Portland Timbers vs LA Galaxy: Instant Reaction & Recap
A good 'ol fashioned western shootout.
The Portland Timbers defeated the LA Galaxy 4-2 in a wild September contest thanks to goals from Jonathan Rodriguez, Evander, and Felipe Mora. The result keeps the Timbers at 8th in the western conference with five remaining games before the start of the 2024 MLS playoffs.
After a difficult 2-1 loss against the Colorado Rapids in their last fixture, and with time running out before the start of the 2024 playoffs, the Timbers came into this game in desperate need of a win against an extremely dangerous LA Galaxy side.
Felipe Mora returned to the starting XI after Rodriguez was selected up top against the Rapids, while Claudio Bravo remained unavailable due to a lower leg injury that has sidelined him since the match against the Sounders, meaning Kamal Miller once again started at left back.
In the opening minutes, the Galaxy exploited this lineup necessity with the pace and power of Gabriel Pec, who was able to get behind Miller on several occasions and ultimately earned Dario Zuparic a yellow card that will see him suspended for the Timbers upcoming match against Real Salt Lake.
Despite the obvious threat the Galaxy pose, it was the Timbers who had the better of the play in the opening 45 minutes. Evander had the first quality chance for the hosts with a shot from outside the box that stung the palms of John McCarthy in the 17’, before Jonathan Rodriguez opened the scoring one minute later. The goal was one we’ve become accustomed to seeing Mora score — Evander floated a delicious ball to Rodriguez, who made a darting run to the near post before tucking home a diving header past a helpless McCarthy. Rodriguez entered the night having scored just once since his goal in the Timbers’ 3-2 loss to? The LA Galaxy, back on July 20.
Santiago Moreno was excellent again defensively, but gave the ball away in an extremely dangerous position in the 24’ that nearly led to a goal for Joseph Paintsil. Thankfully, Max Crepeau was alert to the danger and quick off his line.
David Ayala had another bright showing, and could have had a first-half goal and assist on another day — Playing a brilliant ball over the top to Felipe Mora in the 25th minute, and sending a header agonizingly wide of the post from yet another corner in the 31’.
But as has been the case on so many occasions this year, Evander would be the man to put the Timbers on his back and double the lead. After scuffing a shot in the 33’, and narrowly missing a tap-in from an inch-perfect Juan Mosquera cross in the 37’, the magician scored his 13th goal of the season with a well-placed strike into the bottom right corner, assisted by Moreno.
You might be thinking to yourself, “2-0 up with five minutes plus stoppage remaining? What could go wrong!” Well, the Timbers backline is what could go wrong. In the third and final minute of stoppage Pec popped up with a ruthless finish after the Galaxy knifed through Portland’s defense relatively easily. If I’m being critical, Kamal Miller and Miguel Araujo could have been a more alert reacting to Pec’s run, but the goal was a stark reminder of the Galaxy’s attacking quality.
Halftime: Timbers 2 - 1 Galaxy
The Galaxy nearly scored immediately at the start of the second half through Paintsil, who blasted a sitter wide of the post from the middle of the box. Despite the early threat Evander would thump home his second of the night to restore the Timbers’ two goal lead in the 51’, after some determined holdup play from Rodriguez and Mora saw the ball bobble kindly into his path.
LA would once again peg the Timbers back just eight minutes after Evander’s second goal after Pec pinged a left-footed strike off the post that fell kindly to an unmarked Paintsil on the rebound. The goal was initially called offside, but after a VAR review (that took a while for some reason despite the fact that offside is an objective call to make and something that should be semi-automated) the Galaxy had indeed made it 3-2.
From that moment on the match turned into a track meet with both teams flying up and down the pitch in search of the next goal — Evander and Rodriguez had big chances for Portland that McCarthy thwarted, and Yoshida and Puig threatened Crepeau’s net on the other end.
The Timbers finally found the killer goal in the 80’ when Antony, who had subbed in moments before, received the ball on the left wing and floated a beautiful left-footed (!!!) cross to Felipe Mora at the back post that Pipe smashed home emphatically. The goal was historic — For the first time in MLS history a trio of players on the same team have all scored 14 goals in the same season (Evander, Mora, Rodriguez).
The Timber.s continued to weather the storm for the remainder of the match, and the eight minutes of stoppage time, to win a barn-burner.
Final Score: Timbers 4 - 2 Galaxy
Up Next: The Timbers will play their third game in eight days, and second at altitude, when they travel to Salt Lake City for a game against Real Salt Lake. Kickoff from Rio Tinto (I refuse to call it that name) is set for 6:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, Sept. 21.
Reaction
Boy did the Timbers need this result in a congested western conference playoff race. Evander continued his stellar play that could see him follow Diego Valeri in becoming the Timbers second-ever MVP with two goals and an assist. Rodriguez and Mora both returned to the scoresheet after a few goalless matches, and unlike the 3-2 loss against the Galaxy in July, the defense did enough to mitigate the danger posed by the lethal trio of Pec, Paintsil, and Puig.
Dario Zuparic picking up a yellow card that suspends him for the match against RSL is tough, especially with Claudio Bravo’s status for the coming weekend unknown, but the performances of Kamal Miller and Miguel Araujo are something to build on for a backline that has now conceded 50 goals in 29 matches this year.
Despite the three points not moving the Timbers up the table, they are now eight points ahead of Austin FC in 10th, and dropped points from Seattle and Colorado mean they still have a chance to finish as high as fourth in the west.
But the Timber now face the difficult task of getting points on the road with their next two matches coming against RSL and the Vancouver Whitecaps, before returning to Providence Park for matches against Austin FC and FC Dallas before their Decision Day showdown at Lumen Field.
Onward.
EVANDER.
That's it. Do what you must to make him happy and want to stay here. Make him one of the leagues highest paid, if necessary.
"Kickoff from Rio Tinto (I refuse to call it that name)"
I mean, their current name ain't my favorite, but being nostalgic for the world's biggest mining conglomerate sure does make me miss the days when corporate sponsorships weren't a thing.