Playing as the visitors in the same venue for the second time in four days, the Portland Timbers cruised to a 6-1 blowout victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, powered by a brace and an assist from Diego Valeri.
Jeremy Ebobisse, Yimmi Chara, Julio Cascante and Jaroslaw Niezgoda combined for Portland's other four goals, while Carlos Fierro scored the only goal of the evening for San Jose.
The Timbers got the scoring started in 25th minute after San Jose's Shea Salinas was called for a handball in his own box while trying to block a shot by Cristhian Paredes. Valeri drilled the look from the spot to give the visitors the first-half lead with his fifth goal of the season.
Ebobisse added a second just two minutes later off a pinpoint cross from Jorge Villafana that found him unmarked at the far post, allowing the forward to nod home the finish.
San Jose came close to pulling one back in a wild sequence in the 42nd minute that saw Nick Lima head the ball to Fierro in front of goal for a wide-open header, only to be denied by a diving save from Portland goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic. Fierro tracked down the rebound, and after having a subsequent shot blocked by Ivacic again, crossed the ball back to Lima who was thwarted by the Portland backstop for a third time.
Fierro would find San Jose's first just two minutes after that, however, hitting a laser shot first-time off a cross from Marcos Lopez past Ivacic and into the net to cut the deficit in half heading into halftime.
Portland got its third in the 57th minute as Valeri found his brace, charging to the top of the area to meet a cross from Yimmi Chara and seeing his shot take a deflection before settling into the back of the net.
The Timbers added their first insurance goal in the 70th courtesy of Yimmi Chara, who cleaned up the rebound after a distance shot from Ebobisse was deflected into his path following a diving save from San Jose goalkeeper Daniel Vega. Late finishes from Cascante and Niezgoda would mercilessly round out the final scoreline.
Goals
- 25' - POR - Diego Valeri (PK) | WATCH
- 27' - POR - Jeremy Ebobisse | WATCH
- 44' - SJ - Carlos Fierro | WATCH
- 57' - POR - Diego Valeri | WATCH
- 70' - POR - Yimmi Chara | WATCH
- 85' - POR - Julio Cascante | WATCH
- 87' - POR - Jaroslaw Niezgoda | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Credit to the Timbers, who were playing their second road game at San Jose this week, meaning rigorous travel demands amid a stretch where they haven't been able to train normally. It was a professional performance against a Quakes side that continues to reel, remaining winless since the MLS restart with this latest lopsided result.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Fierro actually briefly made it interesting with his goal late in the first half, but Valeri's second of the evening pretty much put the contest to bed, as the Timbers were able to cruise for the rest of the match and eventually rack up three more goals.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: You could just as easily give it to Yimmi Chara, but Valeri just keeps on churning at age 34, and he's now got six goals and five assists in 11 matches in 2020. The Argentine legend may not be able to play quite as many minutes as he used to, but he's still lethal as ever when he's on the field.
Next Up
- SJ: Wednesday, Sept. 23 at Colorado Rapids (9 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; DAZN in Canada)
- POR: Wednesday, Sept. 23 vs. Seattle Sounders (10 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US; DAZN in Canada)
