Portland Timbers - Seattle Sounders Football Club

Winner	Score	Game Coverage
FC Dallas	W, 4-2	Game Coverage
Earthquakes	W, 4-0	Game Coverage
Sporting KC	W, 1-0	Game Coverage
Union	D, 2-2	Game Coverage
Rapids	W, 1-0	Game Coverage

Game Location

Winner

Score

Game Coverage

FC Dallas

W, 4-2

Game Coverage

Earthquakes

W, 4-0

Game Coverage

Sporting KC

W, 1-0

Game Coverage

Union

D, 2-2

Game Coverage

Rapids

W, 1-0

Game Coverage

Men of the Match

Sounders Cut Down Timbers in Open Cup

By Matt Gaschk
Sounders FC Insider

PORTLAND, Ore. – For the 60th time in the history of the two franchises, the Seattle Sounders faced the Portland Timbers.

Wednesday night in front of a sellout crowd of 16,382 at PGE Park in Portland, the two teams set the bar for intensity in the 34-year-old derby as the Sounders FC topped the Timbers of the USL 2-1 to advance to the quarterfinals of the Lamar Hunt US Open Cup.

Roger Levesque scored just 48 seconds into the match and Stephen King added a second in the 27th minute as Kasey Keller finished with three saves while allowing Portland’s only goal in the 43rd minute.

“We let them back into it by giving up the goal right before halftime but they put a lot of pressure on us,” Sounders FC head coach Sigi Schmid said. “They play fairly direct and we weren’t winning enough of the head-ball duels toward the end of the first half and even for a period in the second half. But that’s what these games are. They aren’t always going to be the prettiest games. You have to roll up your sleeves and battle through it and that’s what we did in the second half.”

After a quick turnaround from Seattle’s 3-0 win over the Colorado Rapids Sunday, the focus went quickly to the fervor of the Seattle and Portland crowds that have made the Cascadia derby so exciting through the years.

Much of that focus shifted to the Sounders who had faced Portland so many times with the USL club in previous years, including Levesque, who had tallied nine goals against Portland entering the Open Cup meeting.

“I’ve played a lot of games on this pitch so it’s definitely a special night,” said Levesque, who had drawn the brunt of the ire from the Timbers fans throughout the years.

That made his first minute goal all the more sweet when he put the Sounders up 1-0 before security even had time to clear the smoke bombs that some fans had thrown onto the field.

“It all happened so fast,” Levesque said. “Sanna (Nyassi) is so quick down that right sideline. I knew he was going to get to the endline and cross the ball like he’s done so many times. I was just able to sneak in there and knock it to the near post. It all happened so fast, I don’t think Steve (Cronin, Portland goalkeeper) had time to react.”

Seattle continued to control possession for much of the first half, grinding out each opportunity with the ball at their feet.

Then in the 27th minute, they struck. Nate Jaqua carried the ball into the attacking third until he approached resistance from the Portland defense, then dropped the ball off to King for a blast from 19 yards out, beating Cronin to the far post.

Seattle continued to grind, carrying possession for extended periods, though after falling behind 2-0, the Timbers got more urgent on the attack.

David Hayes got up the left side and crossed to the far post for Mandjou Keita for a header into the net to narrow the margin to 2-1 just before halftime in the 43rd minute.

The second half continued at that tenor, with both teams threatening at various stages with no success.

Portland peppered the box with 13 shots on the night, but only managed a serious risk to Keller once in the second half while Pete Vagenas, starting for an injured Osvaldo Alonso, controlled the tempo for the Sounders in the midfield.

“I thought Vagenas did what he needed to do. It’s a hard game to play in midfield because it’s so direct and a lot of it is winning duels and challenges which isn’t necessarily his strength. But I thought he and Stephen King did a good job battling in midfield for us,” Schmid said.

In addition to Alonso, Seattle played without the services of Freddie Ljungberg, who has taken a pounding as one of the league’s most fouled players and was given a well-deserved day off, and Brad Evans and Tyrone Marshall, who were away with the US and Jamaican National Teams, respectively.

The win advances the Sounders to the quarterfinals against the Kansas City Wizards next Tuesday. Kickoff is set for 7 pm at Starfire in Tukwila.

Play by Play

Time	Event	Description
95+		After five mintues of stoppage time, the game has gone final. Sounders FC 2, Timbers 1.
93+		James Riley is issued a yellow card.
93+		Patrick Ianni cuts off a Tak Suzuki run and plays it out for a throw. Seattle recovers the throw in to Kasey Keller who punts high downfield and it's played out for a Seattle throw.
92+		Tyson Wahl subs on for Roger Levesque.
91		The fourth official holds up five minutes of stoppage time.
90		Mamadou Danso subs on for Stephen Keel.
88		Kasey Keller breaks out to grab a ball out of the air in front of Tak Suzuki.
84		Fancy footwork by Fredy Montero keeps a ball in play against the endline, but it ends up over the touchline for a Portland throw.
82		Portland plays teh ball deep into Seattle's box, but Johan Caesson can't get turned around and Seattle plays it clear.
80		Alex Nimo subs on for George Josten.
79		Jarrod Smith subs on for Sanna Nyassi.
76		Sanna Nyassi hit the turf after missing badly on a cross from the right corner. He remains on the turf and has two bottles thrown at him from the Portland crowd while Steve Cronin shouts at him from inside the box.
74		Stephen King leads Sanna Nyassi up the right side of the box and his cross pinballs off two Timbers defenders toward the far post, where Steve Cronin dives to prevent the own-goal.
68		Jhon Kennedy Hurtado makes a sliding stop on a Portland attack, drawing the ire of the Portland crowd. The next time up the field, Hurtado takes an elbow from Tak Suzuki also drawing no call.
67		Fredy Montero leads Sanna Nyassi up the right side of the box, but goes just a tad long and it plays over for a goal kick.
66		Fredy Montero subs on for Sebastien Le Toux.
63		Sebastien Le Toux returns to the field, though Fredy Montero looks like he's getting ready to come on ... stay tuned.
61		Yellow card to Tony McManus for a tackle on Sebastien Le Toux in the midfield. Le Toux remains on the field holding his right ankle.
59		Sanna Nyassi receives a yellow card for a tackle in the midfield.
59		roger Levesque crosses towar the far post from the left side, but Steve Cronin picks it out of the air.
57		Portland takes a corner kick from the left side, prompting Timber Joey to rev his chainsaw ... but Seattle defends the corner to the far side for a Portland throw.
54		Nate Jaqua twists a shot just wide of the net from 20 yards out.
53		Very close offside call negates a Nate Jaqua goal ... I thought he was on, but the assistant referee on the far side disagrees.
52		Sanna Nyassi runs through the Portland defense and right-foots a cross into the box, but it misses Roger Levesque coming down the middle and goes clear.
49		Seattle loses a ball in their right side just shy of midfield to Tak Suzuki, who races up the sideline before left-footing a ball along the turf wide of the frame for a goal kick.
46		The attendance is announced at 16,382, which is the largest crowd in modern Portland franchise history. It is also the first sellout in modern franchise history for the Timbers.
46		Seattle kicks off to start the second half attacking the north goal.
46		At the half, Tony McManus subs on for Keith Savage.
47+		After two minutes of stoppage time the first half comes to a close. Sounders FC 2, Timbers 1.
43		Mandjou Keita volleys out of the air on a ball into the box from David Hayes and beats Kasey Keller inside the far post. Sounders FC 2, Timbers 1.
38		Patrick Ianni and Mandjou Keita battle for a ball against the endline. Seattle gets the goal kick out of it, but Ianni seems to have taken a blow to the head from Keita. There was no call on the elbow, but it was the second time Keita has had his elbows high this half. Don't be surprised if he gets called more closely for this as the game goes on.
35		Tak Suzuki crosses to Madjou Keita at the far post, but Jhon Kennedy Hurtado deflects it clear for a corner. On the corner kick, two Portland players get their heads on it, but the final effort goes over the bar for a goal kick.
33		Portland gets a header off inside the box, but Kasey Keller makes the grab. Seattle is outshooting Portland 9-4 at this point, but not more than one of Portland's shots has been too threatening.
30		Sebastien Le Toux takes Seattle's third corner from the right side, finding Jhon Kennedy Hurtado for a header in the box, but David Hayes makes the clearance from the near post.
29		Nate Jaqua gets to a ball at the top of the 18, but has trouble gaining footing and his shot is an easy stop for Steve Cronin.
27		Nate Jaqua carries a ball to the edge of the Portland box. When he gets some tough opposition he drops the ball back to Stephen King for a blistering shot just outside the reach of Steve Cronin and inside the far post for a goal. Sounders FC 2, Timbers 0.
26		David Hayes is issued a yellow card for his protest of a missed handball.
25		Sanna Nyassi blasts a rebound that goes just over the crossbar for a goalkick ... Great shot from 20 yards out, but it was just a hair too high.
22		Roger Levesque's goal was only the fourth the Timbers have allowed in nine games at PGE Park this season.
21		Sebastien Le Toux takes a corner kick from the right side, finding Sanna Nyassi for a volley from the far post, but it careens out to Nathan Sturgis, whose shot sails over the crossbar.
19		George Josten tried to chase down a pass from Tak Suzuki in the left corner, but appeared to trip over the turf covering the pitchers mound at PGE Park.
18		Strong left-footed shot from Sanna Nyassi from distance. All Steve Cronin can do is put his hands up and knock it clear for a corner kick. Sebastien Le Toux takes the corner from the left side, but Seattle can't get a threat out of it.
15		For the third time this match Seattle takes the ball from their offensive third clear back to their own 18 to reset. Pete Vagenas is directing traffic well from the midfield.
13		George Josten (a Gonzaga product) gets around the defense and blasts a shot over the crossbar from 28 yards out.
12		Sanna Nyassi plays a loose ball to the endline, but has a tough angle and chips a cross right to Steve Cronin.
11		Seattle is making Portland defend. They have been very patient with the ball at their feet.
08		Portland plays a ball into the box where Mandjou Keita misses just outside the right post with a header.
05		Patrick Ianni was issued a yellow card for a tackle in the midfield. On the kick Kasey Keller jumped into traffic to make the grab.
03		Roger Levesque picks off a ball in the midfield and passes to Peter Vagenas, who starts a run up the middle. Nate Jaqua drops a ball off to Sanna Nyassi crossing through the middle at the 18 and Nyassi twists a left-footed shot forcing Steve Cronin to make a diving stop.
01		Before they can clear the smoke bombs from the field the Sounders score. Great 1-2 with Sanna Nyassi and Stephen King on the right side and Nyassi splits in a cross to Roger Levesque for a diving header to beat Steve Cronin inside the near post. Sounders FC 1, Timbers 0.
Kickoff		Portland is kicking off, attacking the north goal.
Prematch		One of my co-workers just pointed out the greatest difference between the Portland crowd and the Seattle crowd. While the Timbers Army is loud, like the Seattle supporter groups, the rest of the Portland fans are virtually silent.
Prematch		Substitues for Seattle are: Terry Boss, Tyson Wahl, Fredy Montero, Evan Brown, Lamar Neagle, Jarrod Smith. For Portland, it is: Brian Visser, Mamadou Danso (who trained briefly with the Sounders in preseason), Tom Poltl, Tony McManus, Shaun Higgins, Alex Nimo, Jason McGlaughlin.
Prematch		I've been told that the Sounders will be wearing green tops, blue shorts and green shorts. Portland will be wearing all black.
Prematch		Sounders FC will wear green tops this evening.
Prematch		No changes to the Timbers lineup. For the Sounders FC Jaqua will start in place of Zakuani, Sturgiz for Wahl.
Prematch		It is a warm 85 degrees at PGE Park in Portland, Oregon. Goalkeepers for Sounders FC have taken the field for warmups.

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