The Portland Timbers were unable to break out of their road woes at the Home Depot Center on Wednesday as they took on Chivas USA in a rare early afternoon weekday game. The Timbers would go down a goal in the 16th minute and could never find the equalizer in a 1-0 loss to Chivas. With the shutout loss, the Timbers have now been shut out in six straight road matches, their last road goal coming in a 3-1 loss at the same Home Depot Center against the Galaxy in April. The Timbers also wore their green shorts with green kits for the first time since early last year, and fell to 0-5 with that combination.
In a match that had few quality scoring chances, the home side would make their first good look count in the 16th minute when Ryan Smith made a run down the right side and hit a low angled shot that Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins was only able to deflect back across the goal mouth, and Miller Bolanos got to the loose ball first and finished into the open net to give Chivas USA the 1-0 lead.
Three minutes later the Timbers had their first good chance when Kosuke Kimura’s cross to Kris Boyd was just a touch too high and was collected instead by Chivas goalkeeper Dan Kennedy. One minute later, a dangerous cross into the Timbers box by Smith was cleared by Portland’s Hanyer Mosquera, but Chivas forward Alejandro Moreno would collide with Perkins in the process, and would leave the game for eight minutes.
In the 37th minute, Chivas would have the last good chance of the half when a Chivas shot was deflected high but found Bolanos with an open shot, but the shot was wide left, and the half would end with Chivas holding a 1-0 lead.
In the 52nd minute, the Timbers would have perhaps their best scoring chance of the night when Eric Alexander’s cross found Darlington Nagbe open near the far post, but the Timbers midfielder’s header was just wide left. Ten minutes later it was Chivas forward Juan Pablo Angel with the header chance off a cross from James Riley, but the header was right at Perkins and easily saved.
Then in the 63rd minute, Portland’s Alexander would get a good look when he cut across the top of the box but his low shot was just wide right. Alexander would get another similar look six minutes later, but this time his shot was right to Kennedy.
In the 74th minute, Chivas USA nearly took advantage of a Timbers mistake when Perkins charged off his line to cut off the angle, but the ball would end up on the foot of Paolo Cardozo who attempted to chip Perkins into the empty net, but the shot did not have enough power and was cleared from just in front of the net by defender Mamadou Danso.
Chivas would get another good chance seven minutes later when Ben Zemandki fought through a few Timbers defenders but his shot would slip just wide left.
Portland would get one last good chance to level in the 85th minute when Steven Smith played a lob pass into Boyd inside the Chivas box, but the full volley shot past a charging Kennedy was just wide right. In stoppage time, Smith would have a good look himself from near the corner of the box but the shot was wide right, and Chivas USA would make the early goal stand up for the 1-0 victory.
http://www.portlandtimbers.com/news/2012/07/recap-bolanos-nets-chivas-portland-falter-again
