Aleksei Miranchuk scored his sixth goal of the season and first since April to lift visiting Atlanta United to a 1-0 victory over the Portland Timbers on Saturday night.
Lucas Hoyos made three saves to keep only his and Atlanta’s third clean sheet a week after the second, a 0-0 draw at D.C. United on Sept. 12.
Atlanta (7-14-5, 26 points) snapped a four-match winless run (0-2-2) to bolster its fading postseason hopes. It remains second-to-last in the Eastern Conference, but moved within seven points of the playoff line and ninth-place Cincinnati.
Atlanta will play Cincinnati and New York City FC, another team it is chasing, in its next two matches.
Portland (9-12-5, 32 points) lost its second straight to remain ninth in the West, and would fall into 10th, beneath the line, if San Diego pulls off an upset at Miami on Sunday.
The Timbers led 17-10 in overall shots and matched the visitors with three efforts on target but created few real dangerous chances near Hoyos’ goal.
Portland was shut out for the first time in eight league matches since manager Marti Cifuentes took over in August, and for the first time at home this season.
Miranchuk last scored in an April 28 U.S. Open Cup encounter that followed his fifth league goal on April 25. But after a start that featured chances on both ends, he put the visitors ahead with a moment of individual brilliance.
Junior Alonso and Miguel Almiron linked up in the buildup, and Almiron’s cross from the left eventually found Miranchuk at the top of the penalty area.
With Jimer Fory defending, Miranchuk dribbled into the area to his right, cut back to his left, then curled a left-footed shot that bent beyond goalkeeper James Pantemis and inside the far left post.
Portland had the significant edge in possession after halftime but rarely troubled an Atlanta defense that performed far better than its struggles to keep clean sheets suggested.
The best Timbers chance may have come in the 81st minute when Kristoffer Velde played a diagonal ball over the top for a wide-open Omir Fernandez, who couldn’t connect cleanly to force Hoyos into a stop.
–Field Level Media
