We're LIVE in Goose Hollow, where the atmosphere is evidently so electric, the WiFi in the Jeld-Wen Field press box has crumbled under the weight of expectation.
The mass of media—a contingent large enough to overflow to the back of sections 219 and 220 for the first time since the Gold Cup visited earlier this year—has logged in to see logs sawed, as the Timbers and Sounders square off in the biggest match of their 38-year feud.
And holy holy, if you didn't know your neighbor/co-worker/classmate/barista(/rabbi?) was a PTFC fan already—you certainly knew today. Soccer City, USA woke up rain-soaked and covered in green (the Ducks might've helped) in anticipation of the Timbers shifting power in a rivalry that—in the postseason at least—has been one-sided.
Portland will look to knock its hated rivals from the playoffs for the first time since 1975, and all they need is a tie on a field where they haven't lost in eight months. Yep, a draw is all that stands between the league leader in even-stevens (The Timbers had 15, four more than anyone else) and the Western Conference finals.
Portland has shown it belongs there. And now, as coach Caleb Porter said earlier this week, his club is ready to let its "ruthless" self show in front of Timbers Army.
"We try to run teams over at home," he said. "On the road, we try not to get beat, basically. We try to win, but we make sure we don't get beat.
"At home, we go for the jugular."
So cover your necks, Seattle! The Internet may be lagging, but if you click past the jump, I shall do my very best to deftly describe all the action—on and off the pitch.
LINEUPS:
Seattle—(15-12-7)—Michael Gspurning in goal. DeAndre Yedlin, Jhon Kennedy Hurtado, Djimi Traore and Marc Burch on defense. Brad Evans, Shalrie Joseph, Osvaldo Alonso and Adam Moffat. Eddie Johnson and Clint Dempsey up front.
Rounding out the 18: Obafemi Martins, Zach Scott, Patrick Ianni, David Estrada, Marcus Hahnemann, Mauro Rosales and Andy Rose.
Portland—(14-5-15)—Donovan Ricketts in goal. Jack Jewsbury, Futty Danso, Pa Kah and Michael Harrington on defense. Diego Chara, Diego Valeri and Will Johnson at midfield. Rodney Wallace, Ryan Johnson and Darlington Nagbe up front.
Rounding out the 18: Kalif Alhassan, Jose Valencia, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Max Urruti, Milos Kocic, Ben Zemanski and Sal Zizzo.
PREGAME: The rivals come in with vastly different levels of confidence. Needing a win to keep their season afloat, Seattle clings to the promise of 20 shots, clunked woodwork and an 89th minute goal that was nothing less than a lifeline for the series.
With Seattle forward Lamar Neagle yellow-carded for this one, Eddie Johnson and Dempsey are up front for the unwelcome visitors. In goal for the Sounders, regular starter (until he wasn't late in the season) Gspurning (THE G IS SILENT!) returns after picking up a red card in Seattle's play-in match vs. Colorado. Yedlin cracks the lineup after returning from injury, along with Martins, who you can expect to see subbed in at some point.
Portland's lineup, meanwhile, remains steady. The Timbers haven't lost in nine straight and haven't given up a goal at home since Aug. 21, riding a back seven that's gone unchanged in eight matches.
"We're very comfortable in the way we're playing," said Cap'n Jack. "We can morph into different teams depending how the game is going. If it's direct, we can fight with you. If it settles down, we can possess and go that way."
We're minutes from kickoff now....Porter just walked out on the field (in his BUSINESS-LIKE suit and red-trimmed TA scarf) and the teams are about to join him. Timbers fans chanting "PT-FC" quite loudly. Quite.
Timbers Army unveils another giant banner from the North End. The three-parter reads: "WE BELIEVE IN YOU—This magic is REAL" ... evidently Orco (sp?) from Masters of the Universe (neeeeeeerds!)
FIRST HALF: And away we go! Timbers headed toward their Army.
1st minute—The wind is blowing pretty well toward the west sideline. The smoke from the fireworks and TA cleared right out.
3nd—Timbers nearly net one! Chara with a nice ball to Valeri after a series of one-touch passes. Valeri dribbles into the box and finds Wallace, whose shot goes just wide. Oh, man, he's really gotta finish that. If he does, this place would've gone ballistic.
5th—Dempsey dribbles ahead and has one from 40 yards out, but his left-footed strike isn't exactly caught flush—and it's no problem for Ricketts.
7th—Yedlin with a hard tackle on Valeri right in front of the Timbers bench. Yedlin takes an extra second to stand over Valeri, and Porter has a few words for the young Yedlin.
8th—Free kick coming into a shove-filled pack. Will Johnson plays it short to Valeri, who tries to chip it in, but it's popped up and back and easy pickings for Gspurning.
9th—Seattle with its best bit of possession of the night before a Portland steal leads to Ryan Johnson on the break. Portland doesn't have numbers though, and the counter ends with a hopeful ball by Wallace over the head of Chara.
10th—Wallace TESTS THE KEEPER from about 35 yards out. He cracks a curving right-footer that Gspurning has to rise up and knock his back against the post to grab. Good look there by Wallace, who's scored from there before.
12th—Valeri with a nice little give-and-go with Nagbe. The latter pops one from 25 yards out and again Gspurning bobbles a bit before collecting. Portland testing the keeper early while Timbers Army chants of his dodginess.
14th—Chara gets into the box and looks to have an open path, but he tries to cut back and is tackled well by Alonso.
15th—Nagbe finds a bit of space and fires from 25 yards out, and it's JUST WIDE. Wow, he didn't miss that one by much there.
17th—Timbers with a throw deep in Seattle's end. Alonso clears for a moment and Will Johnson switches. It ends with Valeri, who taps a lovely touch ahead to Chara, but he can't quite get to it. Portland possessing very well now—looking very confident.
19th—Wallace with a nice 50/50 win and manages to crack a left-footer, but it's deflected and covered up by Gspurning. After a takeaway, the ball somehow ends up RIGHT AT THE FEET OF WALLACE, but Gspurning gets himself in perfect position to stop Wallace's shot.
20th—That play leads a counter for Seattle—right up until Will Johnson absolutely robs Eddie Johnson at the top of the box. That's followed by one of the biggest run-of-play roars of the night. This game is living up to the hype—very intense, very quick.
24th—Timbers with a free kick just to the left of the PTFC bench. He bends it in to the far post and Kah rises for it, but it's knocked away by a Sounder. Wouldn't matter, as Portland is called for a foul.
26th—Dempsey tackled at midfield and we'll have our first yellow of the night, and it's on Kah.
27th—HANDBALL ON SEATTLE and it'll be a penalty kick for Portland! Timbers with a throw deep in Seattle's end and it goes into the box for Jewsbury. Before he can get to it, Traore gets an arm on the ball. Huge chance here for Portland.
29th—TIMBERS GOAL! Will Johnson goes high and right and Gspurning chooses wrong. Portland leads 1-0 and, most importantly, 3-1 on aggregate. They haven't lost all season after scoring first.
31st—Portland is not sitting back. They're gunning for that second goal.
34th—Nagbe plays one ahead for Ryan Johnson, who waits a bit too long to get to before attempting a pass to a streaking Wallace. Seattle takes over and Johnson UNLOADS a shot that's just over the bar. Corner kick coming for Seattle.
35th—In-swinger headed away by Chara. No worries there.
36th—Joseph and Chara battle and the much smaller man proves the stronger. Seattle gets it back and it makes its way to Yedlin, who bumps a pass into the box for Evans. His shot goes wide right, so it'll be a goal kick coming for Ricketts.
38th—Another corner kick for Seattle is nothing doing for the Sounders. Say, remember when the Timbers' Achilles' heel was set pieces? They've tightened that up quite a bit.
40th—Burch and Valeri come together after a dangerous pass by Jewsbury. Valeri goes down hard and rolls around like he's on first. Training staff coming out, Alhassan is warming up.
42nd—Valeri back on his feet and appears to be OK. Good sign for Portland—the MLS newcomer of the year led the league in goals and assists, and was, in fact, the first Timber to ever have double-digit goals and assists in a season.
43rd—TIMBERS GOAL! Valeri with a sliding dandy! Jewsbury plays it to the top of the box, and Valeri dribbles through traffic, slides to his right and snaps a shot over the sliding Yedlin and into goal. This series is all but over, as Portland takes a 2-1 lead and has a 4-1 aggregate lead.
Two minutes of stoppage...Timbers Army chanting, "WELCOME TO YOUR NIGHTMARE" which is accurate.
Halftime: Portland leads 2-0. The Timbers absolutely dominate the first 45 minutes, and this thing might just get out of hand.
SECOND HALF: We're back at it...no changes from either side, Timbers headed toward the South End.
46th—Will Johnson nets one, but Ryan Johnson is called for handball in the box. AND WE HAVE A PREMATURE SMOKE BOMB! For shame, Timbers Army.
47th—TIMBERS GOAL! Futty with the header on cross by Wallace. This game has officially become a celebration. Timbers lead 3-0, and HELLO SALT LAKE. Looks like Futty didn't want that yellow smoke to go to waste. Wow.
50th—Dempsey picks up a yellow after knocking down Chara. Martins will come on for Joseph.
51st—Timbers Army chanting "YOU CANNOT STOP US! WE ARE THE ROSE CITY!" The rest of MLS likely agrees.
54th—Chara is called for a yellow and Dempsey lines up a free kick from 40 yards out. He sends it in for Hurtado, but too much pace. Goal kick, Portland.
55th—Timbers have numbers and Will Johnson leaves it for Wallace. His touch is a tad heavy and he blasts a shot that's deflected over the goal. First corner for Portland send in by Will Johnson, but it's cleared away from danger...for the moment, at least.
58th—Sounders sub: Rosales on for Moffatt. He comes on and immediately takes a free kick that somehow makes its way to a dangerous spot in the box. It's knocked out for a moment and then sent back in, but Will Johnson runs it down and clears.
59th—Rosales with a cross and RICKETTS RISES TO PUNCH IT AWAY. Not the most dangerous cross, but the rolling Ricketts makes it look dramatic. Timbers will make a sub and it's no surprise: Alhassan on for Valeri.
62nd—Chara with a bit of a breakaway but he'll hold it back. Timbers bide their time a bit and play it forward for Ryan Johnson, and Burch just levels him. Yellow card? Nope. But it'll be a free kick for Will Johnson.
63rd—Will Johnson lets one loose, but it's wide left. Goal kick, Seattle.
68th—Sounders trying to pick up some momentum as they control possession. Not much of anything happening.
69th—Futty called for a foul as Rosales apparently caught an elbow. Before the free kick, it's Urruti coming on for Ryan Johnson.
70th—Alhassan knocked to the ground and it'll be a free kick for Will Johnson from about 30 yards. He plays it back and Portland will he happy to possess and bleed some clock. They've certainly done enough for this night.
72nd—Seattle with a corner and they play it short. Nothing doing. Harrington takes it away from Traore and he kicks the ball into the ad board. They haven't lost yet, but they've been defeated.
74th—SEATTLE GOAL! Yedlin at the far post on a long throw-in from Evans. It's knocked ahead by Eddie Johnson, who finds Yedlin and calms the celebration for a moment. Timbers lead 3-1.
76th—SEATTLE GOAL! Wait, what? Yedlin sends one in front for Eddie Johnson, who knocks it home. Well then, this just got slightly more interesting. Portland leads 3-2 and 5-3 on aggregate.
77th—Corner kick for Seattle. It's sent in for Eddie Johnson, who gets a header on it, but not a strong one as Kah gets in good position. Goal kick, Portland.
80th—Sounds will have a free kick after a poor foul by Alhassan. It'll be from 40 yards out. Rosales sends it in and Ricketts rises for it, but it's flicked over his head and on top of the net. Another corner coming.
81st—Corner comes in near-post and Will Johnson heads it away. Timbers will make their final sub: Zemanski is on for Nagbe.
83rd—Rosales fouled at midfield by Zemanski and he sends in a free kick. Dempsey chests it down and tries a volley, but it's defended. Seattle with some momentum now, but not a lot of time.
84th—One more sub for Seattle: Rose is on for Alonso.
86th—Sounders going to the longball as Rosales looks for Dempsey. No such luck and the Timbers take it back. Will Johnson controls and is fouled by Rosales near midfield.
87th—Timbers with a bit of build-up as Alhassan dances around midfield. Ball finds its way to Urruti, but his pass to Will Johnson is too strong. A bit of rust on display there for Urruti.
89th—Burch drives one into the box for Dempsey, who gets a foot on it but JUST MISSES. Harrington is unable to clear but does get his body in front of Dempsey. Things nearly got very interesting here.
90th—Alhassan draws a foul just outside the top of the arch. Free kick coming from straight ahead.
Three minutes of stoppage...Will Johnson plays the free kick wide to Zemanski. He'll dribble to the corner and wind some clock down. Seattle descends and it pops back to Johnson before Seattle knocks it out. Tick tick tick....Rosales knocks Will Johnson down from behind and we'll have another free kick....Johnson sends it wide and Evans is forced to head it out....Timbers can taste victory here as they try to possess and run this clock down....Chara and Wallace run it ahead at midfield and Chara is fouled about 40 yards out.
FULL TIME: Timbers win 3-2 and they're going to the Western Conference Finals. Green and yellow smoke and a sign above the main capo stand reads: "FISH GUTTED."
