Chicharito and Galaxy stymied in shutout loss to Portland Timbers
PORTLAND, Ore. — Felipe Mora scored a pair of second-half goals, and the Portland Timbers defeated the Galaxy 3-0 on Saturday.
It was the second loss of the season for the Galaxy, who were off to a hot start in MLS with four wins in their first five games. But the team was playing a man down against Portland after Derrick Williams was sent off with a red card late in the first half.
“We stuck with the plan, and we were very mature in every moment during the game to be able to get a very important result at home that we needed,” Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. “Another three points. We keep on building.”
The Timbers (3-3-0), winners of two straight, managed to shut down the league’s top scorer, Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez, who has seven goals for the Galaxy (4-2-0) this season.
“The damn broke, and we weren’t able to create enough on the other side to make up for it,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said about the second half.
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Diego Valeri started after coming off the bench in the previous game and scored on a penalty kick for Portland’s third goal in the 69th minute. The Timbers were still missing Diego Chara and Larrys Mabiala because of injuries.
Goalkeeper Logan Ketterer made his second start for Portland after being acquired from El Paso in the USL Championship.
The Timbers looked to score early on Yimmi Chara’s attempt in the 10th minute, but Portland was offside. Claudio Bravo had another good chance in the 31st, but his blast was wide left.
Williams was sent off with a red card late in the first half after a dangerous tackle of Portland’s Andy Polo, who had to be helped off the field. That gave the Timbers a man advantage for the rest of the match.
“It’s a tackle that’s going to get a red card every single time,” Vanney said.
Just moments before, Williams had collided with his own goalkeeper and was checked for a concussion. Vanney said afterward Williams did not have one.
But Saverese said it appeared that Polo’s injury was serious: “As of right now, it doesn’t look great,” he said.
Mora believed the red card was the turning point in the match.
“After that red card, the center backs, we started getting more space in between them. I was able to move between them,“ he said. “Thankfully, I was able to get two goals today.“
Portland went ahead in the 47th minute on Mora’s header off a cross from Josecarlos Van Rankin. Mora added a second goal in the 60th minute.
“I’m taking my chances whenever I can get them,” Mora said.
