By Tony Álvarez
The Portland Timbers earned a 3-1 come-from-behind win over Club Tijuana as both clubs ended their campaigns in Phase One of Leagues Cup 2026 on Thursday at Providence Park in Portland, Oregon.
Martí Cifuentes made his debut as the manager for the MLS side in the victory. Following results earlier in the night, the Timbers had already been eliminated from Quarterfinal contention.
Tijuana took the lead in the 19th minute when Mourad El Ghezouani opened the scoring, connecting on a cross from Alan Vega.
Portland tied it up in the 40th minute through Kevin Kelsy, who finished inside the box after a buildup from David Da Costa and Jimer Fory, with the latter recording the assist.
The home team continued to press in the second half. Kelsy was denied a brace by Sebastian Hernández, but the Portland player was able to pounce on the rebound to assist Anthony Alves as Portland took the lead in the 64th minute.
Ariel Lassiter made it 3-1 for Portland in the 77th minute and the MLS side saw out the result to exit the tournament with a victory.
REACTIONS
- Portland Timbers Head Coach Martí Cifuentes
- “Very good, all the credit to the guys, the players, the staff everybody has been so good to embrace everything in 48 hours, we had a good balance, and everyone is great when the group is very open to ideas.”
- “For me is very important to have this winning mentality in everything we do, so I take it very serious (…) I didn´t want to send a message that this game was not important.
- Tijuana Head Coach Sebastián Abreu
- “It clearly wasn't a good tournament; losing all three matches is not a good tournament. We have to be realistic and self-critical—and then there is the footballing analysis—but we don't come to these tournaments to finish with zero points; the goal is always to qualify.”
PLAYERS OF THE MATCH
- Portland Timbers
- Kevin Kelsy scored Portland's equalizer and assisted on the go-ahead goal in the Timbers' 3-1 victory.
GAME NOTES
- Both teams are eliminated from Leagues Cup tournament.
- Martí Cifuentes made his Portland Timbers head coaching debut.
- Ariel Lassiter scored his second goal of the tournament.
- Tijuana scored their first goal in the 2026 Leagues Cup.
- Tijuana lost every game they played in regulation.
CARDS/INJURY REPORT
- Yellow Cards:
- Club Tijuana: Alan Vega.
- Portland Timbers: Kamal Miller, Kristoffer Velde, Joao Ortiz.
LOOKING AHEAD
- Portland continues their MLS season with a matchup vs Chicago on August 16th.
- Tijuana regresa a Liga MX para un partido vs Cruz Azul el 16 de agosto.
