FILE — Portland Timbers forward Antony moves the ball against Seattle Sounders midfielder Albert Rusnák, left, during the second half of an MLS soccer match, Thursday, July 16, 2026, in Seattle.
Lindsey Wasson / AP
With a new coach at the helm, the Portland Timbers bounced back from their weekend loss in Leagues Cup play to defeat Club Tijuana 3-1 Thursday night at Providence Park.
Kevin Kelsy and Antony each scored and had an assist, and Ariel Lassiter also scored to power the Timbers to victory and new coach Martí Cifuentes’ first club win.
Cifuentes took the reins from interim coach Jack Cassidy after he filled in for Phil Neville, who was fired in May. Cassidy led the team to a 3-0-1 record in MLS play, helping the team move back into contention for postseason play. Cassidy also went 1-1 in the Leagues Cup.
In Cifuentes’ debut Thursday night, Club Tijuana struck first when Mourad El Ghezouani scored in the 19th minute on a cross from Alan Vega.
Portland responded in the 40th minute as Jimer Fory delivered a cross to the back left post that Kelsy knocked in.
In the second half, Kelsy took a rebound and passed the ball across the goal to Antony who slotted it in, putting the Timbers ahead in the 64th minute.
Antony later delivered a pass across the goal that Ariel Lassiter tapped into the net, putting the game away.
Portland finished 2-1 in the midseason tournament pitting MLS teams and against opponents from Mexico’s Liga MX. The two wins weren’t enough to propel them into the knockout round, though, as the team finished seventh in the cup standings.
The Timbers opened the tournament last Thursday with a 5-1 blowout of Clup Puebla but lost 3-0 to Club América on Sunday. The two wins gained Portland six points, but several MLS teams won all three of their qualifying matches and only the top four MLS teams move onto the elimination phase.
The Timbers return to MLS play on the road at 3 p.m. on Aug. 16 against Chicago.
