Chara sparks Timbers to 2-1 victory over St Louis

ST. LOUIS (AP) — Yimmi Chara scored late in the second half to rally the Portland Timbers to a 2-1 victory over St. Louis City on Saturday night.

Chara took a pass from Santiago Moreno and scored in the 82nd minute to help Portland (3-5-2) avenge a 2-1 home loss to expansion St. Louis City (6-3-1) earlier this season.

Neither team scored until the Timbers’ Evander da Silva Ferreira delivered on a penalty kick in the 63rd minute.

Célio Pompeu notched the equalizer for St. Louis City in the 79th minute with assists from Tomás Ostrák and Rasmus Alm.

Portland outshot St. Louis City 15-7 with a 7-1 advantage in shots on goal. The Timbers took one more shot than Cincinnati in a 2-1 loss last week, marking the first time they had the advantage in a match this season. Opponents had taken 89 more shots prior to the last two matches.

Aljaz Ivacic finished without a save for Portland. Roman Bürki totaled five saves for St. Louis City.

St. Louis City falls a point behind front-running Seattle in the Western Conference after the Sounders played Real Salt Lake to a scoreless tie on the road.

Portland returns home to host Austin FC on Saturday. St. Louis City travels to play FC Dallas on Saturday.