Portland Timbers forward Felipe Mora, front right, celebrates his second-half goal against the Colorado Rapids during an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
The Associated Press
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - George Fochive scored the go-ahead goal on a header in the 68th minute and the Portland Timbers beat Los Angeles FC 2-1 on Sunday night.
The Timbers (11-10-4) moved into fifth place in the Western Conference and extended their undefeated streak to five games.
Dairon Asprilla had an early goal for Portland. Cristian Arango tied it on a penalty in the first half, his fifth straight game with a goal.
'œThese were a huge three points, a very important one for us,'ť Fochive said. 'œWe were home so we owed it to ourselves to push for it. I think we managed the game pretty well, but we needed to win this game. So I think when I came in I was trying to take a little bit more chances, going forward, just putting numbers in there, and then just defending harder than them.'ť
Los Angeles (9-10-6) had won three in a row. It had an eight-game winless streak this summer to drop to 11th in the standings, but rebounded and went into the game in eighth, just a point back of Portland and Minnesota.
'œA hard loss," LAFC coach Bob Bradley said. "I thought our overall mentality was really good, some big chances that we didn't take advantage of, and in a tight, hard, hard fought game, really would have been important for us to get to 2-1 with the lead.'ť
Portland went ahead in the 21st minute on Asprilla's header. But a short time later a handball in the box gave LAFC a penalty that Arango buried. Portland's Sebastian Blanco was handed a yellow card for arguing that the ball hit him on the side, not on the arm. It was Arango's fifth straight game with a goal.
Fochive scored his second goal of the season to break the stalemate. LAFC had a chance to tie it again with a dangerous free kick in the 77th, but Brian Rodriguez's kick went over the wall and wide.
It appeared that Felipe Mora added another goal for the the Timbers in the 86th minute, but it was ruled offside after a video review.
Carlos Vela (right quad) and Eduard Atuesta (right ankle) remained out of LAFC's lineup because of injury.
The Timbers tied Colorado 2-2 on Wednesday. LAFC was coming off a 2-1 victory at Austin on Wednesday.
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Portland Timbers forward Felipe Mora celebrates his second-half goal against the Colorado Rapids during an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
The Associated Press
Portland Timbers forward Felipe Mora, second from right, and teammates celebrate his second-half goal against the Colorado Rapids during an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
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Portland Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco, right, celebrates his goal in extra time to give the Timbers a 2-2 draw with the Colorado Rapids durin an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
The Associated Press
Portland Timbers forward Felipe Mora (9) heads the ball against Los Angeles FC during an MLS soccer match Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
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Portland Timbers forward Felipe Mora, left, pushes the ball ahead during an MLS soccer match against Los Angeles FC, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
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Portland Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco pushes the ball ahead during an MLS soccer match against Los Angeles FC, Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
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Portland Timbers defender Josecarlos Van Rankin heads the ball against Los Angeles FC during an MLS soccer match Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
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Portland Timbers defender Claudio Bravo gets ready to throw the ball in against Los Angeles FC during an MLS soccer match Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
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Portland Timbers midfielder Yimmi Chara readies a corner kick against Los Angeles FC during an MLS soccer match Sunday, Sept. 19, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
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Portland Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco (10) winds up for a shot on goal during an MLS soccer match against the Colorado Rapids, Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021 in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
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Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco (10) has his shot blocked by Colorado Rapids goalkeeper William Yarbrough during an MLS soccer match Wednesday, Sept. 15, 2021, in Portland, Ore. (Sean Meagher/The Oregonian via AP)
The Associated Press