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SEATTLE, Wash. – The Portland Timbers striker, Dairon Asprilla, has only started one time in the last eight games of the MLS 2018 regular season, after being beaten to score opportunities on the field in the middle of the year. Asprilla finished the regular season with one goal on the penalty spot.
But Asprilla was all on Thursday night.
The Colombian striker scored in added time before scoring the decisive penalty to allow the Timbers to overtake the Seattle Sounders in a wild semifinal series of the Western Conference.
The Timbers started Thursday's game with a 2-1 lead after winning at home in the first leg of the series. The Sounders beat the Timbers 2-1 in regulation in front of 39,542 spectators at CenturyLink Field on Thursday to tie the game at 3-3 and extend the game. After both teams exchanged overtime goals, the Timbers won the 4-2 series on penalties to qualify for the Western Conference Championship series.
Portland will face Sporting Kansas City or Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Championship Series. The series will begin on November 25th.
Not needing a tie to secure a place in the Western Conference championship after winning a semifinal victory in the Conference of the West. In the West, the Timbers were happy to sit down and absorb the pressure in the first half of Thursday's game.
The Sounders controlled 68.1% of possession of the ball and forced the Timbers to get 20 clearances in the first 45 minutes. Portland did not even score its first shot in the game until 60 minutes when forward Jeremy Ebobisse shot Seattle FC goalkeeper Stefan Frei a shot.
After struggling to create dangerous chances in the first half, the Sounders were ready to fight for a second-half goal.
Seattle has finally managed to break through in the most surreal way possible. Timbers goalkeeper Jeff Attinella dropped a cross from the Sounders midfielder Victor Rodriguez in the 68th minute, allowing Seattle striker Raul Ruidiaz to score easily. With a 1-0 lead, the Sounders only needed to stop the Timbers from scoring to close the series because of the out-goal rule. If the series is tied at the end of the regulation, the club with the most goals in the field moves forward, in accordance with MLS rules.
With time flowing and Timbers desperately needing a goal, Timbers midfielder Sebastian Blanco puts Portland back in the game.
In the 78th minute, Blanco scored a pass for Asprillain and fired a shot from the top of the box in the goal corner to tie the game 1-1 and give Portland a 3-2 total lead in the match . series.
The Sounders reacted to Blanco's error during the second stop. Blanco accidentally steered the ball to Ruidiaz while he was trying to clear the ball, allowing the Peruvian striker to score a shot on the fly to give Seattle a 2-1 lead and d & rsquo; # 39; equalize the series 3-3 in total.
The series being tied and both teams having only one goal on the outside, the match was extended.
It was the moment for Asprilla to shine. Asprilla, who came into play in the 72nd minute, scored a Diego Valeri center in the 93rd minute to give Portland a 4-3 overall lead.
But Seattle tied the series four minutes later. The referee Jair Marrufo kicked the Sounders with a penalty kick after Blanco made a handball in the area after a corner kick. Sounders midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro opened the scoring to tie the series 4-4 overall.
When Marrufo sounded the last whistle to mark the end of extra time, Blanco and a few other Timbers started to rejoice. The Timbers insisted after the match that they were celebrating their chance to go to the penalty shootout, but it seemed to them that the players thought they had won through the tiebreaker at the time. outside which does not apply in additional time. No matter what the Timbers thought at the time, it did not matter.
Portland beat the Sounders 4-2 on penalties. Blanco and Attinella, both of whom made mistakes that led to Seattle's goals during the match, defeated KP. Blanco scored his penalty and Attinella made a save during the shootout. Asprilla closed the series by throwing the last net kick.
– Jamie Goldberg | [email protected]
503-853-3761 | @Jamiebgoldberg
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