Portland wins MLS Cup, beating Columbus

The Crew fans didn’t take to the deficit too kindly, throwing cans of beers at the Timbers players as they celebrated in the corner – a disgraceful display from the Columbus faithful at Mapfre Stadium. That sub quickly made an impact, and the Timbers were on the attack.

Rodney Wallace doubled their advantage six minutes later before Kei Ansu Kamara pulled one back with the third goal inside twenty minutes with a scrappy effort. Forward Lucas Melano and midfielder Darlington Nagbe were credited with assists. They said “trust the process”.

There was some question that the ball was out of bounds before Wallace scored what proved to be the winning goal.

“I think it’s going to be a great game”, Columbus head coach Gregg Berhalter said.

For those who may not have been paying attention the rest of the season, we invited Fox Sports soccer announcer – and Portland native – John Strong to tell you all you need to know to join in on Sunday. The Timbers Army travels well.

The Norway-born shot-stopper lifted the trophy together with his teammates in the match settled by the early part of the game with all the three goals scored by the 18th minute.

“We knew that they took risks, the way they play”, said Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri, who was named the game’s MVP. Should the pressure get to them, the Crew will probably pick them off. It was the 26th goal of the season for Kamara, who tied for the league lead during the regular season. “He was ready to go today”.

The Timbers moved back into defensive mode for most of the remainder of the first half to protect their lead. It’s a concrete bowl, sure, but I gotta say, they laid the groundwork and they own it. And the fans were so incredibly welcoming.

Columbus’ best chance of the second half came in the 77th minute, when Harrison Afful chipped a cross toward Federico Higuain in the area, where the Argentinian one-touched it over his head out of the air – just past Jack McInerney‘s attempted header. Michael Parkhurst headed it off the line – into Kamara, who flailed while falling backward, kicking the ball against the underside of the crossbar, hitting Parkhurst’s arm and the right post before Columbus cleared.

With less than 10 minutes remaining, Clark nearly made up for his early gaffe when he stoned a point-blank header from Portland’s Nat Borchers in the 81st minute. But the Crew had no answer.

Alan Hinton wants you to watch this game.

“I believe in hard work”, Ridgewell responded.

Second half, Columbus recorded five shots to eight for the Timbers. “Unfortunately, we didn’t get that second goal”. An American team has never won, and rarely do they even make the finals. If he has a big game, Portland has a very good chance of hoisting the MLS Cup. That allowed Kamara to turn and score in traffic to keep the hosts within reach heading into the break.

Both teams’ salary cap management has been exquisite, while they’ve learned from previous seasons – the Timbers missed the playoffs by a point a year ago while the Crew were embarrassed by New England in the post-season.

As green confetti dusted the field, the players reconnected with some 2,000 members of the Timbers Army supporters group piling atop one another in the south end.

The Portland Timbers capitalized on an error-strewn, frenetic opening to land its first MLS Cup after completing a 2-1 victory on the road over the Columbus Crew at Mapfre Stadium.

Columbus was also trying to use crosses from wide play to break down Portland’s defense but to no avail.