The Timbers breathe life back into their season.
By Mike Gambill
The article title says it all, folks. The Portland Timbers may well have not only salvaged three critical points from Saturday night but possibly saved their season from a slide into MLS oblivion. Those of you who have the MLS Season Pass were treated to quite a match Saturday night – at least the last twenty minutes of it or so.
The Portland Timbers needed a big win against Seattle.
To say that the Portland Timbers were desperate for a victory is akin to saying that water can help with dehydration. The Timbers were surely dehydrated for a single win and that victory came no less than against their hated rival the Seattle Sounders.
The Sounders came into Portland this past weekend as the reigning CONCACAF league champions and one of the leading sides in the MLS Western Conference. Nothing to worry about, right? For the first seventy minutes or so of this match, Seattle was in full control of the match after a goal by unmarked Raul Ruidiaz left the Sounders in full control of their destiny Saturday night. The Timbers, on the other hand, looked like a team already defeated and willing to accept their fate in this match.
Mind you, the Portland Timbers have won four consecutive matches against the Seattle Sounders but Saturday’s match vibe seemed to indicate a different outcome for the Cascadia Cup. Sounders’ goalkeeper Stefan Frei has been on point this season and only given up three goals in the previous seven matches and went another seventy minutes in this one and then something happened . . .
The soccer heavens opened up for the Portland Timbers.
In the seventieth minute, a clinical bicycle kick from Dairon Asprilla seemed to find its way into Timbers’ lore for generations to come and flew into the net. The match suddenly changed its feel with a 1-1 score and suddenly the moribund Timbers looked like they just got a stay of execution.
From there, this match turned into a scoring fest for Portland as the lineup of Nathan Fogaca, Jaroslaw Niezgoda, and Juan David Mosquera all added the final touches to a 4-1 masterpiece that will be talked about in the Pacific Northwest long after this MLS season is over. (Note: The Timbers were the Team of the Matchday for this past weekend – and rightly so for their comeback performance.)
The Timbers needed this win and may have saved their season.
With a victory on Saturday night, the Portland Timbers now have a breath of life back into their season and despite a disappointing 2-4-2 record so far, this 4-1 beatdown of the Seattle Sounders may well be the turning point of their young season. With challenges coming up against FC Cincinnati and St. Louis City SC all on the road in the coming two weeks, the Timbers desperately needed this shot in their collective arm this past weekend and if they can things around as a club like they did this past weekend, things may be looking up in the Rose City for the rest of this season. Let the Timbers Army remember this match – it was historical watching and enjoying it.
