Portland Timbers 2, Colorado Rapids 1 | 2017 MLS Match Recap

German Sferra

Diego Valeri is on a roll. The Argentine midfielder scored for the fifth straight game Wednesday night, helping the Portland Timbers defeat the Colorado Rapids 2-1 at Providence Park.

With the Timbers in complete control early on, Valeri finally broke the scoring in the 23rd minute with a header from the top of the six off a cross from Vytas. Portland doubled the lead minutes later on a fantastic goal from Darlington Nagbe, who also took a pass from Vytas in the box, turned and curled in a ball to the far upper post past Tim Howard.

Colorado's Mohammed Saeid cut the lead in half shortly after when he picked up an errant pass from Lawrence Olum and placed a shot to the side net for his first career MLS goal.

Goals

21' – POR – Diego Valeri Watch
23' – POR – Darlington Nagbe Watch
28' – COL – Mohammed Saeid Watch

Three Things

RECORD SETTER: With his goal tonight, Valeri set a new personal MLS career-high with 15th tally of the season, surpassing the 14 he scored last year. It was also his 52nd as a Timbers player, setting a new club record. He's now scored in five straight games and sits third in MLS behind David Villa (19) and Nemanja Nikolic (16) with nine games to play.
VR IN PLAY: The Timbers had a chance to increase their lead in the 23rd minute thanks to Video Review. Valeri and Rapids defender Mike da Fonte got tangled up in the box, with Valeri going down. Referee David Gantar initially didn't blow his whistle, but upon further review, the decision was made to award the Timbers a penalty kick. Valeri deferred to midfielder David Guzman, who shot the ball wide left.
STREAKS AND FORM: The win was Portland third straight at home, helping the Timbers climb to 40 points and a tie for second place in the West behind Seattle (41), making the weekend meeting between the two all the more interesting. Sunday's Heineken Rivalry Week matchup is the first of three straight road games for the Timbers. Meanwhile, Colorado continued their road struggles, now 0-9-2 away from home with three more road games to go before returning home.