There is no stopping these Portland Timbers! They came in as complete underdogs and they’re now in the Final of this MLS is Back Tournament. Unbelievable, but true!
There must be a correlation between injecting your club with loads of confidence and due success, and today the hard work put in by Giovanni Savarese and his staff paid off well. Now they wait for Orlando on Tuesday night.
What do you ask a team that played with character, courage, and most of all commitment? PTFC has put on a great show since the start of the series and they never looked back. The results are paying off and may end up delivering another major trophy in the end.
When this team is ready and poised to win, they will put on a show that is truly unbelievable, dominating the field in the first half.
As for Jeremy Ebobisse, the man appears determined to be an elite player. He was again in the right place and time. Once more, he delivered the first goal of the game, one that boosted an all-around conviction for his team.
Let’s not forget the brilliant gem of a defensive lineup that is the Timbers’ backfield, one that showed a bunkered defensive game. Most notable was Jorge Villafaña, who throughout the game neutralized Brendan Aaronson, one of the Union top playmakers.
In spite of Portland looking a bit anemic in parts of the second half, they overcame the late reaction of a Union score in the 85th minute after a bad rebound over Steve Clark. Unable to stop its course, he lost the clean sheet.
The Timbers also got two big breaks, one after Sergio Santos’s penalty went well over the bar, and an offside call on Kacper Przybylko in the second half that could have been the equalizer for Philadelphia.
Teamwork and unity have been the ideal ingredients for this club’s success and now with one more game to wrap up the tournament and possibly lift the trophy, it’s still “one game at a time”, per Gio’s philosophy.
The Portland Timbers went against all odds. When the going got tough, they delivered against heavily favored teams. They are now ready to close another successful chapter in history.
Gio proved his power plays in all of this tournament!
Goals
Jeremy Ebobisse 13’ PTFC, Sebastian Blanco 70’, Andre Wooten 85’ PU
Highlights
Giovanni Savarese is the master of the impossible, taking the Timbers to their second finals
Jeremy Ebobisse is the surprise of the tournament, showing hunger to success
Sebastian Blanco undoubtedly is the MVP of this tournament!
Eryk Williamson is the man who has earned his stripes, becoming the absolute starter for 2021
Chris Duvall becoming central in the right-back and particularly important in the defensive backfield
Jorge Villafaña is a central figure in defending and stopping Brendan Aaronson
Dario Zuparic is becoming the man the Timbers needed to fill the void in its center back spot
Kudos to Steve Clark making a whopping seven saves to see his team persevere for the win
Jaroslaw Niezgoda showing teamwork in open opportunities he decides to pass, instead of taking the shoot
The Timbers need to capitalize on the open opportunities to score. If they did more often, the score would have been more lopsided
Men of the Match
Jeremy Ebobisse and Sebastian Blanco
Philadelphia Union
Portland Timbers
