The Portland Timbers completed an up-and-down 2019 regular season on Sunday at Providence Park with a 3-1 win over the San Jose Earthquakes, earning a spot in the 2019 MLS playoffs by finishing sixth in the Western Conference. Larrys Mabiala, Dairon Asprilla, and Sebastian Blanco scored for the Timbers, while Chris Wondolowski had the lone goal for the Earthquakes.
With the win, the Timbers now face Real Salt Lake on the road in two weeks to start the MLS Playoffs.
The Timbers would have the majority of early possession, and nearly made it pay off in just the seventh minute when Jorge Moreira had an open look from the top of the box, but slipped the shot just wide right.
In the 14th minute, the home side nearly benefitted from an own goal when a Timbers corner was accidentally shouldered towards net by Chris Wondolowski, with Daniel Vega making a brilliant reaction save to keep the match scoreless.
Then in the 29th minute, the Timbers would open the scoring when the Quakes were unable to clear a Timbers free kick, with Jorge Villafaña sending in a low cross that Larrys Mabiala was able to direct past Vega, and the Timbers had a 1-0 lead.
The lead would not last long, as in the 39th minute, as Cristian Espinoza sent in a cross that Wondolowski did well to get his head on at the near post, directing it past Steve Clark and into the net to tie the score at 1-1, which would be the score at the break.
The Timbers would re-take the lead in the 59th minute when Jeremy Ebobisse played a ball into Dairon Asprilla just outside the San Jose box, with the Timbers midfielder beating his defender to have a low shot that was saved by Vega, but Asprilla put in his own rebound to give the Timbers a 2-1 lead.
In the 76th minute the Timbers would double their lead when Sebastian Blanco played a perfect free kick from 22 yards out that blasted into the upper right corner of the goal to give the Timbers a 3-1 lead.
The visitors had a great chance to pull a goal back one minute later when Clark made two great saves on close-in shots from Espioza.
But the Timbers would hold on for the win and now move on to play Real Salt Lake to start the 2019 playoffs.
Steve Clark had three saves for the Timbers while Daniel Vega recorded five for the Earthquakes.
Timbers match report | Video highlights
