The Portland Timbers are going to the MLS is Back Tournament Final after taking down the Philadelphia Union 2-1 in a battle of the set-pieces. Despite giving up their fifth penalty kick of the tournament, it was the Timbers who made their restarts count, scoring on a pair of corner kicks to advance.
It took just twelve minutes for the Timbers to grab the go-ahead goal off a Diego Valeri corner. As the Maestro served the ball into the center of the box, Jeremy Ebobisse curled away from Kai Wagner, absorbed a push from the Philadelphia fullback, and headed a strong ball down off the turf that bunched past Andre Blake, who was left flat-footed on the line.
The goal came among a handful of chances for the Timbers in the first half as they ceded possession to the Union, hunkered down on defense, and looked for openings to get forward on the break. The openings were there for the Timbers as they repeatedly were able to break up play in the center of the pitch and push into the attack, but they were not able to make those chances count, going into half time up just 1-0.
Even that scoreline was briefly in doubt as Philadelphia put the Timbers under pressure in the final minutes of the half.
That pressure looked likely to pay off in first-half stoppage time when Sebastian Blanco was judged to have taken down Jamiro Monteiro in the Timbers box after some light contact. Referee Allan Chapman conclusively pointed to the spot, awarding a penalty to the Union, but when red-hot striker Sergio Santos stepped up to the ball, he put it well over the bar and into the stands.
By early in the second half, it was clear that the Union had tightened up their passing through the center of the pitch and were no longer willing to give up the easy interceptions that the Timbers had enjoyed in the early going.
As the game ground on, however, the Union were forced to push further into the attack and, in the 70th minute, the Timbers were able to get their second goal of the match. On Valeri’s 4th corner kick of the night, Dario Zuparic put a head on the ball, sending it looping toward the far post. The chance was clearly going wide, but it didn’t matter as Blanco darted in from the flank and put a head of his own on the ball, sending a tight-angle, point-blank, near-post header past Blake to put the Timbers up 2-0.
In the 85th minute, however, the Union made things interesting. Off a Zuparic foul committed just outside the Timbers box, Monteiro hit a curling free-kick that dipped over the Timbers wall, forcing a sprawling save from Steve Clark. Clark could only knock the ball down in the box, though, and Philadelphia forward Andrew Wooten was there to pounce on it, tucking the ball away to pull the game back within one.
Minutes later, it looked like the Union had drawn even when Kacper Przybylko tucked a simple ball from Brenden Aaronson into the back of the net from inside the Timbers box, but the flag was raised for offside on the play. The call was reviewed by VAR and upheld on replay by an uncomfortably narrow margin.
The final few minutes of the match were a frantic scramble from both teams, and while there were chances at both ends — as well as a mysteriously uncalled handball in the Union box — none were finished, and the Timbers were able to hold on to advance to the MLSIBT final.
The Timbers will face off next Tuesday, August 11, against the winners of tomorrow night’s match between Minnesota United and Orlando City SC.