As the MLS Cup playoff race hits the final stretch and the table tightens, the Portland Timbers have certainly hit their stride.
The Timbers beat LAFC at Providence Park on Sunday 2-1 and extended their unbeaten run to five games, easily their best stretch all year. In the process, the Timbers ended a three-game winning streak for LAFC.
“It felt from our part that the team was ready to perform and the guys were gonna fight,” Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said.
With the win, the Timbers (37 points, 11-10-4) move up one spot in the standings to fourth place, knocking their next opponent, Real Salt Lake, down a spot. LAFC (33 points, 9-10-6) remain stuck under the playoff line in eighth place.
The game-winner came in the 68th minute from George Fochive, who subbed into the game only seven minutes earlier. Sebastian Blanco got wide and beat a defender before crossing into the box, and Fochive was at the back post to nod the ball past goalkeeper Tomas Romero.
“We were home so we owed it to ourselves to push for it,” Fochive said of the win. “I think we managed the game pretty well, but we needed to win this game.”
It was Fochive’s second goal of the season. Blanco wasn’t credited with the assist because his cross skidded off a defender, but it would’ve been his fourth.
In the eight games since Blanco has returned to his starting role, the Timbers have gone unbeaten in six -- something that does not appear to be a coincidence.
“He’s getting more minutes, he’s feeling more confident and he shows it,” Savarese said. “He’s that player who comes in with so much energy, always trying to find a way to be difficult for the opposition and he’s been very good. He has added something more to our team besides the discipline and the work ethic the guys are putting in.”
Savarese added: “We are glad he’s back, and I believe he’s still in progress to be even better because, even though we’ve seen a very good Seba, there’s more for him to give us.”
The Timbers and LAFC arrived on Sunday with only one point separating them on the Western Conference table, making the match an important one. But every result at this point in the season will likely have major implications for each team’s hopes of reaching the playoffs.
With Sunday’s win, the Timbers have now won four of their last five games, after just days ago drawing with the Colorado Rapids in a thrilling comeback. Only nine matches remain on the schedule, and the Western Conference table is close enough that the Timbers’ season can go either way.
“It’s very hard -- every team’s competing,” Fochive said of the playoff race. “We gotta focus on ourselves. Each game is a different battle and we need to show up for every game. So, one game at a time, we have to prepare and play as hard as we can so that we can look at each other and know that we’re giving everything day in and day out.”
The Timbers opened scoring Sunday in the 21st minute off a corner kick. Blanco headed the ball off the crossbar and Dairon Asprilla was at the back post, ready to nod the ball back into the net.
The goal was Asprilla’s sixth this season, by far his best-ever in his seven seasons with the Timbers. Asprilla is second in goals for the Timbers behind Felipe Mora, who has 10 on the season.
“I think the difference this year is he has matured and, with that maturity, he has understood that here we love him, here is a good place for him, and he can definitely be even better, so that’s why he’s showing it,” Savarese said of Asprilla. “He wants to prove that he wants to be a starter. He’s hungry to score goals and give everything he has for the team.”
“But it has come from that maturity and that work we have done, from myself, the staff and the players around him. We have always believed in him, and I agree it’s been his best season.”
A penalty five minutes later allowed LAFC to equalize.
A foul from defender Larrys Mabiala allowed LAFC to line up for a dangerous free kick, and Jose Cifuentes’ shot went into Portland’s wall and off the arm of Blanco. Referee Chris Penso immediately pointed to the spot, and Cristian Arango’s slow stutter-step shot caught goalkeeper Steve Clark flatfooted.
The Timbers have allowed the most goals off set pieces in MLS this season at 13.
Both the Timbers and LAFC came into Sunday unbeaten in their last four games. LAFC had won their previous three, despite being without Carlos Velas (quad injury) or Diego Rossi (newly on loan for Turkish club Fenerbahce).
Savarese made one change from the lineup Wednesday that came back twice against Rapids to draw at home, despite being down to 10 men. The player who was sent off in the first half, Bill Tuiloma, was replaced Sunday by usual starter Josecarlos Van Rankin.
Diego Valeri came on in the 61st minute for his 300th Timbers appearance across all competitions.
LAFC out-shot the Timbers 14-11, although possession was nearly even. The match at times turned tense and four Portland players racked up yellow cards, which after Tuiloma’s ejection a few days ago demanded composure from the Timbers.
“That’s what we spoke about at halftime -- no matter what happens, we have to manage it and we have to be emotionally balanced,” Savarese said. “The group has shown maturity and we needed to stay disciplined because we wanted to finish with 11 players. In order to do that, it was important for the group to stay very calm.”
The finishing from both sides left plenty to be desired, starting in the 16th minute when Mora, the Timbers’ most reliable goal-scorer, whiffed a golden chance.
Cristhian Paredes and Yimmi Chara won the ball just outside LAFC’s own box by closing in on a pass from Romero in goal. Chara dished to a wide-open Mora, who took a swipe at the ball but failed to make contact, allowing the ball to roll out of bounds.
The Timbers had another dangerous chance in the 28th minute, but Romero made his first save in goal for LAFC in three games. On yet another giveaway in LAFC’s own end, Blanco fired from the top of the box, and Romero made a diving block.
LAFC missed their own key opportunity in the 19th minute. Arango got in on a breakaway and crossed to a wide-open Brian Rodriguez at the back post, but Rodriguez misfired, chipping the ball over the bar.
Cifuentes missed an even better chance in the 64th minute. On a counterattack behind the Timbers back line, Arango put a perfectly placed ball at the feet of Cifuentes, who only had to redirect the ball into an open net with Clark beat, but he somehow hit it wide.
“It was a tough game -- there were mistakes on both sides, but both sides we’re trying to play,” Fochive said. “It was obviously a huge game for both teams, so it was maybe a little bit cautious and a bit of nerves.”
As both sides rued missed sitters, they also exchanged would-be golazos that never materialized.
Cifuentes nearly had a goal-of-the-year candidate in the 47th minute when he noticed Clark off his line. From 40 or so yards out, Cifuentes unleashed a rocket that rattled off the crossbar.
Mora missed out on his own highlight reel moment 10 minutes later, when he was open for an overhead bicycle kick in the box, but Romero made the diving save to deny it.
Sunday’s attendance at Providence Park was officially announced as 21,311. The Timbers require proof of vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test result for admission into the stadium.
Up next, the Timbers host Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
-- Caitlin Murray for The Oregonian/OregonLive
Twitter: @caitlinmurr
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