide. Shortly after producing his first shot of the game, Nagbe combined with forward Fanendo Adi in the middle of the park before producing a final effort which was deflected wide for a corner by the Sporting Kansas City defense in the 23rd minute of play.
One minute before halftime, Nagbe found midfielder Lucas Melano in behind Sporting KC’s defense as the Timbers ventured on the counter attack, setting up a one-on-one chance for Melano. With the midfielder running on to Nagbe’s pass, Kann charged off his line to make a sliding save, preventing Melano from finding the back of the net.
In the early moments of the second half, Sporting Kansas City (10-10-4, 34pts) took the lead when forward Jacob Peterson connected with midfielder Benny Feilhaber’s free kick into the 18-yard box, flicking a glancing header into the bottom right corner in the 50th minute of play.
Searching for the equalizer, the Timbers broke free on the counter attack in the 60th minute, creating another chance to find the back of the net when Nagbe surged through the middle of the field before slipping Adi in behind for a clear chance on goal, with the forward hitting his final attempt high of the target from inside the box. Continuing to push forward late in the game, the Timbers came close to leveling the score in the 90th minute when midfielder Diego Valeri released forward Jack McInerney on the left wing, setting up a first-time curling effort that rattled off the crossbar. Two minutes later, Vytas’ whipped cross into the box found Adi, whose header bounced just wide of the far post.
Portland goalkeeper Jake Gleeson recorded five saves in the match, including a strong parry on forward Dom Dwyer’s left-footed volley from inside the box in the 55th minute, before producing an acrobatic finger-tip save on defender Lawrence Olum’s header one minute later.
Next up, the Timbers will begin CONCACAF Champions League play on Wednesday, Aug. 3, when they play host to C.D. Dragon at Providence Park. Portland will return to league play on Sunday, Aug. 7, against Sporting Kansas City at Providence Park. The match will feature a national broadcast on ESPN with local radio broadcasts on 750 AM/102.9 FM The Game (English) and La GranD 1150 AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).
Portland Timbers (7-8-8, 29pts) vs. Sporting Kansas City (10-10-4, 34pts)
July 31, 2016 – Children’s Mercy Park (Kansas City, Kan.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Portland Timbers 0 0 0
Sporting Kansas City 0 1 1
Scoring Summary:
SKC: Peterson (Feilhaber), 50
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Adi (Caution), 10
SKC: Medranda (Caution), 72
POR: Taylor (Caution), 74
POR: Chara (Caution), 86
SKC: Espinoza (Caution), 87
Lineups & Stats:
POR: GK Gleeson, D Powell (Barmby, 86), D Taylor, D Okugo, D Valentin (Vytas, 69), M Zemanski (McInerney, 75), M Chara, M Melano, M Valeri ©, M Nagbe, F Adi
Substitutes Not Used: GK Konopka, D Peay, M Jewsbury, M Grabavoy
TOTAL SHOTS: 10 (Adi, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Nagbe, 1); FOULS: 15 (Chara, 4); OFFSIDES: 4; CORNER KICKS: 4; SAVES: 5
SKC: GK Kann, D Abdul-Salaam, D Olum, D Opara (Myers, 90), D Medranda, M Feilhaber, M Mustivar, M Espinoza, F Hallisey (Ellis, 90), F Dwyer, F Peterson (Porter, 71)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Kempin, D Sinovic, M Appiah, F Rubio
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Hallisey, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Two players tied, 2); FOULS: 20 (Dwyer, 6); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 1
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Assistant Referees: Peter Balciunas, Cameron Blanchard
4th Official: Sorin Stoica
Attendance: 19,098
Weather: Partly cloudy, 78 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
