On a brisk night at Toyota Field the chill was in the air and on the final scoreboard as San Antonio FC fell to Portland Timbers 2 by a final score of 3 to 1 in front of 6,112 fans on Saturday night. Midfielder Todd Wharton scored the opening goal for Portland and Midfielder Marvin Loria added a brace for the visitors as Portland won at Toyota Field for the first time in their history. Midfielder Jack Barmby scored on a first half Penalty Kick for San Antonio - his first goal in a San Antonio FC uniform.
San Antonio had a strong offensive night despite the final scoreline. SAFC had the lions share of the possession (53% to 46%), Corners (15 to 1), and Shots (22 to 10) but couldn't find the finishing touches to keep the game in reach. Of course, giving up three goals in back to back games to start the season is far from ideal.
Manger Darren Powell noted both after the match, saying "You'd like to prevent some of those goals for sure. We've conceded six goals in two games which is not something that we stand for. But we've also created so many chances that we haven't capitalized on."
Forward Foster Langsdorf got things going for the visitors in the 18' when his touch past SAFC Defender Amer Didic freed Midfielder Todd Wharton into acres of free space in the box for an easy finish and a 1-0 Portland lead.
San Antonio hit back in the 27' when a gorgeous pass from Midfielder Lance Laing on the wing found Midfielder Jack Barmby streaking towards goal behind the Portland defense. Portland GK Jake Leeker charged Barmby and couldn't avoid committing a foul and a penalty. Barmby took the Penalty Kick and delivered a strike into the lower left corner to level the game at 1-1. It was Barmby's first goal of the season and it came against his former team, as Barmby played with Portland the last three seasons.
Said Barmby after the match on taking the PK, "I always feel pretty comfortable taking penalties. It's just about picking a side mentally in your head and sticking with it. As long as I can hit the target and hit it with a decent amount of pace, I'm pretty confident in it."
Just a few minutes later in the 32' San Antonio GK Matt Cardone rushed off his line to successfully break up a Portland attack, but the ball came free to Midfielder Marvin Loria. He hit the ball into the box. It looked to be heading off target until Cardone, running back to try and get in position to defend his goal, seemingly knocked the ball into the back of his net for an own-goal. The official scorekeepers saw it differently and awarded Loria with the goal. Either way, it was Portland 2 San Antonio 1, a score that would hold until Halftime.
In the second half, Portland would put San Antonio away for good. In the 78' Midfielder Eryk Williamson played a nifty back heel pass to Loria just outside of the San Antonio box. Loria ripped a shot near side and beat Cardone for the 3-1 lead, which would hold until the final whistle.
Next up for San Antonio is a two game road trip that will take them to Colorado and to a much anticipated Copa Tejas match-up in Austin on March 30th. Both teams lost in week two. Colorado fell at home to Sacramento 1-0, and Austin lost on the road to Reno 2-1.
San Antonio FC returns home on April 6th against Las Vegas.
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS:
Scoring Summary:
Timbers 2: 0-1, Todd Wharton (Foster Langsdorf assist) 18’
SAFC: 1-1, Jack Barmby (penalty) 28’
Timbers 2: 1-2, Marvin Loria 32’
Timbers 2: 1-3, Marvin Loria (Eryk Williamson assist) 78’
Disciplinary Summary:
SAFC: Yellow Card (Pecka) 14’
Timbers 2: Yellow Card (Eryk Williamson) 66’
Timbers 2: Yellow Card (Roy Miller) 68’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Jack Barmby) 72’
Timbers 2: Yellow Card (Brayan Hurtado) 79’
SAFC: Yellow Card (Kai Greene) 87’
IMAGES: SAN ANTONIO FC TWITTER