The Orlando City U23s of the Premier Development League (PDL) met the Portland Timbers at Providence Park in Portland, Ore., Tuesday in the Fourth Round of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup. Normally a quality amateur team coming to visit a professional team wouldn’t raise too many eyebrows, but the Timbers have suffered two home losses to amateur clubs in recent history so no one was taking anything for granted.
The 2014 edition of the Timbers weren’t bothered at all by the ghosts of Hollywood United (2008) and Cal FC (2012) as the home team cruised to a 3-0 win over Orlando.
Midfielder Gaston Fernandez led the team with a pair of goals while rookie defender Taylor Peay showed a sign of what may be on the horizon with a goal of his own.
Orlando came out fighting, earning a couple of early chances but it wasn’t able to convert. Forward Romario Williams managed two of Orlando’s five shots, but neither was on frame.
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Portland went up early in the first half on a rocket from Fernandez in the 11th minute. He would score again on a penalty in the 36th minute after Orlando keeper Tomas Gomez came off his line and took down Portland forward Maxi Urruti.
“I thought the second half actually was better than the first half,” Portland coach Caleb Porter said. “The first half for me, wasn’t convincing enough. I thought the first half was a little sloppy. We gave some balls away that we shouldn’t. Not a convincing 2-0 at halftime so I tightened the screws a bit.”
Portland’s third goal came in the 68th minute from Peay, making his debut for the Timbers.
“It’s something I’ll remember for the rest of my life,” he said about scoring in his first match. “It’s a good feeling. Caleb stressed the importance of this game and every game from now on. Our goal is to raise a trophy at the end so that’s what we’re going to do.”
HIGHLIGHTS: ORLANDO CITY U23s AT PORTLAND TIMBERS
POST-GAME INTERVIEWS
POST-GAME INTERVIEW: CALEB PORTER
FULL MATCH REPLAY: ORLANDO CITY U23s AT PORTLAND TIMBERS
Scoring Summary
POR: Fernández (Urruti), 11
POR: Fernández (penalty kick), 36
POR: Peay (Urruti), 68
Misconduct Summary
n/a
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Weber, D Powell (Peay, 56), D O’Rourke, D McKenzie, D Harrington, M Jewsbury ©, M Fernández (Fochive, 71), M Nanchoff, F Alhassan, F Urruti, F Wallace (Tshuma, 80)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Gleeson, D Villafaña, M Long
TOTAL SHOTS: 21 (Urruti, 5);
SHOTS ON GOAL: 10 (Urruti, 3);
FOULS: 14 (Alhassan, 4);
OFFSIDES: 2;
CORNER KICKS: 14;
SAVES: 1
ORL: GK Gomez, D Brinkman (Johnson, 76), D Svantesson, D Okwuonu, D Russell (Rittmeyer, 69), M Clowes ©, M Souto (Blackwood, 46), M Franke, M Brody, M Sexius, F Williams
Substitutes Not Used: GK Uzcategui, M Popo
TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (Williams, 5);
SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Souto, 1);
FOULS: 9 (Russell, 3);
OFFSIDES: 2;
CORNER KICKS: 1;
SAVES: 7
Referee: Juan Guzman
Assistant Referees: Carlos Tercero, Lucas Brooks
4th Official: Andrew Brooks
Attendance: 10,619