It was a gutsy final twenty minutes of the match, but the Timbers closed out the Philadelphia Union 2-1 to advance to the MLS is Back Tournament Final on Wednesday evening in Florida.
The Timbers entered the match on two days fewer rest than the Union, but made no excuses in what has been an unprecedented and exciting tournament inside the MLS bubble. The starting lineup saw the return of Diego Valeri after Head Coach Gio Savarese rotated his squad in their previous match against NYCFC. Jeremy Ebobisse and Sebastian Blanco continued to impress in the semifinal as each made key contributions to push Portland to the final.
In the 13th minute, Ebobisse put the Timbers up 1-0 after scoring off a Diego Valeri corner kick. Ebobisse made a delayed run into the box and with his head, bounced the ball in front of keeper Andre Blake and into the top right-hand corner of the net. It was Ebobisse’s fourth goal of the tournament and perhaps extended the first-option striker conundrum for Coach Savarese.
The rest of the first half saw Portland concede possession to Philadelphia, albeit the Union were limited in meaningful chances created. The Union’s first real opportunity of the game came in the first minute of first-half stoppage time when Sebastian Blanco made an awkward challenge into the back of midfielder Jamiro Monteiro in front of the Portland goal, forcing referee Allen Chapman to point to the spot. Sergio Santos took the penalty for Philadelphia, but his attempt soared high over the crossbar.
Blanco bounced back from his first-half mistake to put Portland ahead 2-0 in the 70th minute off another Diego Valeri corner kick. Valeri’s out-swinger found the head of Dario Zuparic, who headed the ball down and into the direction of a surging Blanco, who then headed it down and in by the near post. It was his third goal of the tournament, further padding his tournament MVP resumé alongside his 5 assists. Through his contributions, Blanco has been directly involved in 8 out of the 12 goals Portland scored in the tournament.
For the final 20 minutes of the match, Philadelphia turned up the intensity and made things difficult for an otherwise strong and consistent performance from the Portland defense. In the 85th minute, the Union’s Jamiro Monteiro put a dangerous free kick on frame, forcing a Steve Clark save. Andrew Wooten was able to clean up the rebound after the initial save landed in front of his feet at point-blank range to pull one back for the Union.
Just one minute later, it appeared Philadelphia had leveled the score at 2-2. By the slightest of margins, Kacper Przybylko was flagged for offside after getting a shot past Clark. From there on out, Portland weathered a determined Philadelphia side to keep the score 2-1 by the time Chapman blew the whistle for full time.
Speaking of his team’s defense and game plan, Coach Savarese said:
“The guys executed the plan in a perfect way. The associations we had in the side to make sure that they didn’t penetrate. The hard work in the middle with everybody, starting with the two up top, making sure the balls didn’t go through, that their midfielders didn’t get the ball…. there were a few times that they were able to find those spaces, but they were very rare because of the discipline of the group.”
The Timbers will go on to face the winner of Thursday’s second semifinal match between Orlando City FC and Minnesota United. Portland hasn’t played particularly well against either side in recent match-ups, but Portland certainly has the advantage in overall playoff experience. The tournament final will be held Tuesday, August 11th at 5:30 pm PST on ESPN. At stake is spot in the 2021 CONCACAF Champions League in addition to a trophy and bragging rights in what has been an unforgettable 2020 season.
