PORTLAND — With Club America supporters making themselves heard at Jeld-Wen Field on Thursday, the storied team from Mexico City showed its quality early and scored a 1-0 win over the Portland Timbers.
A spirited gathering of 17,198 — many clad in Club America yellow — took in the second of four international exhibitions the Timbers will host this season.
Angel Reyna scored in the 16th minute, converting on the third high-quality scoring chance in the opening minutes for Club America.
Playing more defensively in the second half, Club America kept the Timbers from converting in a match that featured plenty of offensive push from the home team. Portland earned 12 corner kicks and a half dozen attacking zone free kicks, but couldn’t produce a goal.
For the Timbers, Thursday’s exhibition amounted to a quality training opportunity for second-team players and several who are returning from injury.
Perhaps the most significant development of the night for the Timbers was the return of Bright Dike (pronounced Dee-kay), who played up front for the last 20 minutes only five months after surgery to repair a ruptured Achilles tendon
As expected, Portland’s lineup was mostly second-team guys and two defenders with the team on a trial basis. The exception was up front, where Kenny Cooper started and played 68 minutes and, for 70 minutes, Sal Zizzo ran the right wing from an attacking position in a 4-3-3 formation.
In goal, Adin Brown played the first half and made a nifty diving save against Club America captain Vincente Sanchez in the ninth minute. Jake Gleeson played the second half and was good on a pair of scramable plays in the box.
Reyna scored the goal in the 16th minute on a play that came from a quick counter up the right wing. Vincente Sanchez dribbled into the penalty area and sent a pass to Reyna who calmly steered the ball past goalkeeper Brown off the inside of the left post.
