Giving plenty of young players extended opportunities, the Portland Timbers earned a 3-1 victory over Orange County SC on Wednesday in the third round of the Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup.
It was a heavily rotated lineup for the Timbers featuring multiple T2 players and plenty of typical bench contributors. Sebastián Blanco started in the midfield and wore the captain’s armband for the Timbers in his return from chronic knee issues, and he looked spry in a 34-minute stint before being replaced by Jaroslaw Niezgoda.
Blanco was involved from the jump, feeding a ball in to striker Tega Ikoba in the fourth minute that Ikoba wasn’t able to settle at his feet. Eight minutes later, Blanco drew a foul just outside the box that set up a dangerous free kick for Portland.
In the 30th, Blanco received a yellow card for an aggressive slide tackle, seemingly a sign that no physical limitations were going to change the fiery Argentine midfielder’s play style.
Portland broke through with its first goal in the 37th minute. Niezgoda played a ball central to Marvin Loría, who rifled one home from just outside the box to make it 1-0 Timbers. He then put the ball in his shirt as a celebration of the upcoming birth of his first child.
Orange County’s issues at the back continued into the second half, and Portland took advantage. Center back Tyler Clegg — on loan from T2 — scored his debut goal with the first team on a header in the 48th minute, fed in by Pablo Bonilla.
Portland had a breakdown of its own on the back line just six minutes later, allowing Orange County to pull a goal back on the goal by Milan Iloski in the 54th minute to make it 2-1.
OC threatened again in the 69th minute, forcing young Timbers goalkeeper Hunter Sulte to make a pair of diving saves. He pumped his fist with intensity as Portland clung to its one-goal advantage.
Justin Rasmussen nearly scored a wonder goal for the Timbers in the 85th minute, firing one with tremendous pace that nicked the post and out.
With veterans along the back line in Eric Miller and Larrys Mabiala, Portland was able to keep OC from finding the equalizer down the stretch. Former Timbers player Brent Richards nearly scored in the 89th minute, though, on a curling take that forced a diving save by Sulte.
Niezgoda scored in the early moments of stoppage time to make it 3-1 Timbers. A ball in the air appeared headed for goalkeeper Cody Cropper’s hands, but it fell to the turf as Cropper’s jump was impacted by the nearby presence of Nathan Fogaça. Niezgoda got on the ball and smacked it home with ease to seal the deal.
The Timbers return to regular-season play with a road tilt at St. Louis City SC on Saturday. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT with a live stream available for free on the Apple TV app.
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com, Twitter: @RyanTClarke