Columbus Crew SC (4-3-1, 13 pts.) suffered their first home loss of the 2019 regular season at the hands of the Portland Timbers (1-5-1, 4 pts.) on Saturday, April 20 at MAPFRE Stadium.
The Black & Gold started the match with some close chances including a chip by midfielder Federico Higuain that flew just outside of the left post in the 10th minute. Additionally, forward Gyasi Zardes and defender Jonathan Mensah each missed wide off of header opportunities in the 21st and 26th minutes, respectively.
Portland broke the scoreless draw in the 31st minute when Larrys Mabiala headed the ball inside the near-post off of a free kick serve from Diego Valeri. Four minutes later, the Timbers were able to capitalize on their momentum when Jeremy Ebobisse palced the ball past Crew SC goalkeeper Zack Steffen off of a slotted cross from Sebastian Blanco.
In the 69th minute, the Crew responded when midfielder Pedro Santos intercepted a failed distribution from Portland goalkeeper Jeff Attinella and then proceeded to chip the ball over his head. The tally marked Santos' second goal of the year for Crew SC.
The Timbers were able to prevent a final attempt at a Crew SC comeback in the first minute of stoppage time when Portland's Jorge Moreira struck the ball to the upper lefthand corner after Cristhian Paredes laid the ball off to him inside the box.
With this loss, the Black & Gold receive their first home loss since June 13 of 2018. Up next, Columbus returns to MAPFRE Stadium to host D.C. United on Wednesday, April 24 at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Supporters can watch the match on SportsTime Ohio, stream on FOX Sports GO, or listen on 97.1 FM The Fan or www.ColumbusCrewSC.com (English & Spanish).
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Goal Scoring Rundown:
POR ā Larrys Mabiala (Diego Valeri), 31st minute: Mabiala heads the ball to the near post off of a free kick serve from Valeri. CLB 0, POR 1
POR ā Jeremy Ebobisse (Sebastian Blanco), 35th minute: Ebobisse places the ball past Steffen off of a slotted cross from Blanco. CLB 0, POR 2
CLB ā Pedro Santos, 69th minute: Santos chips Attinella after intercepting his wide distribution. CLB 1, POR 2
POR ā Jorge Moreira (Cristhian Paredes), 91st minute: Moreira strikes the ball to the upper lefthand corner after Paredes sets him up inside the box. CLB 1 POR 3 | FINAL
Lineups:
Columbus Crew SC
Portland Timbers
Match Notes:
- Pedro Santos recorded his second goal of the 2019 regular season in the 69th minute of tonightās contest as he pounced on a loose ball before chipping the Portland goalkeeper, Jeff Attinella for Crew SCās first goal of the night. To date, Santos had made 47 total appearances (44 starts) since joining the Club in 2017.
- Wil Trapp recorded his 160th career Major League Soccer regular-season start (164 appearances) in tonightās contest against the Portland Timbers. With his start in tonightās match, Trapp surpassed Brian Maisonneuve (159 starts) to take sole possession of fifth place on Crew SCās all-time games started list and is behind only Federico Higuain (178), Eddie Gaven (198), Mike Clark (216) and Chad Marshall (250). Trapp led Crew SC in total touches (104) and passes (92) with a passing percentage of 91 and won 85.7 percent of duels faced.
- Tonightās contest marked the first time Crew SC conceded a goal at MAPFRE Stadium since the sixth minute of the Opening Match against the New York Red Bulls (March 2). Prior to the three goals in tonightās match, Crew SC posted shutouts against FC Dallas (March 16), Atlanta United (March 30) and the New England Revolution (April 6).
- Tonightās contest marked Crew SCās 10th all-time regular-season contest (3-5-2) against the Portland Timbers since 2011.
- With the 3-1 loss against the Portland Timbers in tonightās match, Crew SCās 2019 regular-season record is now 4-3-1 (13 points). Next up, Crew SC has a home contest against D.C. United at MAPFRE Stadium on Wednesday, April 24 (7:30 p.m. ET / SportsTime Ohio, FOX Sports GO / 97.1 The Fan and streaming online via the āListen Liveā button at 971TheFan.com / Spanish audio stream on ColumbusCrewSC.com ).
