The Portland Timbers would have one of their most solid matches of the season so far, and would finally break an MLS-record 10 game streak of allowing two of more goals, as they defeated Sporting Kansas City by a 2-1 score. Felipe Mora and Evander would score for the Timbers, while Memo Rodríguez would have the lone goal for the visitors.
The Timbers would very nearly make their first good scoring chance pay off in the 16th minute, when Miguel Araujo played a nice long ball into the run of Jonathan Rodríguez, whose attempt at finishing the chance beat Sporting goalkeeper Tim Melia, but was off the post and then cleared. The only other good scoring chance either team would have in the first half was an attempt by Rodríguez in stoppage time that slipped just wide right, and the match was scoreless at the break.
In the 51st minute, it would be the Timbers who would break through first. Evander did a nice job controlling the ball and was deep in the Kansas City box when he made a nice cross that eluded Melia, and Felipe Mora would head home from just a few yards out, and the Timbers led 1-0.
But in the 62nd minute, the visitors did well to keep control of the ball with short passes at the top of the Timbers box, and Sporting’s Memo Rodríguez would get to the ball first and made a brilliant strike from the top of the box that eluded Timbers goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau, and the score was now level at 1-1.
In the 66th minute, Sporting’s Alan Pulido had a wickedly curling ball from 20 yards out the slipped just inches wide left.
In the 79th minute, the Timbers appeared to have re-taken the lead when Mora headed a Rodríguez cross back to Evander, who finished nicely from near the penalty spot, but the goal was waved off for an offside call. But after a VAR review, it appeared the assistant referee had in fact seen Antony offside, who was not involved in the play at all, and the referee review of the play confirmed the goal, and it was 2-1 Timbers.
Deep into stoppage time, Sporting had a great chance to level the score when Johnny Russell‘s header was only kept out by a spectacular diving save by Crépeau. The final whistle blew a minute later and the Timbers had a 2-1 win.
