The Portland Timbers rose to the occasion with a 2-1 win in Columbus over the Crew on Fenando Adi’s two goals. The Crew had risen to within a point of the top record in MLS having only dropped three matches in the past sixteen. The Timbers had been winless in their past four matches.
With the win, the Timbers are now three points clear of Houston for the last playoff spot in the Western Conference (with a game in hand) , and four points clear of San Jose (and even on matches). With the first-place Vancouver Whitecaps losing to NYCFC on Saturday night, the Timbers lie only four points back of the Whitecaps for first place in the Western Conference (and conceivably the Supporter’s Shield as top team in the MLS regular season), and with 12 teams with 6 points of the league’s best record going into the last month of the season, it’s going to be a wild October free-for-all.
The Timbers host Sporting Kansas City next Saturday at Providence Park with both teams currently level on 44 points (though they currently have a game in-hand and play on Sunday, September 27).
http://matchcenter.mlssoccer.com/matchcenter/2015-09-26-columbus-crew-sc-vs-portland-timbers/recap
