
MAY 19, 2006 |
Timbers come up short against first place Rochester The Portland Timbers hosted the first place and undefeated Rochester Raging Rhinos on Friday nigth at PGE Park, but what some expected to be an easy Rhinos win turned out to be an even, hard fought match, but only one shot managed to slip into the net on the night, and that would be Rhinos forward Matthew Delicate, off a cross from former Timber Aaran Lines, but it would be enough to give the Rhinos a 1-0 victory over the Timbers in front of 3,875 on a rainy night in Portland. The early part of the match would be controlled largely by the Rhinos, with Connally Edozien's high arcing header in the 4th minute looking innocent at first, but forcing a retreat by Timbers goalkeeper Josh Saunders to punch it wide as it threatened to rebound off the far post. The Timbers would see their first good chance in the 13th minute when Alejandro Guiterrez had a brief open look near the top of the box, but his shot was blocked off his foot by a Rhinos defender. The first really good scoring chance of the first half for the Rhinos would not even come off the foot of a Rhinos player, as a pass back into the Timbers box by Jacobi Goodfellow was completely missed by Saunders, and though the ball trickled a yard or two wide left, there were tense seconds all over the stadium as the ball trickled past the post. In the 20th minute, the Rhinos had another good scoring opportunity when Johnny Menyongar had an open look from 15 yards out, but put his shot a few yards wide left. In the 23rd minute, the Rhinos had a great chance when Connally slipped in behind the Timbers defense and was only kept out of the net by a nice save by Saunders. One minute later, the Rhinos thought they had take the lead when Edozien slipped in behind the Timbers defense again, but was 2-3 yards offside and the assistant referee's flag went up as the ball was knocked into the Timbers goal. In the 35th minute, the Timbers were a half step slow as a low cross from Mamba Chisoni woudl just elude the foot of charging forward Byron Alvarez, and was easily collected by Rhinos goalkeeper Scott Vallow. The half would end with the teams scoreless. The first good scoring chance of the 2nd half would come in the 54th minute, when a Rochester throw-in deep in the Timbers box by 2006 Timbers draft pick Kenny Bertz as far enough to elude Saunders, but an open but awkward shot by former Timber Greg Howes was well over the bar. The Timbers best scoring chance of the match, and similar to a play that would make the difference in this match, was in the 59th minute when a free kick from Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar found Michael Nsien open at the far post just eight yards out, but his header was a yard wide to the left. That play would be three minutes later when after the Timbers failed to completely clear a ball from the box, former Timber Aaran Lines made a low cross towards the near post that was stabbed at by a lunging Matthew Delicate, whose shot from seven yards out was just inside the left post, and the Rhinos had a 1-0 lead. The Timbers would have the next good scoring chance, when in the 69th minute an Alcaraz-Cuellar corner went over the box but was crossed back in by Luke Kreamelmeyer, then into the six yard box by Chad Bartlome to Nsien, whose header was knocked down by an apparent Rhinos handball, but no call was made and the threat was cleared. The Rhinos had their last good scoring chance when Delicate had a partial breakaway as he slipped in behind the Timbers defense, but a retreating Scot Thompson forced a weak shot that was easily saved. The Timbers had a decent opportunity one minute later when Kreamelmeyer made a run across the top of the box but his shot was over the bar from 18 yards out. The Timbers had another great chance to equalize in the 75h minute when the ball was headed back into the Rochester box by Nsien, then flicked on by Bartlome to Goodfellow, who was briefly open only a few yards out from the far post, but was unable to control the ball and direct it towards the Rhinos net. Though each team would get a few deep crosses into the opposing box, neither team would threaten to score again, and the Rhinos would escape with a 1-0 win. Scott Vallow was not credited with any saves in the winning effort, while Josh Saunders had two for the Timbers. Spotted in the crowd: In addition to the former Timbers on the pitch in Rhinos uniforms, former GM Jim Taylor was in attendance (as he is for most matches), as was former GK coach Jim Brazeau, and former Timbers goalkeepers Matt Napoleon and Curtis Spiteri.
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