Portland Timbers Take 1st Place With 3-0 Win Over Colorado Rapids

With a tie for first place within reach, the Portland Timbers did not falter as they beat the Colorado Rapids to the tune of 3-0 at Jeld-Wen Field this afternoon. With the win the Timbers extend their unbeaten run to fifteen games and their home shutout street to over five hundred and sixty minutes.

The game started off with some strong pressure from the Rapids, giving the Timbers faithful several scares, the worst of which was a first minute shot from Deshorn Brown that saw a nasty deflection wrong foot Donovan Ricketts for a split second before he recovered and parried it wide.

After weathering the early storm, the Timbers poured on some pressure of their own and it was only the eleventh minute when the Timbers broke the deadlock. Rodney Wallace sent a floated cross through the box and Frederic Piquionne put a powerful head on it, crushing the ball past Clint Erwin and into the back of the net.

The Timbers scored again at the end of the first half and again it was Rodney Wallace providing the final pass. Wallace slipped the ball to an on rushing Will Johnson who knocked the ball into the air, volleying it past Erwin in mid-stride.

The second half saw the Timbers with some serious possession, knocking the ball around the field as Colorado threw men forward trying to win the ball. In the 83rd minute the Timbers put the final nail in the coffin and Rodney Wallace completed the first assist hat-trick in Timbers MLS history. Wallace slotted the ball into the box with a low cross along the ground to Ryan Johnson. Johnson hit the ball with his first touch, burying it and sealing the game for the Timbers.