For the first time since their inaugural season in 2015, the Portland Timbers MLS Next Pro side Portland Timbers2 competed in the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
The MLS club’s second team hosted National Premier Soccer League power El Farolito, a club that was once known as the 1993 Open Cup champion under a previous name, Club Deportivo Mexico. El Farolito last competed in the 2017 and 2019 of the tournament.
Back in the tournament for the first time since 2019, El Farolito stunned a shorthanded Timbers2, 2-1 with goals from Johann Yabur and Dembor Benson in the second half.
“It’s a great experience to be back in the Cup,” El Farolito coach Santiago Lopez said. “The difference? Strategy. We knew their formation, we knew how to neutralize them under pressure. They never changed any formation, going a man down.”
EL FAROLITO—amateur side in San Francisco named after local burrito joint—beat Portland Timbers 2 in 1st round of US Open Cup on Tuesday night. Would be like Nashville reserves losing to Prince’s Hot Chicken. ????????????#SaveTheCup #KeepTheUSOpenCupWeirdpic.twitter.com/o6sG26ir4I
— Men in Blazers (@MenInBlazers) March 20, 2024
Early on in the first half, El Farolito exploited their strong play and physicality to have the majority of the early chances at goal. But as the half wore on, T2 consistently caught them on the counter and through their speed.
KeeSean Ferdinand pounded on a mishandled ball in the box in the 30th minute, scoring from close range to lift Portland to a 1-0 lead it would hold through halftime despite an 8-6 shots deficit.
But El Farolito’s Santiago Lopez said the message was simple at halftime: “Score two in the next 45 — and that’s what happened.”
El Farolito, Oh ???? @elfarolito_npsl #USOC2024 pic.twitter.com/a5ZrwMMW3I
— U.S. Open Cup (@opencup) March 20, 2024
Timbers2 was wearing down El Farolito with their superior speed and wide play, but in the 53rd minute everything changed when T2’s Harvey Neville picked up his second yellow card, leaving his team down a player for the rest of the game.
That gave El Farolito an opportunity to mount a comeback. Yabur equalized in the 52nd minute, heading home off a beautiful cross from second-half substitute Judas Higuera to give the visitors a chance.
Benson then completed the comeback in the 68th minute, scoring the winner from teammate Jonatan Valdivia that sent El Farolito to the Cup’s second round.
T2 had one final chance in the last minutes, when Kyle Linhares was one-on-one with El Farolito goalkeeper Lizarralde. But Linhares’ shot sailed a foot wide.
El Farolito after the match getting the 2-1 win over Timbers2 in the @opencup pic.twitter.com/XvgdcBocnD
— Adam Susman (@Adam_Susman) March 20, 2024
“It was the first time for all of our players, for the team, for most of the staff on the bench, myself included, that we played the U.S. Open Cup game,” T2 head coach Serge Dinkota said. “We mentioned in the pregame that it was going to be a difficult game with maturity and experience required.”
