PORTLAND – The Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup does not rank with Major League Soccer on the Portland Timbers priority list. But the Timbers don’t plan to ignore it, either.
That was evident on Tuesday as the Timbers, after a 13-day layoff, played with passion and purpose in a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes in front of 16,834 fans at Providence Park that moves Portland into the round-of-16 for the nation’s soccer championship.
The draw for the Open Cup round-of-16 is scheduled for Thursday, with those games slated for June 29. Goals from Dairon Asprilla and Jack McInerney in the first half put the Timbers in solid shape.
In the 34th minute, an Asprilla shot from 10 yards in front of goal off a pass from McInerney rolled beyond goalkeeper Bryan Meredith and just over the goal line. McInerney stepped out of the way of the rolling ball to avoid being offside on the play. A Jack Barmby cross from the left wing started the play.
“I don’t know how the ball got through,” McInerney said. “It was kind of right next to me but I knew I’d be offsides. The ball was rolling so slow I was about to get down and start blowing on it.”
Six minutes later, McInerney’s free kick blew past the reach of Meredith and inside the left post for his fifth goal this season across all competitions.
This was Portland’s third win over San Jose at Providence Park in less than two months, and second shutout win over the Quakes in 13 days. San Jose beat Portland 2-1 on the second weekend of MLS play, so the teams tangled four times in a three-month span.
Both teams played solid lineups featuring MLS regulars. The exceptions for Portland were on the right side of the defense, where Amobi Okugo started alongside Liam Ridgewell at center back and Taylor Peay started at right back.
The Timbers return to MLS play on Saturday when they visit Real Salt Lake. Looking to that match, midfielder Diego Chara and center back Nat Borchers did not dress for Tuesday’s match and striker Fanendo Adi was an unused substitute. On Tuesday, Jack Jewsbury and Ben Zemanski teamed in defensive midfield spots behind Diego Valeri.
Timbers coached Caleb Porter praised the play of Barmby, Peay and Okugo on a night when San Jose did not get a shot on goal. Porter noted that McInerney is only 23, and that the seven starters and nine players who saw the field Tuesday are younger than 26. He said Tuesday provided more evidence of those players’ ability.
“It’s going to be fun to pick a lineup every week,” Porter said. “The good thing is I don’t think we can make too many bad decisions because we now know what guys can do.”
Returning from injury, Darren Mattocks replaced Valeri in the 72nd minute. Right back Alvas Powell was on the bench for Tuesday’s tilt indicating he too is almost ready to return from a lengthy injury absence – though Porter said Powell is likely to play a full match with Timbers 2 before returning full time.
Sounders 2 beat Timbers 2 – First-half goals from Myron Samuel and John Magnus lifted Seattle Sounders 2 to a 2-1 win over Portland Timbers 2 on Tuesday afternoon at Providence Park. Blake Bodily scored his first career goal for T2 in the 67th minute. Portland outshot Seattle 8-1 in the second half, but fell to 5-7-2 in United Soccer League play. Sounders 2 improved to 3-7-4. Camas native Brent Richards entered in the 61st minute for T2.
