The Portland Timbers could not have asked for a much better start to the MLS season.
Playing in the final Week 1 match of the new campaign, the Timbers defeated the Philadelphia Union, 3-1, on a rainy night inside a packed Jeld-Wen Field in Portland, Ore. The hosts fell behind early in the second half, but responded with three unanswered goals from newcomers Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Kris Boyd and Kalif Alhassan.
Portland looked the better side for much of the game, including in a first half that was largely uneventful. The Timbers used speed on the wings to threaten the Union's back line, and that ultimately resulted in a win for them.
It was Philadelphia, however, that took the lead first. Panamanian midfielder Gabriel Gomez, playing in his first match with the Union, curled a free kick off Jean-Baptiste and into the back of the net in the 51st minute.
The Union's joy did not last long, as three minutes later Jean-Baptiste got some revenge when he headed home a free kick from captain Jack Jewsbury. Union goalkeeper Zac MacMath should have done better on the play, but the wet conditions saw the ball slip under him after initially getting a touch on it.
Boyd, the Scottish Premier League's all-time leading scorer, then gave the Union a 2-1 lead in the 66th minute when he got on the end of a cross from Alhassan from the right flank and headed it to the far post past a helpless MacMath.
Alhassan went from provider to goal-scorer ten minutes later, hitting what looked to be a cross into the sidenetting to cap off Portland's impressive victory.
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