Sunday marked the opening doubleheader of the annual Portland Preseason Tournament at JELD-WEN Field with three MLS clubs and Swedish side AIK Stockholm doing battle. Here's how Matchday 1 unfolded:
PORTLAND TIMBERS 3, SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES 3
PORTLAND, Ore. – A hat trick by Portland Timbers new forward Ryan Johnson highlighted a 3-3 tie against the San Jose Earthquakes and defending Golden Boot winner Chris Wondolowski also scored in an explosive nightcap of the Portland Tournament’s opening day at JELD-WEN Field.
Johnson’s three goals, his first in a Timbers uniform after being traded from Toronto this offseason, were countered by a Wondolowski PK and goals from Víctor Bernárdez and former Timbers forward Mike Fucito in front of an exuberant crowd of 14,229.
Wondolowski kicked off the back-and-forth affair for San Jose with a penalty kick goal in the third minute after an Andrew Jean-Baptiste hand ball.
Portland answered just two minutes later in a crafty run of play when Johnson nodded home a Kalif Alhassan cross to equalize at 1-1.
The Timbers then went ahead on Johnson’s second, a left-footed flick past San Jose goalkeeper Jon Busch, on a through pass from newly acquired midfielder Diego Valeri.
San Jose equalized in the 39th minute on a Shea Salinas free kick that was headed home by Bernárdez.
Portland kicked off the second-half action in the 52nd minute when a long pass from Valeri again found a streaking Johnson, who chipped over a charging Busch to complete the hat trick.
But a Timbers giveaway on defense led to another San Jose goal and 3-3 tie when a shot by the Quakes' John Bostock shot deflected to Fucito, who calmly cleaned up into an open net.
FC DALLAS 0, AIK STOCKHOLM 0
The new-look FC Dallas pairing of Kenny Cooper and Blas Pérez struggled to find the finishing touch in the opener of the Portland Timbers Preseason Tournament on Sunday, as FCD settled for a scoreless draw against Swedish side AIK.
Both Cooper (66th minute) and Pérez (16th minute) had looks at goal inside the penalty area, but they were thwarted by the AIK defense. Cooper’s chance was especially tantalizing, thanks to a run down the right flank by midfielder Jackson and a cross that found the former Red Bulls striker in the box, but AIK somehow snuffed out the chance.
The Swedish side also had their moments and came on especially strong toward the end of the first half. They looked to have earned a PK in the 28th minute when Nabil Bahoui was seemingly brought down in the box by Dallas right back Zach Loyd, but no foul was called.
Bahoui was arguably the most dangerous player on the field and he forced a spectacular save from FC Dallas goalkeeper Raúl Fernández in the 54th minute among his most dangerous forays. Fernández was it again with a huge save in the 75th minute on a breakaway chance for AIK forward Kennedy Igboananike.
The Peruvian 'keeper was particularly busy after coming on for Chris Seitz in the second half, also tipping a shot over the bar from AIK's Ibrahim Moro in the 78th minute.
The teams return to action Wednesday with Portland facing FC Dallas and San Jose taking on AIK.
