The StubHub Center isn’t a place that the Portland Timbers enjoy going to very often, but with the potential to make a record three wins in a row, spirits were running high. In front of a 20,089 crowd in LA, it was only a game that many could not wait to kick off and see how two of the best supported sides in the whole country were going to get on.

Portland Timbers Defense Breaks

LA opened the game well when they kept the ball with consummate ease, but they struggled to show any real signs of breaking down the solid Timbers defence. Robbie Rogers especially was struggling to make an impact, but in the first game that Darlington Nagbe has missed for what feels like forever, the Timbers just couldn’t get the 3 points they so desperately needed.

Rogers poor start to the game was compounded when fantastic work by Valeri, very much the star man in recent weeks, took him by surprise. Valeri won the ball, fed Gaston Fernandez, and before anything else he was brought to the deck for a Timbers free-kick outside the Galaxy box.

Valeri made no mistake, bagging his third goal in a row against the LA side. It took a slight nick off Gyasi Zardes, but it was a stunning hit none the less and exactly what the Timbers Army have come to expect from the little Argentine.

Galaxy got into motion and as Rogers grew into the game, so did they. Zardes came closest with a header off the bar in the 30^th, before Keane pulled the best out of Donovan Ricketts in goal six minutes later. Zardes scored three minutes into half-time stoppage time after good work down the wing from Rogers who hit a stunning cross to Zardes six yards out. Sometimes, you just need to crdit the opposition and it was a fine goal.

Irish legend Robbie Keane eventually hit the back of the net with a cracking finish to nice play from the Galaxy. Donovan took a good ball from Keane on the left before chipping it far post where Keane’s great movement brought him into scoring distance, where he stooped low and put his team ahead.

The Irishman was at it again in the 85^th, scoring a penalty after Diego Chara brought down Juninho on the line.

Portland Timbers 1st loss in six Attempts

This was the first loss that the Timbers have suffered to the Galaxy in six attempts, so it’s a bitter blow to lose to a rival especially when the points were equal before the game. However, all is not lost as the Timbers have shown more than enough in the season so far to show that they are moving in the right direction under Caleb Porter. Many questions to be asked, but we’ve also had plenty of answers in recent times, too.

Some fans might question where the club is going following the 3^rd place finish last year, but we all know volatile a sport soccer can be, so let’s continue to keep backing the team and show that outstanding support next time up.

Image © Portland Timbers

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