Fanendo Adi lifting up the trophy for the Portland Timbers.
In one of Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter’s interviews, he talked about how it was destiny for the Timbers to win it with all the events leading up to the game on Sunday. It seemed as though it could be true, as the last time that the Timbers made it to the championship game in the top-tier U.S. soccer league was in 1975, forty years ago when the club first started. It was five years ago that the Timbers joined the MLS, something that the club made known at the start of this season’s campaign: 40/5.
It turned out that they were destined to win after all, as the Timbers left MAPFRE Stadium as 2015 MLS Cup Champions, winning their first major piece of silverware in the MLS era, defeating Columbus Crew by a score of 2-1.
With upwards of 2,500 of the Timbers Army traveling in force to support their club, as well as the Crew’s supporters in the Nordecke, the stadium environment was loud, boisterous, and electrifying. As kickoff approached, the chants from both supporter groups could be heard throughout the stadium.
The game quickly got underway in the most shocking fashion, as Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark found the ball at his feet. He tried to control it with his touch, but quickly found Timbers midfielder willing to challenge him. There, Valeri slid in on the goalkeeper and the ball went straight into the back of the net, giving the Timbers the first goal of the game. All this within the first 27 seconds of kickoff. Valeri’s goal
The game quickly found some controversy, as replays showed the ball that Timbers fullback Alvas Powell try to keep in was out of bounds by a couple of feet. However, head referee Jair Marrufo let play continue, despite the protests of the Crew players. It turned out to be a significant call as Powell passed it to midfielder Darlington Nagbe, who fed it off to Lucas Melano. Melano’s one-touch cross found a flying Rodney Wallace on the back post, doubling the Timbers lead in the 7th minute.
The Crew sprung to life after that second goal. They regained control of the game and dominated possession. They tried to find openings in the Timbers defense, with Crew midfielders Justin Finley, Federico Higuain, and Justin Meram leading the charge. The Timbers defense were up for the challenge though, winning balls deep in their own third.
It only took 11 minutes though for the Crew to break through. Harrison Afful’s cross left the Timbers struggling to clear the ball in their own penalty area. It eventually fell to the Crew’s leading scorer and striker Kei Kamara, who smashed the shot into the back of the Timbers net, getting one back for the home team. However, the Crew couldn’t find a second by the end of the half and the score remained 2-1 at halftime.
The second half looked very much like the Crew was going to find a second goal, as they continued to dominate possession and get some more chances. But despite this, the Crew failed to find a shot on target in the second half and were left vulnerable to the Timbers’ counterattack.
Timbers had plenty of opportunities to further their lead. However, it was the woodwork that denied them on two different opportunities. The first when the Timbers took a corner that left the Crew scrambling to clear the ball. It found the feet of goal scorer Rodney Wallace, but his shot was weak and was saved by Steve Clark. It hit the woodwork on the clearance and off Crew defender Michael Parkhurst before the danger finally was diffused.
The second was on a quick counter by the Timbers. Timbers fullback Jorge Villafana picked out a cross to striker Fanendo Adi, who headed it to the far post. It pinged off the post to Steve Clark’s surprise before hitting his hands and going out of bounds, much to the relief of the Crew fans in MAPFRE Stadium.
The Crew had a few chances after that, but the Timbers defense was strong and unwilling to concede a second goal. Clearance after clearance, tackle after tackle, the Crew were left baffled as to how to penetrate and find the equalizer. Crew substitutes Cedrick, Mohammed Saied, and Jack McInerney provided energy, additional crosses, and firepower in the box, but the Timbers held steady.
As the waning minutes of extra time were running, players, coaches, and fans were left wondering if this was finally it. Then Maffuro blew his whistle and the MLS Cup Final came to an end. The Timbers players rushed onto the field to celebrate as the club had finally won their first league championship in their forty-year history, while the Crew was left wondering what could have been.
Caleb Porter was right. It was destiny. The Timbers were meant to win the 2015 MLS Cup after all.
Ed Pham is a Timbers contributor on the Radio Cascadia podcast. He can be found on Twitter at @edpham, covering the Portland Timbers, Arsenal, Olympique Lyonnais, and Ligue 1.
