Janssen's three goal contributions lift Portland past Houston 3-1

Portland beat Houston 3-1 at Providence Park behind Vincent Janssen, the player of the game (Chirp Rating 8.6). Janssen scored once and set up two other goals. The Timbers move to 12-7-14. Houston falls to 14-9-10.

David da Costa opened the scoring in the 25th minute with a left-footed shot from the left side of the box into the top left corner. Janssen assisted. Portland held that 1-0 lead into the second half.

Kristoffer Velde made it 2-0 in the 65th minute, finishing from the centre of the box after a fast break. Janssen assisted again. Houston answered in the 71st when Agustín Bouzat hit a left-footed shot from outside the box into the bottom right corner, set up by Duncan McGuire. That cut it to 2-1.

Janssen ended the comeback hopes in the 78th. He headed in from very close range off a da Costa cross after a corner for the 3-1 final.

Chirp's Sim gave Portland just a 40% chance over 10,000 simulations, and it called the winner.