Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri scores a goal against Columbus Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark during the first half in the 2015 MLS Cup championship game at MAPFRE Stadium.
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Home-field advantage? Who needs it. They face off against the Columbus Crew in a bid for the top honor in American soccer. By virtue of a 2-1 aggregate series win over the New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals, Columbus gets to host the championship against the Portland Timbers. The short answer is yes.
Halftime at MAPFRE Stadium: @TimbersFC 2, @ColumbusCrewSC 1. They have a raucous supporter section of their own.
He wants them to root for the Portland Timbers.
The playoffs have had many exciting moments for Timbers Army. Here’s some key information about this evening’s decider that should fill in some gaps. The Timbers know they can win in Columbus because they’ve already done it this year.
Despite the disappointment of the loss, there is plenty of hope for Crew SC. One of the leading goalscorers in the league. Liam Ridgewell and Nat Borchers may have been the most composed centerback pairing in the league.
The revelation was Jorge Villafana, the former MLS Sueno victor at left back.
There’s just one problem.
But easily the most egregious mistake-and easily the most laughable-was the one that directly led to Portland’s second goal in the seventh minute.
The rest of the game was relatively quiet, with Columbus getting a few looks in five minutes of stoppage time but unable to find the equalizer.
Ridgewell has sounded optimistic about a return on Sunday.
“We go into games and this is a humble group of guys”, Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said.
Their scoring slump ended. (The fans) tried to give us the lift there in the second half. They very almost tied it up after that, but the Red Bulls’ Bradley Wright-Phillips last second shot hit off of the right post, sending Columbus through to the finals.
Despite the two clubs having identical records, Columbus earned the right to host the MLS cup by finishing with a better goal differential.
COLUMBUS, Ohio Historically the Western Conference has dominated MLS Cup. He also created another chance by sending a cross to the front of the net, but it was headed away at the last instant.
Simply put, Nagbe is the key. And it was a 2-1 win for Portland and teams kind of using that a little bit as motivation and a little bit as a learning tool from what happened. Nagbe’s move into the central attacking midfield role was pivotal, seeing him combine with Argentine playmaker Valeri and striker Fanendo Adi. As if that weren’t frustration enough for Portland, more was to come. They’re no longer just flashes. This is the only other time this MLS season the Timbers have accomplished this feat. The 16th-minute strike pulled the Crew to within 2-1. His name was all over the team sheet. He delivered a team-high of 16 goals in the regular season. Fans tailgating say they understand. They fought until the bitter end. Portland, which found form just at the right time to climb into the playoffs and surge past Sporting KC, Vancouver Whitecaps and FC Dallas in the playoffs, celebrated becoming kings of MLS for the first time and the first team from the Pacific northwest to land the crown.
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“It would have been a dream come true for the players and for the organization but certainly for the fans, for all of those who did not have the opportunity to go to LA and cheer with us”, Moreno said.
