Club América defeats Portland and collects six points becoming one of the few Liga MX teams to succeed thus far in the Leagues Cup. Over the span of two games the Aguilas have scored six goals after defeating San Diego first and now the Timbers. Next, América will close out the group stage with a game against MLS side Austin who also remains undefeated so far in the tournament.
It only took a few minutes for the visitors to get the ball rolling at Providence Park. Actually it only took five minutes. In the fifth minute the Aguilas received a free-kick outside of the box after a reckless foul from a Portland player. Brian Rodriguez stepped up to take the free-kick and he sent the ball to the top corner where Trey Muse was unable to reach it. Rodriguez is known for these kinds of shots and Portland was not ready for the ball at all and for América to take the lead so quickly.
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It seemed as if Portland did not learn their lesson from the first goal after they decided to commit another foul right outside the box just three minutes later. Rodriguez once again stepped up but this time Muse was ready for the strike and he blocked the shot hurling towards his goal. The Timbers did not have their first big chance at goal until the 10th minute when they were awarded a corner kick. The team opted for a short corner where the ball ended at the feet of Cole Bassett who shot it towards goal but it went wide of the target. A few minutes later they had back-to-back chances to score but they were unable to convert them. It wasn’t until the 19th minute when they did capitalize on their chance. Goalkeeper Rodolfo Cota received the ball in front of his net as he was rushed by a green jersey so he kicked the ball out of his box but it went straight to Kristoffer Velde. Velde took the opportunity and made Cota pay for his mistake as he got the ball past the goalkeeper and into the net to equalize the game.
With the game all tied-up the rest of the half is filled with both teams attempting to break the deadlock. The home side had some opportunities and so did the visitors. The Timbers actually had a big chance right before the half after another defensive mistake. Youngster Dagoberto Espinoza slipped just as Velde made his way up the field. Velde took the chance to make his way into the box where he only had Cota to beat but this time he sent the ball past the far post instead of inside of the net. Both teams went into the locker room frustrated with the tie hoping for a different outcome in the second half.
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América got the second half rolling with a chance at goal just a few minutes into the half. They were awarded a corner kick where Rodriguez sent the ball into the box looking for defender Israel Reyes. Unfortunately Reyes was unable to head the ball towards the back of the net as his shot went wide. The defender is one of those players that is a big danger when it comes to stopped balls. It’s one of his specialties that, on top with his defending, was a reason he has been asked about by some European teams. Sadly none of those inquiries have been serious but hopefully one of them does turn out as a sale. The game was going back and forth for a while until there was a breakthrough in the 63rd minute. Rodriguez once again made his way into the box where he took a shot from the edge but the ball hit the post instead. The rebound then landed at the feet of an unmarked Isaias Violante who sent the ball into the back of the net. This was a big lapse by the Timbers defense who had no one marking the young attacker and just like that they found themselves down a goal.
The Timbers then attempted to draw the game level with chances at goal. Bassett and Kelsy both had chances at goal but their shots were either collected by Cota or went just wide of the net. Even with their chances at goal, it was América who was in the driver’s seat of the game. They were then able to push the final nail in the coffin in the 88th minute. The Timbers were in the Aguilas box but the defense was able to stop any chances and got the ball out of danger with a long ball to the middle of the field. Surman headed the incoming ball backwards looking for a teammate but instead it found the feet of Oscar Perea. Perea then took the ball and raced towards the net, losing his marks and sending the ball past Muse for the third of the night, his first with the club, to seal the win for América.
While many believed this was going to be a difficult season for the Aguilas, everything has gone right for the team so far. They currently sit at the top of Liga MX table and now will continue on in the Leagues Cup and hopefully make it far to show that Mexican teams can dominate in this competition. Before that, however, América must defeat Austin who are also undefeated in the competition.
