Forward Kalif Alhassan scored in the first half, and forward Rodney Wallace and midfielders Will Johnson and Diego Valeri all contributed to a three-goal output in the second half to lead the Portland Timbers to a 4-0 win over Toronto FC before a sellout crowd of 20,674 at JELD-WEN Field on Saturday night. The Timbers (10-5-12, 42pts) remain tied for fourth place in the tightly contested Western Conference with the Colorado Rapids, and sit six points back of conference- and league-leader Real Salt Lake with a game in hand. Alhassan tallied his second goal of the season in first-half stoppage time to lift the Timbers to a 1-0 lead. Portland then struck for three goals late in the match as Wallace, Johnson and Valeri all found the back of the net inside the final 10 minutes to give the Timbers a 4-0 victory, the club's largest margin of victory as an MLS side. The Timbers nearly doubled Toronto FC in shots, 21-13, and held 65.6 percent of the possession. With the win over Toronto FC (4-13-10, 22pts), Portland extends its home unbeaten streak to 11 matches, one of the longest home unbeaten streaks in MLS this season. Alhassan, who had a shot strike the post earlier in the first half, found the back of the net for a second straight home match, giving the Timbers the lead heading into halftime. A poorly cleared ball by a Toronto FC defender fell to Alhassan at the top of the box. Alhassan chested the ball down and, before it could hit the ground, he drove a right-footed shot into the top right corner for his second goal of the season. The Timbers held 60 percent of the possession in the second half and added to the score line in the 83rd minute on Wallace's sixth goal of the season. Valeri, entering the match as a sub in the 77th minute, pressured a Toronto FC defender in his own defensive third, won possession of the ball and slipped a pass to Wallace charging in towards goal. Wallace snuck his shot under Toronto FC goalkeeper Joe Bendik. For Valeri, it was his 12th assist of the season, tying him for the league lead in assists. A hard-working effort by forward Jose Valencia inside the box set up Johnson for his seventh goal of the season in the 87th minute. Valencia was able to keep possession inside the top right corner of the box and found Johnson in space on the back side of the area. Johnson ripped a shot by Bendik and inside the left post; Valencia was credited with his first MLS assist. Valencia set up the Timbers' fourth and final goal three minutes into second-half stoppage time. He worked the ball in from the left side of the penalty area before threading a pass off a Toronto FC defender and across the goal mouth. Valeri came crashing in on the back side unmarked and ushered the ball into the goal with a sliding effort for his sixth goal of the season. Timbers goalkeeper Milos Kocic recorded both of his saves in the first half, including one on a side-winding volley by Toronto FC forward Robert Earnshaw from the top of the area in the 28th minute, to earn his first shutout of the season. Alhassan also cleared a shot by midfielder Darel Russell off the goal line in the 17th minute. The Timbers visit Chivas USA in their lone road match of the month Saturday, Sept. 14, at the StubHub Center in Carson, Calif.; kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. (Pacific). The match will be televised on ROOT SPORTS, with radio broadcasts available on FM News 101 KXL and in Spanish on La Pantera 940 AM. Notes: - The Timbers keep pace in a tightly contested Western Conference and remain tied for fourth place with the Colorado Rapids. Portland sits six points back of idle Real Salt Lake with a game in hand. - The Timbers extend their home unbeaten streak at JELD-WEN Field to 11 matches, which is the second-longest in MLS this season. - The Timbers captured their first win over Toronto FC in the all-time MLS series between the clubs; it was just the fourth meeting in the all-time series. Portland is 1-1-2 against Toronto FC since joining MLS in 2011. - Toronto FC was the Timbers' final Eastern Conference opponent during the regular season; Portland posted a 4-2-4 record against Eastern Conference clubs in 2013. - The 4-0 win over Toronto FC marked the Timbers largest margin of victory as an MLS side. - The four goals scored against Toronto marks the second time in the Timbers' MLS history in which they scored four goals in a single match; the other was in the club's first MLS home match at JELD-WEN Field on April 14, 2011, in a 4-2 win over the Chicago Fire. - The Timbers' three second-half goals tied an MLS-club record for most goals in a half. - Portland ranks second in MLS in second half goal-scoring with 29 goals, and leads the league with 14 goals scored in the final 15 minutes of matches this season. - Forward Rodney Wallace's goal in the 83rd minute and Midfielder Diego Valeri's goal in the 87th minute is the quickest two-goal span (four minutes) for the Timbers in 2013. - Portland's three goals in a 10-minute span (83rd minute to third minute of second-half stoppage time) is the fastest three-goal span in Timbers MLS-club history. - The Timbers are averaging three goals per game over their last three home games. - With the four goals scored against Toronto FC, the Timbers have set a new MLS club mark for goals scored in a single season (43) with seven matches remaining in the regular season. - Portland held 70.9 percent of the possession in the first half against Toronto FC, and the club's 21 shots was one shy of matching a 2013 season high. - Valeri, who recorded one goal and one assist against Toronto FC, is tied for the league lead with 12 assists. The Timbers, as a club, rank second in MLS with 45 assists. - Forward Kalif Alhassan has scored in back-to-back home matches, also scoring in a 3-3 draw against Real Salt Lake on Aug. 21. Alhassan has set a new career high this season in goals (2) and points (7). - Forward Jose Valencia made his first MLS start against Toronto FC and registered his first MLS assist on Johnson's goal in the 87th minute. - Midfielder Darlington Nagbe made his 41st consecutive start for the Timbers. - Midfielder Diego Chara played in his 80th MLS match as a member of the Timbers, becoming just the third Timbers MLS player to reach the milestone. The others are Jack Jewsbury and Nagbe. - Goalkeeper Milos Kocic made his second regular-season start for the Timbers this season, playing against his former club, Toronto FC. It was his sixth start overall across all competitions in 2013. His clean sheet against Toronto FC is the Timbers' 10 shutout of the season. - Midfielder Will Johnson returned to the Starting XI against Toronto FC, playing in his first match since sustaining an injury in the 2013 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal Aug. 7 against Real Salt Lake. - Against Toronto FC, Sal Zizzo made his first MLS start of 2013. It was his first league start since Oct. 27, 2012, against San Jose. - Midfielder/defender Brad Ring, who was acquired earlier in the week, made his Timbers debut as a substitute in the second half. - Both the Timbers and Toronto FC were missing multiple players due to international call-ups - Portland: Ryan Johnson, Alvas Powell and Donovan Ricketts (Jamaica); Toronto FC: Kyle Bekker, Doneil Henry, Ashtone Morgan and Jonathan Osorio (Canada).
