Each team also has an attacking midfielder from Argentina, with Columbus ignited by Federico Higuain, who scored eight goals and set up nine more this season after 11 goals last season, and Portland bolstered by Diego Valeri, with two goals and eight assists this year after team bests of 11 goals and 14 set-ups last season.
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The play started a little oddly with Columbus thinking the ball went out of bounds, so they sort of let up thinking they had possession, but Portland played on and the refs let them continue.
Thankfully, however, his contribution was an important one, and his team-mates capitalised on their chances. Rodney Wallace added a second just six minutes later, which was all that the Timbers needed to secure the league championship.
The visitors exploded out the gate, scoring two goals in the first seven minutes, en route to their first Major League Soccer championship.
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.
“I haven’t had a chance to assess it yet”, he said after training.
“We came out to press high and our press in the first 10 minutes was right”, Portland forward Fanendo Adi said.
“It was about the aggressiveness and the pressure that we put on their backline”, said Valeri, who pressured Clark as the keeper was playing the ball with his feet just in front of the Crew goal. I don’t care much about either team and found it much harder to watch any MLS game this past season that didn’t involve FC Dallas.
Coincidentally, Columbus was the first MLS team to lose a home championship final since the Revolution in 2002. The Crew won its first and only MLS Cup in 2008, in Carson, Calif. The Crew did it throughout the regular season en route to 15 wins and the No. 2 seed, and then again in the playoffs as Columbus took it to Montreal and NY; so there’s no reason why anyone should expect that trend to cease. A first-minute goal by Portland that came when Diego Valeri pressured goalkeeper Steve Clark into clearing the ball off Valeri and into the goal.
I didnt see it, Berhalter said. “We were comfortable. We were tight”. We could have been better on the counter as we had some good moments to put the game away. “That’s a part of winning”. And while the Timbers certainly rode its luck for the second goal in particular, any fortune certainly balanced itself out in the second half. “I’m really thankful. I’m happy for myself and my teammates”. The Timbers should be encouraged considering their win came in Columbus and happened while the Crew had all of their top players in the starting lineup.
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“I always feel in the programs I’ve been in, the clubs I’ve been in, I think it’s always important to keep a piece of the past, always”, Timbers head coach Caleb Porter said. “It’s important to have guys who have been through the wars and suffered”.
