PORTLAND – American Pharoah’s victory wasn’t the only historic triple on Saturday.
Granted, Portland Timbers fans only had to wait until their team’s fifth MLS season to see a three-match winning streak. But that wait was plenty long for the faithful, who gladly celebrated Saturday’s 2-0 win over the New England Revolution at Providence Park.
Substitute Fanendo Adi scored twice in the final nine minutes as the Timbers won their third regular-season match in a row. The win over the second-place team in the Eastern Conference also lifted Portland (6-5-4, 22 points) into fourth place in the Western Conference
The Timbers attack was buzzing all night, but didn’t break through until an 86th minute free kick. Jorge Villafana delivered the ball into the penalty area that Adi re-directed into the right side of the net.
“You don’t think about where the ball’s going,” Adi said. “You just think about getting the ball at the right angle so today I took the ball on the right shape of my head so it just went in.”
The free kick was set up when Lee Nguyen brought down Darlington Nagbe about 35 yards from goal. Nguyen got a yellow card for the foul – and the Timbers made it count.
“I think it was a relief, to be honest with you,” defender Nat Borchers said. “We’ve had a lot of set pieces. We haven’t been able to convert them as much as we would have liked. So to have Adi open things up on a set piece with a perfect header to the side netting is fantastic.”
Adi’s second goal came at the end of a beautiful counter-attack as the striker tapped home a nice delivery from Alvas Powell, turning the five minutes of stoppage time into a celebration for the fans.
Adi entered the match in the 67th minute for the injured Dairon Asprilla. Coach Caleb Porter said Asprilla suffered a sprained ankle bot he did not know how bad the injury was.
The goals came late on a night when the Timbers created numerous near misses, most of them on counter-attack or quick-hitting buildup play. But it looked like this might be another night of “if only” before the late fireworks.
In the 74th minute New England goalkeeper Bobby Shuttleworth made a nice reaction save on a Maximaliano Urruti header. The chance developed from a Nagbe cross from the right that Adi headed back across the goal mouth. Urruti got to it but Shuttleworth stood tall.
Playing with speed in transition, Portland had a series of chances in the first half, starting from the opening kickoff when Gaston Fernandez found space at the top of the 18-yard box but mishit the shot. Darlington Nagbe took a couple of dangerous shots from distance, including a 30-yard attempt that forced a diving save from Shuttleworth. Will Johnson also saw a long-range attempt skitter just outside of the post.
Earlier this season, when points were hard to come by, those first-half chances would have been the crux of the story. Instead, it was more late magic and a third consecutive win.
Porter said confidence was the ingredient that made the difference in this one.
“We can’t get ahead of ourselves,” the coach said. It’s going to be a long road still, but I think this team does believe more than ever that we can do something special this year. But only if we continue to play like we did and the last couple of games.”
Timbers 2, Revolution 0
What it means: The Timbers have won three consecutive games for the first time in MLS and have jumped to fourth place in the Western Conference.
Sturdy defending: The Timbers shut out one of the better offensive teams in MLS on Saturday, and limited the chances for the Revolution. Saids Caleb Porter: “This game in particular was a really tricky game. There’s a lot of talent in those (Revolution) front guys – a lot of talent, dynamic and clever.”
Captain Will starts: Midfielder Will Johnson started for the second time this season and played all 90 minutes. Johnson’s first start was 11 days earlier in the 1-0 win at home against DC United. He did not play in last weekend’s win at Colorado. In addition to Johnson, Diego Chara returned to the lineup alongside Johnson after being suspended for the Colorado match because of caution accumulation.
No Valeri: As expected, Diego Valeri did not suit up on Saturday. Valeri missed his third consecutive game since turning his ankle in the first half of the Timbers loss at Toronto.
Argentine connection: For the third consecutive match, both Maximiliano Urruti and Gaston Fernandez were in the starting lineup. Fernandez has filled in for the injured Diego Valeri, while Urruti’s recent play has earned him three starts in a row ahead of Adi. Adi said he understands why Urruti was starting ahead of him because the hot striker has to play.
Schedule break: The Timbers next MLS match isn’t until June 20, when Houston visits Providence Park. The Timbers play a U.S. Open Cup against the Sounders in Tukwila on June 16.
