Ebobisse breaks tie, Timbers beat Toronto, 2-1

Jeremy Ebobisse broke a tie on a diving header in the 70th minute in the Portland Timbers’ 2-1 road victory over Toronto FC in windy conditions Saturday.

Bill Tuiloma tied it for Portland (2-5-1) in the 22nd minute on a volley off a corner kick. The Timbers won for the first time at BMO Field.

It’s the second straight win for Portland, which had lost five out of its first six matches.

“It feels good for sure especially because this is our team,” coach Giovanni Savarese said. “This is the Portland Timbers that we know. With the spirit, with the mentality, with the heart, with the sacrifice within the field. The first half, it was very good because we kept the ball, we created chances. In the second half towards the end it was about sacrifice and making sure we didn’t concede anything, and the guys did a very good job today.”

Jonathan Osorio opened the scoring for Toronto (4-2-1) in the 20th.

Diego Valeri recorded two assists, increasing his season total to six, which ranks tied for the most in MLS this season. Blanco added the assist on Ebobisse’s game-winning goal, registering his fourth assist of the season. Blanco has four assists in his last three matches, recording an assist in three straight matches for the first time in his MLS career, while Valeri has three assists in his last two matches.