FC Cincinnati made it party time in the Queen City on Sunday night, as they beat the Portland Timbers, 3-0, at Nippert Stadium in their first-ever MLS home match.
Kendall Waston found the opener in the 15th minute, when he rose high on a free kick to head home for the expansion club. The Costa Rican center back benefited from Leonardo Bertone’s service.
Up 1-0, the Orange and Blue doubled their advantage in the 61st minute via midfielder Allan Cruz. The Costa Rican midfielder made a late run into the box, then sent home a cheeky backheel that caught Portland goalkeeper Jeff Attinella off guard.
Left back Mathieu Deplagne quickly made it 3-0 in the 63rd minute. He latched onto a Darren Mattocks cross at the back post, sending The Bailey into pure bedlam.
To make matters worse, Portland center back Larrys Mabiala was sent off in the 70th minute after receiving a second yellow card. It was the second straight week they went down to 10 men.
The Timbers' best opportunities both came in the 32nd minute, when they forced goalkeeper
Spencer Richey
into two saves in quick succession. He first denied a long-distance drive from
Bill Tuiloma
, then sprawled to rob
Dairon Asprilla
atop the goalmouth.
Goals
- 15' – CIN – Kendall Waston | WATCH
- 61' – CIN – Allan Cruz | WATCH
- 63' – CIN – Mathieu Deplagne | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: FC Cincinnati has now earned points in back-to-back weeks against 2018 MLS Cup finalists. However, it was hard to ignore the absence of Diego Chara for Portland, who was suspended after receiving a red card last week vs. LAFC. Since 2016, the Timbers are now 0-6-13 without the Colombian midfielder. Comparatively, they have a 45-22-27 record with Chara in the XI across the same span.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: The energy was palpable all week in the buildup to the Orange and Blue’s MLS home opener, and then Kendall Waston brought the house down. The towering center back headed Leonardo Bertone's free kick, causing pure elation from the capacity crowd of 32,500.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: While Kendall Waston's header will go down in the record books, the impact of Cincy midfielder Allan Cruz can't be understated. The Herediano product was buzzing around all afternoon and bagged his first-ever MLS goal. Not bad from the 23-year-old. Not bad at all.
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Next Up
- CIN: March 24 at New England Revolution (4 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+ in US, on DAZN in Canada)
- POR: March 31 at LA Galaxy (9 pm ET | ESPN2, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
