PORTLAND, Ore. – The San Jose Earthquakes fell to the Portland Timbers 4-2 on Wednesday night in front of 19,113 fans at Providence Park, snapping their four-game unbeaten streak in all competitions.
Amahl Pellegrino opened the scoring for San Jose in the 31st minute with a header off a rebound from a Cristian Espinoza corner kick to score his fourth goal of the season and third in as many games. Just three minutes later, Hernán López picked Larrys Mabiala’s pocket near midfield and chipped Portland goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau from long range to double the Quakes’ advantage.
Early in the second half, López almost made it a brace when he curled an attempt from well behind the box that just bounced off the crossbar. However, in the 72nd minute, the entire complexion of the game changed when Quakes defender Bruno Wilson was called for a hand ball after preventing a shot from crossing the goal line. After a video review, he was shown a red card. Evander converted the subsequent penalty kick and the Timbers cut the lead in half.
Down to 10 men, the Quakes tried valiantly to hold the lead but in the 80th minute, Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodriguez drew the hosts level when he crept into the edge of the box and found the back of the net. Toward the end of regulation, San Jose goalkeeper William Yarbrough was given a yellow card due to a collision in the box after another lengthy video review. Felipe Mora was awarded another penalty kick and converted Portland’s second goal from the spot for the go-ahead goal in the 90th minute.
San Jose would press forward in hopes of salvaging a point, and in the 10th minute of stoppage time, the Quakes appealed for a hand ball in the box for a chance to equalize via a penalty kick of their own. However, no video review was ultimately given as the Timbers immediately scored in transition via Rodriguez’s second of the night to close the match.
The Quakes return home against Orlando City SC on Saturday, May 18. Kickoff from PayPal Park is set for 7:30 p.m. PT and will be broadcast globally on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV, as well as on local radio via AM 810 The Spread (English) and AM 1370 La Kaliente (Spanish).
GAME NOTES
The loss snapped San Jose’s three-game unbeaten streak in MLS play and four-game streak in all competitions.
A victory in Portland continues to elude the club. The Quakes remain winless in 18 tries in Providence Park dating back to 2011 (0-14-4 in MLS regular-season play), not counting a 2-0 defeat in last year’s Leagues Cup group stage in the Rose City.
Counting tonight’s goal, San Jose forward Amahl Pellegrino has now scored in three straight games (vs. LAFC 5/4, at Colorado 5/11) and has four total goals for the campaign (the other came 4/6 at Austin).
New Quakes Designated Player Hernán López also stayed hot, scoring his second goal in as many career MLS starts. The other goal came last Saturday at Colorado in his first MLS start. The attacking midfielder joined San Jose from Argentine club Godoy Cruz for a club-record transfer fee last month.
Ironically, the Quakes were coming off a game where they came back from a 2-0 deficit of their own last Saturday, a 3-2 win over the Colorado Rapids.
MATCH INFORMATION
Portland Timbers 4-2 San Jose Earthquakes
Wednesday, May 15, 2024 – Providence Park; Portland, Ore.
Weather: 74° Sunny
Attendance: 19,113
Match Officials:
Referee: Pierre-Luc Lauziere
AR1: Jose Da Silva
AR2: Corey Rockwell
4th: Tim Ford
VAR: Armando Villarreal
AVAR: Joshua Patlak
Scoring Summary:
SJ (0-1) – Amahl Pellegrino (unassisted) 31’
SJ (0-2) – Hernán López (unassisted) 34’
POR (1-2) – Evander (penalty kick) 74’
POR (2-2) – Jonathan Rodriguez (Evander, Kamal Miller) 80’
POR (3-2) – Felipe Mora (penalty kick) 90’
POR (4-2) – Jonathan Rodriguez (Santiago Moreno) 90’+10’
Misconduct Summary:
SJ – Bruno Wilson (ejection) 72’
POR – Kamal Miller (caution) 82’
SJ – William Yarbrough (caution) 89’
PORTLAND TIMBERS: Maxime Crepeau; Kamal Miller, Dario Zuparic, Larrys Mabiala (Jonathan “Cabecita” Rodriguez 46’); Evander (Nathan Fogaca 90+1’), Diego Chara (C), Dairon Aspirilla (Eric Miller 46’), Juan Mosquera; Felipe Mora (David Ayala 90+10’), Antony (Cristhian Paredes 63’), Santiago Moreno.
Substitutes not used: James Pantemis (GK), Sawyer Jura, Zachery McGraw, Eryk Williamson.
POSS.: 57.0%; SHOTS: 24; SOG: 10; CORNERS: 7; OFFSIDES: 1; SAVES: 1; FOULS: 12; xG: 4.9
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES: William Yarbrough; Vítor Costa, Rodrigues, Bruno Wilson, Carlos Akapo; Carlos Gruezo, Niko Tsakiris (Jackson Yueill 56’), Hernán López (Tanner Beason 75’); Amahl Pellegrino (Paul Marie 81’), Cristian Espinoza (C) (Daniel Munie 81’), Jeremy Ebobisse (Preston Judd 75’).
Substitutes not used: Emi Ochoa (GK), Benji Kikanović, Alfredo Morales, Jack Skahan.
POSS.: 43.0%; SHOTS: 11; SOG: 4; CORNERS: 4; OFFSIDES: 2; SAVES: 5; FOULS: 6; xG: 1.9
EARTHQUAKES HEAD COACH LUCHI GONZALEZ
On the Earthquakes dominating the first 70 minutes before the red card:
“The guys performed and executed really well for the majority of the game. It's great to have new additions, not just recently with Hernán [López] but just this past offseason. It’s more and more just connection and integration. Understand the league better and perform like they did for the majority of this game. We were dangerous offensively; we were very organized defensively.”
On looking ahead to the Saturday match against Orlando:
“We're going to be fine. This is a great group, and they continue to fight for each other. It's hard when we drop points. A direct opponent in the table right now with us just went over us instead of us going over, so that's going to hurt but we're going to move forward quickly. I expect nothing but a fire in their belly and a response against Orlando and the next one, and it's really fun and exciting to coach this team. These guys work for each other and they want to keep getting better, and I'm confident they have no doubt they will keep getting better as the season continues.”
On VAR technology’s impact on the game:
“We've had our lack of fortune with some things and calls and we've had our fortune as well. I understand over time you hope that things even out, but today just stands out in terms of how it impacted the game consecutively, and I feel for our guys. We were put into a tough situation. Now, even at one man down can we still find a solution and get the win or even the draw at the end? Yeah, we wanted to be better and we don't want to be victims and make excuses, and we will have that reflection at the right moment.”
EARTHQUAKES FORWARD AMAHL PELLEGRINO
On the red card changing the complexion of the game reducing San Jose to 10 men:
“That made things difficult for us today, but that's how the game is and sometimes you get some punches. You have to just stand up quick because we have a hard game at home against Orlando on Saturday. You just have to pick yourself up, pick the team up, and try to deliver another performance that can give us another three points. It was hard because in the last weeks we have been in a good run and this one killed us a little bit today.”
On playing with Hernán López:
“Hernán came in with a lot of qualities to the team. He has been adapting really fast and he has a lot of skills. … To play alongside him has been a nice gift for all of us and the best thing of all is, he's a really good guy and [plays] with a lovely smile on his face.”
