Timbers blank Red Bulls, 2-0
PORTLAND, Ore. — Diego Valeri got his 51st career goal and 51st career assist in the same game.
Valeri, the 18th player in the league to reach 50 of each, scored one goal and assisted on the other in a 2-0 Portland Timbers’ victory over the New York Red Bulls on Friday night. The Red Bulls, who had won five of their previous six games, rested Bradley Wright-Phillips after a short turnaround because of a U.S. Open Cup semifinal earlier in this week.
Valeri’s goal in the 66th minute tied him with Fanendo Adi for the most in franchise history across all eras. He leads all Portland scorers this season.
“A nice goal, and quality. And we needed it in that moment,” Valeri said. “They were pressing us really well, I think they played in a very aggressive way. We knew we needed to fight for it and we got the result.”
Second-half sub Darren Mattocks added a goal — his second of the season — for the Timbers just as stoppage time ran out at the end. Valeri fed the ball to Mattocks.
The Timbers were 2-2-1 in their previous five games, including a 4-1 loss at Toronto last weekend. With the win, Portland (10-9-7) moved into third place in the Western Conference. The Red Bulls (12-10-2) sit in fourth in the East.
New York was coming off a 3-2 come-from-behind U.S. Open Cup semifinal victory over FC Cincinnati on Tuesday night.
The Red Bulls didn’t bring in midfielder Sacha Kljestan until the second half, and left Wright-Phillips on the bench for the duration. Midfielder Daniel Royer missed his second game with a knee injury.
Kljestan leads the league with 12 assists this season, while Wright-Phillips is ranked third with 14 goals, tied with Valeri.
The Red Bulls lost defender Aurelien Collin in the 27th minute, and coach Jesse Marsch said after the game he’d been struggling with plantar fasciitis. The fact that Collin had to be subbed out so early played a role in Marsch deciding to keep Wright-Phillips out at the end.
Valeri, who scored the lone goal last week in the loss to the Reds, took a pass from Diego Chara in the corner and caught New York goalkeeper Luis Robles off guard from atop the box.
In a scoreless first half, the Timbers couldn’t manage to break through despite a few good opportunities.