skip navigation

SAFC Sets Club Record in Portland

By NICHOLAS MURRAY - nicholas.murray@uslsoccer.com, 04/29/17, 10:24AM EDT

Share

Fourth consecutive win completed perfect trip through Cascadia


Photo courtesy Sam Ortega / Portland Timbers 2

PORTLAND, Ore. – Over the course of the first 19 minutes of the game, hosts Portland Timbers 2 were well on top of their undefeated visitors, San Antonio FC, at Providence Park.

T2 had more possession, completed more passes, and had four efforts on goal either miss the target or be charged down by an opposing defender.

Then, with SAFC’s first shot of the match, Billy Forbes swung the game the visitors’ way, setting up both a club-record fourth consecutive victory and seven-game undefeated streak with a 4-0 win.

“First and foremost, our players’ collective defensive effort was superb tonight,” said SAFC Head Coach Darren Powell. “When you only have a few days rest in a week, it’s pleasing to see the guys work that hard and manage the game in such a professional manner.”

Forbes’ tally was his fourth in as many games, having found the net in each of the previous two outings of San Antonio’s trip through Cascadia against Vancouver last Saturday and Seattle on Tuesday night. The Turks and Caicos international is now tied for the league-lead with six goals this season.

When 14 minutes later Cesar Elizondo got in on the act, volleying home an errant clearance by the T2 defense to make it 2-0, it set the game up for the counter-attacking style San Antonio has thrived on this season.

“I think our tactical performance today was good, we were organized and used our options.” Said Elizondo. “We’ve been playing to our strengths and I think that’s what happened today.”

After taking the club’s first victory of the season last Saturday night against Sacramento, T2 was hoping to continue its upturn against another tough opponent. Despite holding 72 percent of possession, and outshooting SAFC 10-7 overall, only one of Portland’s finishes forced a save from SAFC goalkeeper Diego Restrepo as the visitors’ back-line held firm.

“The patience for me wasn't there,” said T2 Head Coach Andrew Gregor. “We saw the youth in the group tonight. They were experienced in what they did, and we were on the younger side. It was difficult for us, but that's the experience that we've got to have. They've got to learn how to play against that. Hopefully the group will learn from this tonight and we can get better moving forward.”

With a seven-point lead at the top of the Western Conference standings going into Saturday’s games across the league, San Antonio was delighted to end its arduous journey without a blemish on its record.

“To get nine points and continue widening our gap between the other teams in the table is great for us, and that helps our goal of reaching the playoffs,” said SAFC defender Sebastien Ibeagha. “We have a lot of depth on our team and this trip showed that and the good chemistry that we all have.”

Follow the USL Championship

Most Recent News

Most Read News

Latest Videos