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Jeremy Ebobisse had a breakout performance in his first start at the MLS level last July, recording a goal and an assist to lead the Portland Timbers to a 2-1 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps. He finished his rookie season with a goal and three assists in just 317 minutes.

But despite a promising rookie season, Ebobisse saw just eight minutes off the bench in the first 26 games of the 2018 MLS season as Fanendo Adi and later Dairon Asprilla remained ahead of him on the depth chart.

After patiently waiting for his opportunity, Ebobisse finally seized his chance Saturday night.

Ebobisse scored the game-winning goal in his first MLS start of the season Saturday to lead the Timbers (12-7-8, 44 points) to a 2-0 win over the woeful Colorado Rapids (6-15-6, 24 points) in front of 21,144 fans at Providence Park.

“It feels really good,” Ebobisse said. “A lot of work has gone into this since the beginning of the season. It’s tough sometimes watching from the sidelines, but I knew the opportunity would come at some point and I’m just grateful that I was able to take it.”

After posting four-straight losses in August, the Timbers are now unbeaten in their last three games. Portland jumped to fifth place in the Western Conference standings with the win Saturday.

“I thought the team played very well today,” Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. “Defensively strong, offensively creating a lot of chances. We moved the ball very well and I thought it was a very good performance.”

The Timbers have lacked firepower in the attack ever since trading Adi to FC Cincinnati in July. After the Adi trade, Asprilla moved into the No. 2 forward role. But calls for Ebobisse to get an opportunity began to grow over the last month as Asprilla, who has scored just once this season on a penalty kick, struggled to find the back of the net.

Still, it was surprising to see Savarese start Ebobisse Saturday over not only Asprilla, but Samuel Armenteros, who has eight goals this season and has been the club’s starting forward since the end of May.

Savarese’s decision paid off.

“Everyone in practice has to be able to do the job to be able to have the opportunity and sometimes you have to go through steps,” Savarese said. “We felt and I felt that it was the right moment for JBo to be able to step on the field. He understood the opportunity. He didn’t disappoint. He played a very good game, excellent.”

Ebobisse appeared to score in the 11th minute when he put the ball in the back of the net off a free kick, but he was called offside on a controversial decision. The 21-year-old finally got his goal in the 45th minute when he slid in and scored off a cross from Sebastian Blanco to give the Timbers a big 1-0 lead.

Ebobisse continued to be an asset in the attack with his holdup play and distribution throughout the match. The crowd showed their appreciation for Ebobisse with loud cheers when he was subbed out of the game in the 75th minute.

“We trust him,” said Blanco about Ebobisse. “We’re happy for him because we need every player now because we only have seven more games before playoffs. We need every player ready.”

Despite a goal before halftime against a poor Colorado team, the Timbers struggled to put the game to bed early in the second half.

The Rapids were initially awarded a penalty kick in the 61st minute when Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark made contact with Colorado forward Jack McBean in the box. Referee Drew Fischer waived off the penalty kick after it was determined through video review that McBean had fouled Timbers defender Liam Ridgewell prior to the contact in the box. The overturned call may have changed the trajectory of the game.
“It’s a crucial moment,” Savarese said. “Soccer has those moments when the game can change the other way and when the referee pointed to the (spot) and then overturned it, that was huge for us. That was very important. Then our second goal came minutes after that and now, from a 1-1, we’re winning 2-0.”
Portland finally put the game out of reach in the 65th minute when Diego Valeri headed-home a cross from Blanco. Valeri now has a team-leading 10 goals and 10 assists this season.
“I’m excited about the guys,” Savarese said. “I’m excited about the effort today and even more so that we have other guys that can contribute and are continuing to battle to see who can play.”

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