MATCH RECAP | Portland Timbers 3, Chicago Fire 2

PORTLAND, Ore. – Jorge Moreira had a goal and an assist, Brian Fernandez tallied a brace and the Portland Timbers defeated 10-man Chicago Fire 3-2 Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd at Providence Park.

• MATCHCENTER: Stats
• MATCHCENTER: Boxscore and Chalkboard

Match Moments

10' - CHANCE (POR) - In the 10th minute, Portland midfielder Diego Valeri lofted a free kick from 35 yards away that Sebastían Blanco jumped high to reach but his header went over the bar.

11' - GOAL (POR) - A minute later, Blanco sent a ball over the top to a streaking Marvin Loría down the middle. Chicago goalkeeper David Ousted came well off his line to meet it and knocked away as the two players collided. However, Timbers defender Jorge Moreira collected the loose ball and chipped it perfectly up and over the Fire defense to nestle into the back of the net for a 1-0 Portland lead.

21' - GOAL (POR) - The Timbers doubled their lead as a Valeri corner kick went to Moreira on the far side. The Timbers man gathered the ball, fed Cristhian Paredes into the 18-yard box who then crossed a ball along the ground to Brian Fernandez inside the six. The Portland striker then nudged the ball just inside the left post for a 2-0 Portland advantage.

30' - RED CARD (CHI) - The Fire went down to 10 men when, following VAR, referee Silviu Petrescu gave a straight red card to Aleksander Katai for a serious foul on Julio Cascante.

53' - CHANCE (POR) - Blanco fought past a Fire defender just outside the arc and hit a swerving shot that forced Ousted to punch the ball up and over the bar.

60' - CHANCE (POR) - After an extended period of Portland attacking pressure in the Chicago end, Blanco skipped a pass to Fernandez near the right post. Fernandez got a foot to it but Ousted sprang to make the save.

66' - CHANCE (POR) - The Timbers continued their pressure with a pass from Valeri finding Fernandez open in the mixer. His left-footed shot went inches wide of the left post.

74' - GOAL (CHI) - A ball into the mixer forced Portland goalkeeper Steve Clark off his line to punch the ball up but not out. With Clark on the ground, Chicago's Nemanja Nikolic looped a header past Timbers defense to pull the score back to 2-1. 

88' - GOAL (POR) - Fernandez scored his second goal of the night on a Portland counter following a Chicago corner kick. After Portland cleared their lines, Moreira carried forward and found Valeri on his left. Valeri sent the ball to Tomás Conechny in the middle who then sprayed it out wide to an open Fernandez. Fernandez settled the ball before firing past Ousted to make the score 3-1.

90+2' - GOAL (CHI) - A quick cross from Chicago's Przemysla Frankowski found C.J. Sapong open in the Portland box. His glancing header pinged off the left post and in to make the score 3-2.

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The Portland Timbers continue their long homestand when the host Atlanta United FC on Sunday, Aug. 18 at Providence Park. Kickoff is 7pm PT on FS1.

Portland Timbers (11-9-4, 37pts) vs. Chicago Fire (7-11-9, 30pts)
Aug. 14, 2019 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)

Goals by Half                        1          2          F
Portland Timbers                   2          1          3
Chicago Fire                          0          2          2

Scoring Summary:
POR: Moreira, 11
POR: Fernandez (Paredes, Moreira), 21
CHI: Nikolić, 74
POR: Fernandez (Conechny, Valeri), 88
CHI: Sapong (Frankowski), 90+2

Misconduct Summary:
POR: Loría (caution), 27
CHI: Katai (ejection), 30
CHI: Calvo (caution), 79
POR: Ebobisse (caution), 81

Lineups:
POR: GK Clark, D Moreira, D Mabiala (Tuiloma, 35), D Cascante, D Valentin, M Paredes, M Chara, M Loría (Ebobisse, 75), M Valeri ©, M Blanco (Conechny, 61), F Fernandez

Substitutes Not Used: GK McIntosh, D Villafaña, M Zambrano, M Polo

TOTAL SHOTS: 15 (Fernandez, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 7 (Fernandez, 3); FOULS: 14 (Fernandez, Valentin, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 6; SAVES: 0

CHI: GK Ousted, D Marcelo, D Kappelhof, D Lillard, D Bornstein (Calvo, 45), M Bronico, M Azira, M Mihailović (Sapong, 61), M Frankowski, M Katai, F Nikolić © 

Substitutes Not Used: GK Sánchez, D Reynolds, M Moreno, M Gutjahr, M Campos

TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (Sapong, 2); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Nikolić, Sapong, 1); FOULS: 5 (Nikolic, 2); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 3; SAVES: 4

Referee: Silviu Petrescu
Assistant Referees: Ian Anderson, Michael Barwegen
4th Official: Farhad Dadkho
VAR: Jon Freemon
Attendance: 25,218
Weather: Partly cloudy, 80 degrees

All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial