2015-12-07

If it wasn’t a classic MLS Cup, it certainly had the most dramatic start in recent memory. Portland opened the scoring within seconds and added another after just seven minutes, to stun Columbus Crew SC and take MLS Cup. A Kei Kamara goal quickly gave hope back to the hosts, but in the end the Timbers saw out the game comfortably, and but for a couple of deflections off the post could have been more emphatic winners.
Twitter wags were still fashioning tweets about Columbus not scoring in the first nine seconds when Portland took the lead. Steve Clark’s eccentricities at the back have been largely eliminated as the year has gone on, but he took too many touches on an early back pass with Diego Valeri bearing down. When Clark did try to clear it was already too late, and a sliding Valeri bundled the ball into the net.
Things quickly went from bad to worse for Crew SC, who looked horribly sluggish. In the seventh minute they were still dwelling on a disputed line call seconds earlier when Darlington Nagbe picked up the ball, ran at the heart of the distracted defense, and touched the ball wide for Lucas Melano, the late hero of the second leg in Dallas last week. Melano had earned a start over Dairon Asprilla, and now justified the faith in him by sweeping the ball to the back post for Rodney Wallace to dive and head past Clark.
As the delighted Timbers players wheeled towards Melano to celebrate there were ugly scenes as the Crew SC loyalists who populate the Nordecke began raining beer cans down on the players in front of them. The Timbers’ players retreated momentarily, only to resume their pressure when the game kicked off again. The Crew SC were nowhere to be seen for the opening quarter of an hour.

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