PORTLAND, Ore. – Diego Valeri had a goal and three assists, Jeremy Ebobisse added a tally, Marvin LorÃa scored in his MLS debut, Brian Fernandez tied an MLS mark for scoring in his fourth consecutive league appearance to begin his MLS career and the Portland Timbers routed the visiting Houston Dynamo 4-0 at in front of a sellout crowd at Providence Park Saturday night.
Additionally, Portland defense held Houston to only one shot on target to pick up their first shutout of the 2019 MLS regular season.
- MATCHCENTER: Stats
- MATCHCENTER: Boxscore and Chalkboard
Match Moments
12' - CHANCE (POR) - After some nifty footwork from midfielder Renzo Zambrano to win the ball near the left sideline, he pushed it ahead to Jeremy Ebobisse. Ebobisse pinged a ball forward to Fernandez near the arc, who took a touch and then fired a left-footed shot forcing a diving, fingertip save from Houston goalkeeper Joe Willis.
18' - CHANCE (POR) - Portland kept the pressure on with Julio Cascante stepping up to keep the ball in the attacking third. After a series of scrambles in and around the 18-yard box, Jorge Moreira dribbled across and shot a low ball that Willis dived to his left to knock away.
38' - POST (HOU) - On a Timbers turn over in their own end, Dynamo midfielder Marlon Hairston carried in and shot a ball that deflected off a Timbers defender and then off the right post.
39 - GOAL (POR) - A minute later, on a dynamic break forward, Valeri sent a cross field pass over the top from the right to the left side of the field for Moreira, lurking near the left post. Moreira headed it down to a sprinting Marvin LorÃa who one-timed it into the back of the net for a 1-0 Timbers lead. The goal was LorÃa's first of his MLS career coming in his first-ever MLS start and appearance.
49' - CHANCE (POR) - Moreira won the ball in our end, knicked it to Valeri who then found Fernandez in open space moving forward. Fernandez dribbled down the middle of the field but his hard shot went wide of the left post.
61' - GOAL (POR) - Valeri made it 2-0 in the 61st minute when he converted a penalty kick for Portland. Three minutes earlier, LorÃa had been fouled in the box by DaMarcus Beasley and referee immediately pointed to the spot.
63' - GOAL (POR) - Two minutes later, Valeri spied Fernandez upfield to his left and sent a perfectly weighted ball to the striker on the run. Fernandez confidently darted in towards goal and picked out the far left corner with a low, hard shot to make it 3-0 for the Timbers. The goal marked Fernandez' eighth tally in six games across all competitions.
70' - CHANCE (POR) - Fernandez again came down the left channel, pushed a ball forward to the rocketing Diego Chara who took a shot that Willis saved at point-blank range. LorÃa collected the rebound but his shot was also parried away by Willis.
75' - GOAL (POR) - Cutting in from the left side, forward Jeremy Ebobisse smoothly curled a shot past a diving Willis in to the bottom right corner to make it 4-0 for Portland.
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The Portland Timbers return to the road next week to face the Montréal Impact Wednesday, June 26 at Stade Saputo. Kickoff is 4:30pm PT on FOX 12 Oregon (KPTV).
Portland Timbers (5-7-2, 17pts) vs. Houston Dynamo (7-4-3, 24pts)
June 22, 2019 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Timbers 1 3 4
Houston Dynamo 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
POR: LorÃa (Moreira, Valeri), 39
POR: Valeri (penalty kick), 61
POR: Fernandez (Valeri), 63
POR: Ebobisse (Valeri), 75
Misconduct Summary:
POR: Cascante (caution), 12
HOU: MartÃnez (caution), 16
POR: Chara (caution), 31
HOU: Peña (caution), 34
HOU: Vera (caution), 47
POR: Valeri (caution), 54
Lineups:
POR: GK Clark, D Moreira, D Mabiala, D Cascante (Dielna, 83), D Villafaña, M Zambrano, M Chara, M LorÃa (Conechny, 73), M Valeri ©, M Ebobisse, F Fernandez (Williamson, 87)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Attinella, Jadama, Farfan, Melano
TOTAL SHOTS: 24 (Fernandez, 8); SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (LorÃa, 3); FOULS: 20 (Fernandez, 4); OFFSIDES: 0; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 1
HOU: GK Willis, D DeLaGarza, D Struna, D Garcia, D Beasley ©, M Vera, M Garcia, M Hairston (Cabezas, 76), M MartÃnez (Salazar, 67), M McNamara, F Peña
Substitutes Not Used: GK Nelson, D Duvall, D Fuenmayor, D Junqua, F Manotas
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Hairston, Vera, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Hairston, 1); FOULS: 11 (Four players tied, 2); OFFSIDES: 3; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 6
Referee: Alan Kelly
Assistant Referees: Mike Rottersman, Logan Brown
4th Official: Rosendo Mendoza
VAR: Jorge Gonzalez
Attendance: 25,218
Weather: Partly cloudy, 68 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
