PORTLAND, Ore. – Kendall McIntosh saved a pair of penalty kicks as the Portland Timbers 2 took a 2-1 victory against Rio Grande Valley FC on Saturday night at Providence Park. T2’s Villyan Bijev had the first good effort on goal in just the second minute as he forced a low save by RGVFC goalkeeper Marco Carducci from 25 yards. Portland continued to have better chances, and while RGVFC’s Eric Bird had two chances blocked midway through the first half for the visitors, T2 took the lead in the 26th minute as Omar Mohammed stole possession in the penalty area and fired low into the right corner. The Toros’ Todd Wharton lashed a volley just over from 20 yards soon after, but the visitors got back on level terms in the 31st minute as Joe Holland headed home a cross by Kai Greene from the left. RGVFC got the chance to take then lead early in the second half when Jose Escalante was brought down in the penalty area, but T2 goalkeeper McIntosh saved from Escalante from the spot to keep the game level. Portland’s Russell Cicerone shot over the crossbar in the 69th minute, but with nine minutes to go a fine finish by Villyan Bijev found the left corner of the net. T2’s McIntosh was then called upon for more heroics after RGVFC was awarded a second penalty kick with three minutes to go. He did so, denying Wharton’s shot to the right corner, and after the Toros were reduced to 10 men when Eric Bird received a second yellow card, T2 saw out its victory..

Scoring:
26’ – POR – Omar Mohammed
31’ – RGV – Joe Holland (Kai Greene)
81’ – POR – Villyan Bijev (Omar Mohammed)

• #PORvRGV: Full Match and Opta Box Score

Three Things That Matter:

• 1. T2 was in danger of suffering another disappointing home result after a good performance, but thanks to Villyan Bijev’s outstanding late finish the side claimed its first home victory of the season. Portland had created the better chances early in the contest, and were rewarded with Omar Mohammed’s good individual effort resulted in the opening goal. While it seemed for a while that the Toros’ reply via a good header by Joe Holland would leave T2 with only a point for its efforts, though, Bijev capitalized on a clever buildup that saw Mohammed lay off to the top of the penalty area and rifled home into the left corner of the net.

• 2. Bijev’s goal would have been for naught if not for Portland goalkeeper Kendall McIntosh, who came up with another outstanding performance that included a pair of penalty kick saves that denied the Toros in the second half. A former U.S. U20 international, McIntosh has had a stellar season in goal, leading the league in saves, and with denials of both Jose Escalante and Todd Wharton from the penalty spot he continued to burnish his reputation. McIntosh is one of the strong young goalkeepers waiting for their chance in the top flight in the USL, but if he keeps performing the way he did on Saturday night that opportunity might come sooner rather than later.

• 3. While Portland celebrated McIntosh’s success in the showdowns from the penalty spot, RGVFC was left to rue another night when things just didn’t seem to go right. Opening a three-game trip to the Pacific Northwest, the Toros could have claimed victory on another night, particularly if Escalante’s penalty kick when the score was still tied had been converted. Now the side will head on to Vancouver without the services of leader Eric Bird after his red card late in the contest, and plenty of work to do still to get back in the playoff picture.

USLSoccer.com Man of the Match

Kendall McIntosh, Portland Timbers 2 – McIntosh’s two penalty kick saves were two of the three key moments in the second half that allowed T2 to win on home turf for the first time this season.

Upcoming Games:
Portland Timbers 2 at Colorado Springs Switchbacks FC – August 5, 8 p.m. ET, Weidner Field
Rio Grande Valley FC at Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2 – August 2, 3 p.m. ET, Thunderbird Stadium