The Portland Timbers earned their second straight win, and now have earned 7 of the last 9 points available, as Santiago Moreno would score twice in the first half, the first on a penalty kick, and a follow-up goal just a minute or so later, in a 2-1 win for the Timbers over the Houston Dynamo on Wednesday evening. Darwin Quintero would have the lone goal for Houston.
The Timbers would have more of the possession early, but did not seriously threaten to score against former Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark. The Dynamo would then start to get more of the run of play, and would be inches from taking the lead in the 22nd minute when Adalberto Carrasquilla‘s blast from 25 yards out had beaten Timbers goalkeeper Aljaž Ivačič, but rattled off the top left corner of the Timbers goal and rebounded away.
In the 33rd minute, the Timbers would be awarded a penalty kick for the second straight match, when after a pass from Sebastián Blanco was chested down in the Houston goal box by Yimmi Chará, but defender Daniel Steres attempted to charge through Yimmi from behind and the referee pointed directly to the spot. Santiago Moreno would step up to take the penalty, and left Clark flat-footed as the attempt slid nicely inside the left post, and the Timbers had the 1-0 lead.
Less than a minute after play had resumed after Moreno’s goal, the Timbers would double their lead as a series of brilliant passes, from Eryk Williamson, to Blanco, to Yimmi Chará, past a charging Williamson, found the foot of Moreno who one-timed a beautiful shot past Clark, and just that quickly, the Timbers had a 2-0 lead, which they would hold at the half.
The Dynamo would attack much more aggressively in the second half, and their first dangerous chance would be in the 60th minute when a free kick from just outside the box resulted in several good chances on the ensuing scramble in front of goal, the best chance being a shot from just a few yards out by Thorleifur Úlfarsson that Ivačič would make a nice reaction save and then smother.
In the 63rd minute the Timbers nearly widened their lead to three goals when Yimmi Chará would recover nicely after being tackled near the top of the Dynamo box, and dropped a pass for Moreno who had a good chance at the first-ever Timbers MLS hat-trick, but his low shot was saved nicely by a diving save from Clark.
But in the 65th minute the Dynamo’s attacking play would pay off when Úlfarsson was counter-attacking down the left side and drew three Timbers defenders, but spotted Darwin Quintero wide open across the field and fed a nice cross that Quintero collected quickly, then chipped a beautiful shot from 25 yards out that caught Ivačič off his line and slipped just under the post, and the Dynamo had pulled back a goal and only trailed 2-1.
Off a corner from Moreno in the 72nd minute, the Timbers came inches away from regaining their two goal lead when Felipe Mora‘s header from outside the near post had Clark beaten but rebounded off the crossbar, and Yimmi Chará barely missed on an overhead attempt into the open net.
But just three minutes later the tone of the match would change as Tuiloma would get his second yellow of the night on a foul near midfield, so the Timbers would have to defend their one-goal lead for the final 15 minutes plus stoppage time while down a player. But the Dynamo would never make their advantage pay off, and in fact the Timbers would be the team that came closest to scoring when in stoppage time, Dairon Asprilla would make a nice run down the left side before his shot was blocked by Clark, and Josecarlos Van Rankin‘s follow-up shot was also saved by Clark.
But the final whistle would blow not long afterwards, and the Timbers had the 2-1 victory.
Aljaž Ivačič would have five saves for the Timbers, while Steve Clark had two saves for Houston.
MATCH RECAP | Moreno brace powers 10-man Portland Timbers in 2-1 victory over Houston Dynamo FC | Timbers website
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS | Portland Timbers defeat Houston Dynamo FC 2-1 behind Moreno brace | Timbers website
