Portland continued their solid start to the season, earned their first road victory since 2015 and continued LA's March woes -- but it wasn't easy. The Timbers scored early, then had to hang on to beat the shorthanded Galaxy 1-0 on Sunday and drop the hosts to 0-2-0 on the year.
It took just over seven minutes for the Timbers to strike, Diego Chara capping a perfectly-executed 17-second counterattack with a tap-in from close range after an unselfish feed from Diego Valeri.
The Galaxy had to play with 10 men for nearly an hour, after defender Jelle Van Damme drew two hotly-contested yellow cards in a four-minute span from the 31st to the 34th.
Goals
- 8' - POR -- Diego Chara (WATCH)
Three Things
- HISTORIC START(S): The Timbers are already off to their best start ever just two matches in. Since entering MLS in 2011, Portland had never started the season with two straight wins until this season – and Sunday's away victory was their first away from home against an MLS opponent since they won the 2015 MLS Cup final at Columbus. Meanwhile, before Sunday, the Galaxy hadn't gotten off to an 0-2 start since 2001. Both of those losses have come at the StubHub Center – where they dropped just one match in 17 regular-season outings in 2016.
- GIO OFF: Van Damme's sending-off wasn't the only thing to go wrong for the Galaxy in the first half. Forward Giovani Dos Santos appeared to pull up lame shortly after the quarter-hour mark, favoring his right leg, and was subbed off at the break. The Galaxy said Dos Santos would be evaluated on Monday.
- HOMEGROWN DEBUTS, MILLER RETURNS: Fullback Marco Farfan, an 18-year-old academy product, became Portland's youngest starter ever (and first true Homegrown starter) on Sunday, while defender Roy Miller marked his return to MLS from Costa Rican side Deportivo Saprissa on just two days' training. Miller stayed with Saprissa through their quarterfinal elimination from the CONCACAF Champions League.
