Wrapping up their 2022 preseason a week before the regular season opener, the Portland Timbers shut out Real Salt Lake 3-0 on Saturday at Providence Park. It marked the third and final game in a preseason tournament held in Portland, where the Timbers also played Minnesota United and Norwegian squad Viking FK.
“It’s good to be able to play these type of matches in preseason,” Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. “The teams that came in came with the intention that they stayed competitive. RSL today made it very competitive, so we got what we needed. I thought we had a very good game, especially in the second half.”
Neither Portland nor RSL had many opportunities at goal for much of the first half, with the Timbers having the only shot of the match until past the 30-minute mark. RSL’s first shot of the night came in the 32nd minute, and from there a flurry of opportunities appeared for both squads as halftime approached.
It was four shots to two in favor of the Timbers at half, and the home squad had the better quality of chances as well. Forward Dairon Asprilla and midfielder Cristhian Paredes each had a great look inside the box, with Asprilla’s coming on a breakaway and Paredes’ coming in traffic.
Neither converted, and so it went for most of the match.
The pace picked up in the early minutes of the second half, and the Timbers had RSL on its back heels against a sparse contingent of Timbers Army fans who were as rowdy as ever. After an injury to RSL’s keeper in the 70th minute, the Timbers finally broke through.
“I think it was the right path for us, what we saw in the second half,” Savarese said. “We just have to continue to evolve from that and continue to work and continue to get better. Being the last preseason match, I was very content with what I saw today.”
Paredes was first to score for Portland in the 72nd minute, rifling it in off the rebound as forward Jaroslaw Niezgoda’s shot caromed off the keeper. It was midfielder Yimmi Chara who got the ball in a dangerous position in the first place.
Two minutes later, Niezgoda got another chance to get into the scorebook. Sprinting at goal, he drew a foul in the box and got the call. Niezgoda stepped up to the penalty spot and scored with ease in the 74th minute, sending it straight down the middle and high inside the net.
In stoppage time, with the match in hand, the Timbers drew a foul in the middle of the field just outside the box, and defender Bill Tuiloma converted on a pretty set piece that curved right to left and into the top corner of goal. That brought the match to its final score of 3-0.
“It is something I practice,” Tuiloma said. “Two days ago I was practicing free kicks by myself, and today Juanpi (Juan Pablo Anor) really wanted to take it, but I told him it’s my turn to take it. I’m happy I scored.”
The Timbers out-shot RSL 11-3 and had six corners to RSL’s one. Their defensive effort stood out throughout the match, as their opponents had very few opportunities around the net and struggled to maintain possession in the attacking third.
“I thought we were very solid,” Savarese said of his team’s defense. “It starts with the four defenders and two defensive mid and everyone on the field that participates in helping defend. Zac McGraw showed a lot of progress, Tuiloma looked very, very strong, (Josecarlos) Van Rankin looked like he’s getting back to the shape we need him to be and was very clever, and Claudio Bravo was steady on the ball. The help of Paredes and (Diego) Chara in the way they defended but also the help they gave us to come out of the situations and pressure they brought in when we had the ball.”
Portland now looks ahead to its regular-season opener. The Timbers take on the New England Revolution at 4:30 p.m. Feb. 26 at Providence Park (TV on Fox).
-- Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com
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