BY COLE KELLOGG

The Portland Timbers needed a win to avoid sliding any further down the congested Western Conference standings, and they turned to a familiar tandem to help them snap a four-match winless slide.

Fanendo Adi converted a Diego Valeri pass early in the second half, and the Timbers defense posted another shutout, to earn a 1-0 victory against the Chicago Fire at Providence Park on Friday night.

Valeri whipped in a low cross that Fire goalkeeper Sean Johnson couldn’t corral, and the ball found Adi at the doorstep, and he converted the look to give the Timbers the lead.

The Fire never really threatened on a night when the home side had the better of the chances overall.

Both sides had a few solid chances to find the back of the net, but for one reason or another the match stayed scoreless for most of the night.

In the 15th minute, a goal by Rodney Wallace was flagged off for a handball. Wallace controlled the ball with his chest and arm before chipping it in over Sean Johnson, but the referee saw the infringement and called it back.

In the 18th minute, Fanendo Adi similarly controlled and struck a ball past Johnson. This time, the Portland attacker was called offsides, and the match remained scoreless.

Jason Johnson missed a golden opportunity to get the Fire ahead ten minutes from halftime. Portland’s goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey mistakenly rolled the ball right in front of Johnson, but the forward only made weak contact to put it right back into the goalkeeper’s hands.

The Timbers travel to Rio Tinto Stadium next Saturday to face off against Real Salt Lake, while the Fire go to PPL Park to take on the Philadelphia Union.