In the conference finals, Portland upset top-seeded FC Dallas 3-1 at home and then drew 2-2 in the second leg to book their spot in the MLS Cup. After Portland goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey failed to control a Harrison Afful cross, Kamara poked the ball loose inside the penalty area and right to Portland’s Diego Chara. The Timbers-Crew SC game will be aired live on “750/102.9 The Game” which can be accessed online on TuneIn Radio. This evening the Columbus Crew and the Portland Timbers will face off for the chance to hoist the 20th MLS cup.
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The MLS season comes to a close on Sunday with the Columbus Crew hosting the Portland Timbers in the MLS Cup Final.
Columbus is 2W-1L-0D all-time at home in MLS play against the Timbers, scoring exactly one goal in each game.
Portland Timbers, from left to right, Lucas Melano, of Argentina, Rodney Wallace and Nat Borchers celebrate their 2-1 win over the Columbus Columbus Crew in the MLS Cup championship soccer game Sunday, Dec. 6, 2015, in Columbus, Ohio.
As for battling Columbus’ homefield advantage, Portland’s seven road wins this season are the most in MLS and, as I mentioned earlier, they are the last team to win in Columbus.
While they are the away side, expect to hear Portland Timbers’ supporters all match long in the away end.
Portland got off to a flying start when Crew goalkeeper Clark dallied on a clearance and Valeri slid in to redirect the ball into the net to give the Timbers the fastest goal in MLS Cup final history.
“We were trying to press from the first minute and we got that goal”, Valeri said. “We tried to be aggressive and pressure them”.
Crew SC definitely was lucky not to fall behind any further in the second half as not one, but two Portland shots clanged off the woodwork.
In the seventh minute, Crew midfielder Tony Tchani and defender Waylon Francis stopped along the left sideline after a Portland pass clearly went out of bounds. The rain of debris and projectiles from the Columbus fans on the Portland players after their second goal was something that you never want to see in your league, much less in the championship game.
“All year, something like that hasn’t happened”, Columbus coach Gregg Berhalter said.
Crew captain Michael Parkhurst immediately gathered his teammates at midfield to settle them down before play resumed. “No one envisioned that. You just deal with it, go in extra early get in there and enjoy the game”, Hamilton said.
Decked out in black and gold, thousands of Columbus Crew fans took over the blacktop to create the atmosphere that will go down in franchise history.
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For coach Caleb Porter, it was the ultimate reward for a late-season tactical switch that propelled them on a nine-game unbeaten streak en route to the trophy. “We were comfortable. We were tight”. We shut it down.
