PORTLAND, Ore. - The Los Angeles Galaxy shutout the Portland Timbers of the USL First Division, 1-0, on a cold and rainy Wednesday night at PGE Park in Portland, Oregon. L.A. Galaxy midfielder Herculez Gomez scored the game's lone goal in the 38th minute with an assist from forward Landon Donovan.
In a driving rain storm through most of game, the L.A. Galaxy controlled the play from the first whistle keeping the majority of the possession. Portland's lone shot of the match came in the first half, but did not require a save from Galaxy goalkeeper Steve Cronin, who earned the clean sheet. The Galaxy's first attempt was a long range shot from midfielder Paulo Nagamura that was saved by Timbers' goalkeeper Josh Saunders, who had trained during preseason with the Galaxy. L.A.'s next chance came off a direct kick 25-yards from goal when Donovan rolled a short pass forward for Guillermo Ramirez, whose shot screamed just wide of the near post.
In the 38th minute, Los Angeles' scored the only goal of the match. L.A.'s Landon Donovan dribbled into the 18-yard box and threaded a beautiful through ball for a cutting Herculez Gomez. From five yards out, Gomez spun on his defender and fired a low shot beating a helpless Josh Saunders inside the right post.
The second half proved to be more of the same as the Galaxy maintained possession and created several good scoring opportunities while keeping the Timbers shotless through the final 45 minutes on the road to a 1-0 victory.
Scoreline
1 2 F
Los Angeles 1 0 1
Portland 0 0 0
Scoring Summary:
LA: Gomez (Donovan) '38
POR: None
Lineups:
Los Angeles: Steve Cronin, Michael Umaña, Ugo Ihemelu, Pablo Chinchilla, Paul Broome, Herculez Gomez (Guillermo Ramirez 70), Paulo Nagamura, Ned Grabavoy, Guillermo Ramirez (Mamba Chisoni 67), Ednaldo da Conceicao (Michael Enfield 83), Landon Donovan (Joseph Ngwenya 46).
Portland: Josh Saunders, Scot Thompson, Gavin Wilkinson (David Henning 46), Lee Morrison, Shaun Saunders, Tom Poltl (Brian Winters 46), Hugo Alcaraz, Edwin Miranda, Scott Benedetti (Aaron Heinsen 46), Joe Beytebiere (Shawn Higgins 46), Fadi Afash.
STATS:
LA POR
Shots 11 1
Saves 0 3
Fouls 13 11
Offsides 2 2
Corners 10 2
