Portland, Oregon. On Saturday night, FC Cincinnati defeated the Portland Timbers 3-2 to grab the lead in the Eastern Conference and Supporters Shield contests as Kvin Denkey scored early to start a three-goal first half.
After Cincinnati had failed to score in its last two games, Denkey scored unassisted in just ten minutes to give the team the lead (16-7-4). In his first 23 league games, he has scored 12 goals.
Fifteen minutes later, Pavel Bucha scored his third goal without help, giving Cincinnati a 2-0 lead.
In the 36th minute, Evander da Silva Ferreira gave his old colleagues a three-goal lead. Evander’s 15th goal tied the career mark he established with the Timbers the previous season. During his two seasons with Portland, he scored 24 goals and provided 19 assists.
Two minutes later, Kevin Kelsy scored his first goal of the season against his old side with an assist from Ariel Lassiter, cutting the deficit to 3-1 by halftime for the Timbers (10-9-7) against his old team.
In the 68th minute, Kelsy’s first penalty kick of the season brought Portland within one goal. It was Kelsy’s eighth goal, one more than he scored as a rookie for Cincinnati the previous season. After Juan Mosquera drew a foul on Stiven Jimenez, the PK was given.
In Cincinnati’s first trip to Portland, Roman Celantano recorded three saves.
The Timbers had two shots saved by Maxime Cr peau.
Cincinnati has nine road victories, which is more than expansion team San Diego FC has.
On Saturday, Cincinnati will host New York City FC. On Saturday, the Timbers will travel to San Diego to play.
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