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Bring on NYCFC, Timbers are to play them at home!
I cannot imagine how that locker room looked last night after the Timbers delivered the unthinkable of reaching their third MLS Cup since starting in this league in 2011. In this digital age where everyone can record each other with their phones, the joy reflected on each of these lads’ faces was to say priceless.
Man, if we can state if this season was one not to forget, I’ll be a liar. With a disastrous season starting with several important players on the injured list, the defensive game was again reminiscent of years past and surrendering what could lead leading to victories.
Still, I can state that one man that we can point to is the man at the helm, Giovanni Savarese. If someone didn’t break in the dark times the Rose City had was Gio, simply stating that the need to set up the game was with a lot of work. In the end, it simply paid off the training sessions where we can see the manager and his assistants playing with the players, opening a certain trust bond.
Paying off in the conclusion of the season and moving on to the playoffs, this team never backed down and they did it against a team that had their number since its inception. With a 3-1 rout over Minnesota at home, that was the start this team needed to produce to its fanbase base some joy.
However, the chance to host our first-ever MLS Cup finals is extraordinary and thanks to a few teams helping us pave the way, among one of them our rival, in turn, NYCFC eliminating the almighty New England Revolution. Other teams that aided us were Real Salt Lake, yes, the team that Portland defeated to get to the finals.
First, eliminating the Seattle Sounders on penalties and later Sporting Kansas City, that the Midwest side would be our foe, we could have a tough outing, but not impossible for advancement.
Amongst the main traits, this team has done lately is playing like a well-oiled unit, defensively and offensively, this team is doing the work and without being the most dominant squad in the league. Hard work pays off and hence the results these Portland Timbers have shown lately.
Defense wins games, a very elementary adage, as the defensive game is raising up many eyebrows lately. Another is the way many players step up their act and are not solely dependent on one playmaker or two. After all, despite Sebastian Blanco being suited up on the bench, the need for his services was not of any need.
What can you say of Mr. Postseason Dairon Aspirilla being suspended, in the end, this is teamwork and the starting eleven of the Timbers deserves high praise for putting a one of the kind show all game long? Many can say the goals were lucky, not at all as Felipe Mora was on target and he took full advantage of the situation early in the game.
Santiago Moreno never ceases to impress. The man sealed the match with the cushion goal on that amazing shot and the ball being pushed inside the area with the help of RSL’s keepers back David Ochoa. My conclusion is the way the defense played last night as well for Steve Clark, an unsung hero, making defying saves in every game, this man is one amazing keeper to go in league and Timbers history.
Among one of the most celebrated of quotes is from Gio himself stating the unity of his team playing like a family. Below are the words from one man that deserves all praise and compliments from his wonderful work in charge of the Rose City side.
“We understood that if we worked as a unit, as a family, as a group, that we can achieve something important,” Savarese said at the end of his night. “We always say the strength of the group is the group, and we took it day by day, one conversation at a time, one training at a time … To be able to be here today, I’m just extremely proud of the group.”
Portland Timbers
Real Salt Lake
