Dairon Asprilla scored what it surely an MLS Goal of the Year contender on a 30 yard bicycle kick in the 55th minute, which along with a first half goal by Diego Chará led the Timbers to a 2-0 win over the San Jose Earthquakes on Wednesday night at Providence Park.
In just the 7th minute, the Earthquakes would have one of their best scoring chances of the night when Javier Eduardo López caught Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark off his line and attempted a shot from behind midfield, but the Timbers keeper managed to retreat and just parry it wide.
In the 30th minute, it appeared a Yimmi Chará shot was stopped by a San Jose handball, but no call was made by the referee, and the play was not reviewed by VAR. Timbers manager Gio Savarese received a yellow card for complaining about the non-call.
But four minutes later, the Timbers did make a chance pay off when a nice series of passes ended with Felipe Mora playing a nice pass to Diego Chará, who one-timed a shot past Earthquakes goalkeeper JT Marcinkowski, and the Timbers had a 1-0 lead. Mora and Diego Chará had good chances before the half but could not convert, and the Timbers held a 1-0 lead at the break.
In the 55th minute, Dairon Asprilla would score the most spectacular Timbers goal that Timbers fans have seen in many years. Santiago Moreno played the ball forward but Marcinkowski would reach it first. However the San Jose keeper fumbled the ball and Asprilla was there to get control and juggled it with his back to the net before unleashing a spectacular bicycle kick attempt from 30 yards out that was over the retreating San Jose players and was into the net, and the Timbers had grabbed a 2-0 lead.
Four minutes later, the Timbers nearly added a third when Cristhian Paredes had a golden opportunity after a San Jose save on a Mora header, but the shot saved, and his rebound attempt was off-target. In the 83rd minute, the Timbers somehow failed to score after a brilliant run by Sebastián Blanco resulted in a shot that was cleared off the San Jose line, with Josecarlos Van Rankin‘s rebound shot hitting off the crossbar, before Aprilla’s rebound attempt was saved wide.
But the Timbers would hold on for an important 2-0 win.
Steve Clark had 5 saves to earn the shutout, while San Jose’s JT Marcinkowski recorded 10 saves.
