Obafemi Martins scored two goals as Seattle Sounders FC (14-3-7, 45 points) beat the Portland Timbers (7-11-7, 31 points), 4-2, on Sunday afternoon at Providence Park. Seattle moved into sole possession of first place for the Supporter’s Shield, improving to 3-0-1 against the Timbers across all competitions this season.
Seattle opened the scoring in the 17th minute on a goal from Martins. Brad Evans took the ball into the box down the right side of the pitch and found Martins, who tapped it in from close range.
In the 34th minute, Seattle extended the lead to 2-0 with a goal from Clint Dempsey. On the right side, Martins found Dempsey streaking into the box. Dempsey received the pass and struck a left-footed shot far post, marking Dempsey’s 10th goal and Martins’ eighth assist of the season. Dempsey’s five career goals against Portland is a club record.
Seattle made the score 3-0 in the 70th minute with a goal by Chad Barrett. During an offensive attack, Barrett found the ball lingering on the left side of the box. Barrett faked, cut inside, and struck the ball near post for his seventh goal of the season. Barrett has scored in three consecutive MLS matches and four straight in all competitions.
In the 73rd minute, Portland scored to cut the gap to 3-1. Rodney Wallace sent a long pass into the box and Fanendo Adi knocked it in near post on one touch.
Martins scored again in the 76th minute to make it 4-1. After playing a give-and-go with Gonzalo Pineda, Martins dribbled through the backline of defense and poked the ball past Donovan Ricketts for his 10th goal of the season.
Adi netted his second goal of the game in the 90th minute. Steve Zakuani found Adi in the box and Adi struck it in with a hard-hit finish for the brace.
The match was the third and final time the two teams will face each other in the regular season. Seattle is 2-0-1 in head-to-head MLS matchups this season.
Sounders FC hosts Colorado Rapids next Saturday at 1 p.m. PT on the Xbox Pitch at CenturyLink Field.
Scoring Summary:
SEA- Obafemi Martins (Brad Evans, DeAndre Yedlin) 17′
SEA- Clint Dempsey (Obafemi Martins) 34′
SEA- Chad Barrett (Clint Dempsey) 70′
POR- Fanendo Adi (Rodney Wallace) 74′
SEA- Obafemi Martins (Gonzalo Pineda) 76′
POR- Fanendo Adi (Steve Zakuani) 90+1
