Trailing by two goals in the second half, the Portland Timbers staged a huge rally for a dramatic 3-2 win over the Houston Dynamo in a nationally televised Western Conference matchup Sunday at Providence Park.
After Lucas Melano sliced Houston’s lead in half in the 64th minute, Diego Valeri buried two penalty kicks after David Horst was whistled for a handball in the box and goalkeeper Joe Willis– a halftime sub for Tyler Deric– was called for a disputed penalty on Melano.
Andrew Wenger and Will Bruin scored within two minutes of each other in the first half – both assisted by Boniek García– to give Houston an unlikely advantage on the road before Portland came from behind to remain unbeaten in their last five.
Box Score
- 28’ – HOU – Andrew Wenger (Boniek Garcia)
- 30’ – HOU – Will Bruin (Boniek Garcia)
- 64’ – POR – Lucas Melano (Diego Valeri)
- 82’ – POR – Diego Valeri PK
- 90+1’ – POR – Diego Valeri PK
- Full box score
- Stats
- Watch highlights
Three Things
1. PORTLAND PK PARTY: Just when the Timbers may have thought they’d miss a big opportunity to secure three home points against the Western Conference’s last-place team, Valeri stepped up to the spot -- twice. Houston didn’t protest the first penalty call as Horst did appear to touch the ball with his arm in the box. They were far more angry about the second one as Willis and Melano converged on the ball, with the Dynamo arguing a touch before the Argentine went down. Valeri, meanwhile, left no doubt on the PKs, blasting the first one into the upper corner of the net before cheekily putting the second one down the middle for the stoppage-time winner.
2. EVENTFUL NIGHT FOR WILLIS: Willis surely didn’t expect to have much of an impact on Saturday’s game when he started it on the bench. But when starting goalkeeper Deric had to come off at halftime due to dehydration, he was called into action and immediately tested, making a few nice saves.
3. BRUIN SNAPS DROUGHT: The good news for the Dynamo is that Bruin broke an 11-game scoreless drought to score his 50th career goal. Perhaps that shouldn’t be too surprising as the 26-year-old forward now has five goals in his last five games vs. Portland. Still, it was a great thing to see for the Dynamo, who also got a very nice goal from Andrew Wenger and really took it to the defending champs in the first half, looking far better than their record may indicate.
Next Up
- POR: Wednesday, June 29 vs. LA Galaxy, US Open Cup (10:30 pm ET, YouTube) + Monday, July 4 at Colorado Rapids (9 pm ET, MLS LIVE)
- HOU: Wednesday, June 29 vs. Sporting Kansas City in US Open Cup (8:30 pm ET, YouTube) + Saturday, July 2 vs. Philadelphia Union (9 pm ET, MLS LIVE)
