The Portland Timbers face a Supporters’ Protect contender for a second consecutive weekend on Saturday evening after they go to a San Diego FC aspect coming off considered one of its most dramatic wins of the season.
The Timbers almost rallied from three objectives down in final weekend’s 3-2 house defeat to FC Cincinnati, during which former Timbers star Evander scored one objective and assisted one other for Cincy.
Kevin Kelsy scored twice after halftime to make the sport shut late after Cincinnati’s first-half outburst that got here considerably in opposition to the run of play.
Portland supervisor Phil Neville believed the efficiency was higher than the end result. But it surely additionally introduced into focus the skinny margins the Timbers could also be dealing with down the stretch.
Along with two fixtures in opposition to San Diego (16-7-4, 52 factors) — which leads FC Cincinnati within the Protect standings on objective differential — Portland (10-9-7, 37 factors), presently sixth within the Western Convention, may even face West contenders Minnesota, Vancouver and Seattle of their final eight matches.
“I believe the 2 video games in opposition to San Diego shall be huge video games for us, each house and away, and we’re actually wanting ahead to it,” Neville stated. “They have one thing going there, and I believe we have to go down there and we have to play at our absolute most.”
San Diego rallied to a late 2-1 victory over San Jose after they have been second-best for many of final Sunday’s contest.
However the late entrance of striker Marcus Ingvartsen into solely his seventh MLS look — and first in additional than two months — reworked the sport and maybe gave cause to imagine an already spectacular enlargement season might get even higher.
The Danish striker scored the equalizer within the 81st minute, then fed Anders Dreyer for the 84th-minute winner for his finest second throughout an injury-plagued first MLS season.
“It has been powerful,” Ingvartsen informed the Official SDFC Podcast this week. “But in addition like, for me, I attempt to change it to one thing constructive and to attempt to enter some small particulars that you just’re perhaps probably not having the time for whenever you’re in a full training-game schedule, and so forth. After which simply with the ability to come again as sturdy, nearly as good as doable.”
–Discipline Stage Media
