2008 Aug 7 2008 Aug 7
Portland Timbers 0 - 1 Seattle Sounders
PGE Park, Portland, OR
Portland: Brad Knighton; Cameron Knowles, Scot Thompson (sent off 33'), Justin Thompson (Cameron Dunn 45'), Leonard Griffin (Shaun Higgins 54'); Miguel Guante (Jamil Walker 79'), Tom Poltl, Lawrence Olum; Byron Alvarez, Takayuki Suzuki, Bryan Jordan. Substitutes not used: Chase Harrison, Bryan Little, Arsene Oka, Chris Bagley.
Seattle: Chris Eylander; Danny Jackson, Kevin Sakuda, Zach Scott, Michael Rodríguez; Nik Besagno, Ciaran O'Brien (Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar 72'), Youssouf Kante (Adam West 90'), Josh Gardner (Kenji Treschuk 79'); Jason Cascio (Roger Levesque 58'), Sébastien Le Toux. Substitutes not used: Ben Dragavon, Noah Merl, Kevin Forrest.
Goals:
20' SEA: Le Toux (Besagno)
Additional match reports: Timbers, Sounders, Portland Oregonian, Portland Tribune, Prost Amerika, GOALSeattle.com, Nasty Challenge, Timber Mill.
Match report from Ron Stickney:
In the last USL 1st Div match between these two I-5 rivals, the Seattle Sounders beat the Portland Timbers in Portland's house 1-0. Sébastien Le Toux scored the lone goal, then Portland's Scot Thompson made the task easier for Seattle by earning a silly red card at about the half hour mark.
The match was played with emotion in front of Portland's largest crowd of the year and a nationwide FSC television audience, and a number of players will be nursing dings for a few days.
Seattle newcomer and rookie Ciaran O'Brien was an in kind substitute for his brother Leighton, out with a broken wrist, as Ciaran opened the shooting in the 6th minute with a quality strike from distance, bending nicely at the top near corner, but pushed wide by goalkeeper Brad Knighton. Then rookie Jason Cascio was fed in the penalty area for a chance, but Knighton had it covered at the near post.
The 12th minute saw Portland's first chance when Lawrence Olum dove to head Takawira Suzuki's cross, but sent it well wide.
A minute later it was Cascio again, chipping over the top near corner on a broken free kick play.
The misconduct built up over the course of the first half, with Seattle's Josh Gardner getting it started by earning a yellow card for a late tackle on Bryan Jordan.
20' SEA: Le Toux (Besagno). Seattle's goal came after a stretch with no good chances either way. On a Seattle attack, C O'Brien sent in a low, square cross from the right to the spot, where Nik Besagno got a touch on it in traffic and went down. On the ground, Besagno got off a good shot that hit the right post squarely as Knighton dove for it. The rebound went right in front of the now unguarded goal, and Le Toux was first there to finish it easily from 5 yards out. 1-0 Seattle. It was Le Toux's 10th league goal of the year.
Next chance was Portland's, as Olum was open on the right for a shot from the 18, but he missed the far post by a few yards.
The nastiness escalated in the 31st minute when Portland defender Cameron Knowles got the yellow for elbowing Le Toux in the jaw off the ball. Two minutes later it peaked as S Thompson came in way late after Gardner had played the ball away at the touch line and Thompson chopped Gardner down deliberately, right in front of the referee, earning a straight red card.
Portland had the final chances of the first half, first from Justin Thompson, who headed a shot that glanced off the far post after it was popped around in the Seattle area. Suzuki won a loose ball in the final minute for a quick chance, but popped it wide.
There weren't many shots in the second half, as Seattle seemed content to defend their lead with a man advantage. A Gardner corner kick in the 50th minute led to two good chances, but both were dealt with by the Portland defense.
The nastiness continued at 52' as Seattle's Cascio was cautioned for a hand to Leonard Griffin's eye while challenging for an air ball. Griffin left the match, replaced by Shaun Higgins. Cascio was soon pulled for the return of Roger Levesque, his first appearance since June 20. Levesque soon had a chance at a nice cross, but couldn't reach it for a header.
In the 72nd, ex-Timber Hugo Alcaraz-Cuellar came on for C O'Brien, and would be involved in some good chances the remainder of the way.
Portland fans thought they had a goal in the 78th minute when substitute Cameron Dunn's cross from the bye line was finished by Olum, but the ball had already gone bye-bye and the flag was up for a goal kick.
For Seattle, Levesque had another good chance at 81' when he was sprung, but his first touch was too far and the ball was claimed by Knighton. Then Youssouf Kante came very close when Le Toux was 1 v 1 and dished left for the open Kante, but his shot from 10 yards hit the near post, rebounded into Knighton, and was claimed by Knighton with 90% of the ball over the line.
Back to the nastiness, Byron Alvarez and Zach Scott earned late yellow cards for late challenges against each other.
A great chance for a Seattle insurance goal was muffed at 87' when substitute Kenji Treschuk on a far post run got a nice cross from Alcaraz-Cuellar but stepped on the ball and left it behind.
For Portland at 88', Jordan seemed offside as he put a shot on goal from a broken free kick play, but never mind as goalkeeper Chris Eylander made a great save and held it. The next minute Eylander made a bold play as he pulled the ball off substitute Jamil Walker's foot in the area, preventing a shot.
Five plus minutes of added time were played, but produced naught but a dangerous cross by Alcaraz-Cuellar that was played out for a corner, which Seattle took short to kill time.
In the end, it was a classic away win for the Sounders, one that Sounders fans will long remember, one that Timbers fans will try to forget.
Statistics:
Portland Seattle
Shots: 7 8
Saves: 4 2
Corners: 0 9
Fouls: 12 12
Offsides: 3 2
Misconduct:
15' SEA: Gardner cautioned for a late challenge on Jordan
31' POR: Knowles cautioned for elbowing Le Toux in the jaw off the ball
33' POR: S Thompson sent off for a very late, deliberate challenge on Gardner
51' SEA: Cascio cautioned for a hand to Griffin's eye in the air
72' SEA: Eylander cautioned
83' POR: Alvarez cautioned for a late challenge on Scott after the ball was gone
85' SEA: Scott cautioned for a late challenge on Alvarez
Referees: Jasen Anno; Gregory Marshall, Ryan Abbott; Ahmad Shams
Attendance: 12,332
