Three in a Row! Portland Timbers Beat New England Revolution 2-0

The Portland Timbers surged past the New England Revolution thanks to a late game brace from forward Fanendo Adi. The win, which moved the Timbers into fourth place in the Western Conference, was the Timbers' third in a row, a feat never before accomplished in the MLS era.

From the start the Timbers' came out looking to attack, pressing high and hard for much of the first half, before New England began to assert themselves on the match. With both teams looking to break quickly down the pitch in the early going, it was the Timbers who were able to sustain their attack longer as the Revs started to fade and bunker late in the match.

The turning point came for the Timbers in the 67th minute as Dairon Asprilla was forced out of the match due to an ankle sprain that quieted the fans and subdued the match. With the entire stadium in a funk, it was the Timbers' attacking players who responded, dragging the team and the Timbers Army back into the game as they pushed forward and resumed the Timbers' high line of pressure, creating several opportunities for the team.

Still, despite out shooting New England ninteen to four on the night, the Timbers would not break through until the 86th minute, when Lee Nguyen took down Darlington Nagbe outside the Revolution box. With Will Johnson and Jorge Villafana standing over the ball in prime shooting range, it was Villafana who took the free kick, curling a graceful ball behind the Revolution back line that Adi rose up and got a flick on header to, sending the ball past a rooted Bobby Shuttleworth and into the back of the net.

Now up a goal, the Timbers only turned up the pressure, looking to ice the game off with the second strike that has eluded them so many times this season.

The follow up was not long coming as, in the 89th minute, the Timbers broke down their right flank. Diego Chara, after a quick interchange with Nagbe, fed Alvas Powell streaking down the sideline. The speedy fullback took a touch before firing a low pass into the center of the New England box for the run of Adi. The ball looked like it would be just out of reach, but Adi managed a sliding touch, again giving Shuttleworth no chance as he knocked the ball home.

The win moves the Timbers into 4th place in the Western Conference, just one and a half weeks removed from being tied for last place.

The Timbers next league match comes at home on 6/20 against the Houston Dynamo, but first the Timbers must travel to Tukwila to take on the Seattle Sounders in U.S. Open Cup play on 6/16.