The Portland Timbers earned their second straight shutout win over a California club, this time over the Los Angeles Galaxy, by a 3-0 score in a match where the Timbers played with a player advantage for the entire second half. Felipe Mora had the first two goals for the Timbers, while Diego Valeri added the third on a penalty kick. Logan Ketterer earned his second straight shutout in goal. This is the first time the Timbers have had consecutive shutout wins since July 7, 2019.
The Timbers would have a few good chances in the first 40 minutes, especially by Dairon Asprilla, then good solo chances from Eryk Williamson and Diego Valeri, but neither team threatened to score for much of the first half. Then the entire match changed in the 44th minute when Derrick Williams was ejected for a very dangerous tackle on Timbers midfielder Andy Polo, and was immediately ejected. Polo left the game immediately and his status is unknown at this time.
In the second half it didn’t take long for the Timbers to take advantage of being a man up, when in the 47th minute, Josecarlos Van Rankin played a nice cross from the right side that found the head of a charging Felipe Mora, who beat Galaxy goalkeeper Jonathan Bond, and the Timbers had a 1-0 lead.
Then in the 60th minute the Timbers would double their lead, when Van Rankin’s chip attempt from the top of the box rebounded off the crossbar, and Mora was right there to head home, and the Timbers had upped their lead to 2-0.
Timbers goalkeeper Logan Ketterer had a few good saves as the Galaxy threatened to pull back a goal, but the Timbers would put the game away in the 69th minute when Van Rankin was involved in a Timbers goal for the third time on the day as he was fouled inside the box, with Valeri stepping up to convert the penalty into the upper right corner, and made the score 3-0 Timbers, which would be the final score.
Logan Ketterer had three goals for the Timbers while earning his second shutout in as many outings for the Timbers, while Jonathan Bond had six saves for the Galaxy.
I apologize for not having photos for the match. For the third time this year I have not been able to secure a media pass, but I hope that will change shortly with the Covid status of Multnomah County changing soon.
MATCH RECAP | Portland Timbers 3, LA Galaxy 0 | May 22, 2021 | Timbers website
Highlights from Portland’s 3-0 victory over the Galaxy | Timbers website
