Evander scored his 16th goal and assisted his ninth in his first match against his former club as FC Cincinnati held on to a 3-2 victory over the host Portland Timbers on Saturday night.
Kevin Denkey added his 13th goal and Pavel Bucha also scored for Cincinnati (16-7-4, 52 points), which leaped to a 3-0 lead in the first half before enduring late nerves. The win moved the visitors atop the Eastern Conference and Supporters’ Shield standings after Philadelphia’s loss to the New York Red Bulls earlier Saturday.
San Diego (15-7-4, 49 points) could go back above Cincinnati on goal-difference in the Shield race with a victory at San Jose on Sunday.
Kevin Kelsy scored his sixth and seventh goals for Portland (10-9-7, 37 points) while also playing against his former club. But the Timbers, who sit sixth in the West, lost their second in a row and fourth out of six in league play.
Cincinnati was more efficient than dominant in roaring to its lead. And Evander, who moved from Portland in a cash trade worth a reported $12 million fee in February, was involved in all three goals while targeted by boos from Portland fans on nearly every touch.
In the 10th minute, the Brazilian cleverly let Bucha’s diagonal pass progress through his legs before it reached Denkey on the left side of the penalty area for his finish past Maxime Crepeau.
In the 25th minute, Evander squeezed a pass through a very narrow opening to find Bucha on the right side of the area, where he sent a potentially deflected shot that beat Crepeau to his near post.
Then in the 36th minute, Evander finally added his own goal, receiving a pass from Matt Miazga and unleashing a powerful effort from beyond the box that beat Crepeau to the top left corner.
Kelsy answered Evander’s goal two minutes later, eluding two defenders with a cutback before driving his low finish past Roman Celentano.
Then he pulled Portland within a goal from the penalty spot in the 68th minute following Stiven Jimenez’s late challenge on Juan Mosquera.
Portland pressured for the equalizer, but the two best late chances may have been Cincy’s.
Only moments after Kelsy’s second, Kei Kamara rattled the crossbar with his effort. Then Crepeau used his leg to deny Bucha a second goal at close range in the 80th minute.
–Field Level Media
