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MLS Preseason Rewind: Late goals push Timbers past Dynamo, TFC edge DCU, & more

WillJohnson (Getty)

By FRANCO PANIZO

A scoreless draw seemed to be in the books for the Portland Timbers and Houston Dynamo, but a pair of late goals ensured there would be a victor.

Will Johnson and Maximiliano Urruti each found the back of the net in the final 10 minutes to push Portland past Houston, 2-0, at Kino Sports Complex in Tucson, Ariz. on Wednesday. The victory improved the Timbers to 1-0-1 in preseason and dropped the Dynamo to 1-2.

The match – which was divided into three 30-minute periods – was on its way to ending goal-less but Gaston Fernandez and Urruti combined before Johnson scored the winner in the 80th minute. Three minutes later, Fernandez once again played the facilitator, assisting on Urruti’s insurance goal.

Here are more MLS preseason results:

DIKE FINDS LATE WINNER AS TFC TOP D.C. UNITED

In a battle of clubs with remade rosters, Toronto FC edged out D.C. United on Wednesday.

Toronto FC topped D.C., 1-0, courtesy of a late goal from Bright Dike. The decisive play in the game came in the 85th minute, with Dike finishing off a cross from the left with a one-timed finish.

Michael Bradley served as captain for Toronto in its first preseason game of the year and played 45 minutes before being substituted.

WHITECAPS KNOCK OFF INDY XI

That is the Omar Salgado the Vancouver Whitecaps are hoping to see this season.

Salgado donned the hero’s cape and helped the Whitecaps squeeze by Indy XI, scoring a late brace in a 3-2 victory over the NASL club. Salgado, who is finally healthy after struggling with injuries the past two seasons, scored in the 77th and 81st minutes to turn a 2-1 deficit into a lead for Vancouver.

Ben Fisk opened the scoring in the match with a 26th-minute goal, but Indy XI found an equalizer three minutes later. The NASL side then took a lead in the 71st before Salgado came to the rescue.

MARTINS BRACE LIFTS SOUNDERS PAST EARTHQUAKES

The Seattle Sounders are expecting Obafemi Martins to help carry more of the offensive load this season. If preseason is any indication, he seems up to the task.

The Sounders defeated the San Jose Earthquakes, 2-1, on Wednesday through a first-half brace from Martins. The Nigerian forward scored two goals in the span of three minutes, netting in the 27th and 29th to give Seattle a 2-0 lead going into halftime.

San Jose pulled one back through Mike Fucito in the 86th minute, but ran out of time before being able to find an equalizer.

CREW OUST SWEDISH CHAMPIONS MALMO

It may not have officially counted, but Gregg Berhalter saw his Columbus Crew pick up a win in his first match in charge.

The Crew picked up a 1-0 victory over Allsvenskan champions Malmo FF in Bradenton, Fla. following a second-half strike through Jairo Arrieta. The goal came following a Justin Meram free kick in the 50th minute and Columbus’ defense held firm and posted the shutout to ensure Berhalter would win his first game as Crew head coach.

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What do you think of these results?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Love seeing the Cap’n score goals, no matter if it’s preseason. Urruti is also looking good, and La Gata es fabuloso! I can’t wait to see a healthy Valeri and Zakuani in the mix. Jack, Alvas, and the new kids Tshuma, Long, & Peay looked good. I like being able to see these combinations of players that won’t be so likely once the season starts.

    Reply
  2. I think it’s a big deal that Columbus beat Malmo. Everyone who disparages MLS needs to pay attention to that one. Malmo are the Swedish champs and regular Europa league contenders. Columbus is a perrenial mid table team in MLS

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    • Dude, it’s just one friendly game during the preseason. Let’s not overreact. And, by the way, to put things in prospective, the Sweedish league is currently ranked #24 in Europe, which is 6 spots lower than Cyprus. If we want to use a good benchmark for the MLS progress, we should be measuring it by our performances against Mexican teams in the Concacaf Champions league.

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    • . . . . in other news, The Coumbus Crew have announced their pending relocation to Sweden.
      From the story:
      “When taking an informal poll of various MLS fans on social media, asking which club could, or perhaps should, be next to re-work its current logo and leave the country, one name that consistently comes up is that of the Columbus Crew. We thought, Hey! we beat Swedish champs Malmo in a preseason friendly – lets take the advice of a bunch of fools on the internet and move there! This greatly improves our prospects for adding more stars to our newly re-designed crest.”

      😉

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    • Anyone named DCUnitedWillRiseAgain might be a little dillusional….so it makes it tough to agree with you.

      But aside from that….quit worrying about guys that disparage MLS. They really don’t know soccer very well, they are the biggest bunch of whiners and they aren’t worth worrying about.
      And even if they are correct…they are NOT…so what, we have our league, enjoy the heck out of it.

      Columbus beats Malmo. Cool, better than losing, but remember KC beat ManU…but they weren’t great until they won MLS a few years later.

      Reply
  3. Martins could be set for a nice year this year, an actual offseason is a big deal. Seattle needs him to play well this year in order to score goals, otherwise they are going to need lots of goals from their midfield.

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    • Martins could have a huge year. these rumors about Seattle wanting to grab Drogba and let Martins go make no sense to me. Martins is 29 and Drogba is 35. i wouldn’t drop Martins for Drogba unless Martins has a terrible year.

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  4. Slightly formulaic reporting on the Timbers-Houston game. In most of these preseason games, at least two whole different teams are employed by each side in each match. The two Timbers goals came when mostly first stringers for both teams finally came on the pitch and the skill level went up a couple of notches.

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    • Yep, though I think the SJ-SEA match was different that of the few starters that made an appearance it was in the first half. i only watched the second and it was all trialists & reserves.

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  5. Do people really care who wins these games? I love to watch them to see what players are possibly on the bubble, or which players are going to come in. You see players playing out of position, guest players, trialists, rookies.

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    • Um, Seattle plays the Whitecaps and Timbers this week. I would rather the victory be in the West Conf finals, sure, but I want to see victories that tell me our players are better than their players.

      Reply

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