Valencia edges Timbers 1-0 in exhibition match

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) -- Aritz Aduriz scored in the 41st minute and Spanish club Valencia defeated the Portland Timbers 1-0 in an exhibition match Wednesday night.

It was the first time Valencia played in the United States. The trip includes a match against the Houston Dynamo on May 31.

Major League Soccer's Timbers gave Scottish striker Kris Boyd the night off, along with captain Jack Jewsbury and defender Futty Danso. Goalkeeper Troy Perkins wore the captain's armband.

For Valencia, Brazilian forward Jonas and French defender Jeremy Mathieu served as reserves. Midfielder David Albelda was captain.

"I think the end result, you could say, was fair," Albelda said through a translator. "But it could have easily been a tie, because they made it difficult for us."

Portland substituted liberally in the second half, giving its starters a break in advance of Saturday's Cascadia rivalry match against the Vancouver Whitecaps.

Timbers defender David Horst saw his first playing time after hip surgery in the offseason.

Pablo Piatti fired an angled shot at a diving Perkins that went just wide in the 19th minute. However, Aduriz found the net from the top of the box 22 minutes later.

"There was nothing we could really do about it," Horst said of the goal. "It was a top-level finish."

Piatti had another opportunity from outside the box in the 50th minute, but goalkeeper Joseph Bendik, who subbed for Perkins, got the save.

"It's a tremendous learning experience, for myself, the staff and of course the players," Timbers coach John Spencer said about playing Valencia.

Portland pressured late in the match. Midfielder Freddie Braun's shot through traffic in the 65th minute went wide of the left post. In the 85th minute, Bright Dike's shot in the box was deflected by a teammate.

Dike, who is on loan to the USL Professional division's Los Angeles Blues, was called back to Portland for the match.

Valencia, which has six league titles, finished third in La Liga this past season.

The Timbers (3-5-3) are coming off a 2-1 victory over the Chicago Fire on Sunday. Portland is currently in eighth place in the MLS Western Conference, ahead of last-place Los Angeles.

It is the first of two international exhibitions for the Timbers this season. English Premier League club Aston Villa visits Portland on July 24.

The midweek exhibition drew 19,564 fans to Jeld-Wen Field.

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