Onni Valakari and Anders Dreyer scored first-half objectives and top-seeded San Diego FC recorded a 2-1 victory over the visiting Portland Timbers to win the opening match of the Spherical One first-round collection on Sunday night time.
CJ dos Santos made two saves as enlargement San Diego FC prevailed of their preliminary playoff match.
Kristoffer Velde scored a first-half aim for the Timbers, who had their second-half momentum halted after Jimer Fory’s crimson card within the 66th minute left them a person brief for the remainder of the match.
The second match within the best-of-three collection is Saturday night time in Portland.
San Diego FC star Hirving “Chucky” Lozano did not costume for the match within the wake of a heated locker room altercation earlier this month. Lozano hasn’t appeared in a recreation because the Oct. 4 incident towards the Houston Dynamo when he angrily reacted after being knowledgeable he was being pulled from the sport.
James Pantemis stood out with six saves for the Timbers.
San Diego tallied twice within the first half earlier than Portland answered with one in all its personal.
San Diego struck within the twenty third minute. Manu Duah ripped a right-footer from exterior the field that smacked off the correct aim publish with Pantemis stationed on the heart of the web. The ball bounced on to Valakari, who simply knocked the left-footed rebound shot previous Pantemis and into the web.
Seven minutes later, San Diego scored once more when Luca Bombino despatched a cross towards Dreyer, who knocked a header into the web to make it 2-0. The aim was Dreyer’s twentieth of the season, counting the common season.
Portland received on the board within the thirty sixth minute as Antony fed the ball to Velde, who creased area and despatched a right-footed shot into the left nook of the web.
That was the Timbers’ first aim of the season towards San Diego. Portland was scoreless in a single loss and one draw within the common season.
The Timbers had two large probabilities to tie the rating in a three-minute span of the second half.
First, Antony was extensive open on the correct and despatched a right-footed shot simply extensive of the web within the 61st minute.
Two minutes later, Kamal Miller despatched a close-range header simply over the crossbar.
However Fory obtained yellow playing cards for fouls in back-to-back minutes and the automated improve to crimson left the Timbers short-handed.
San Diego outshot Portland 14-5, together with an 8-3 edge in pictures on course. San Diego additionally had a 7-0 benefit in nook kicks.
–Area Stage Media
