Written by Justin Surber at Oregon Sports News
The Portland Timbers earned their first-ever MLS Cup Championship after defeating the Columbus Crew 2-1 on Sunday, much to the delight of the 2,000+ Timbers faithful who made the journey with the team and the hundreds of thousands more here in Portland watching from the Crystal Ballroom, any number of sports bars in the area, or simply from their couches.
It was the perfect end to what turned into a dream season for Caleb Porter’s squad after weathering some early difficulties and a mid-season swoon that left the team and their supporters wondering if Portland would even make the playoffs. But since a late-season tactical switch by Porter, Darlington Nagbe’s potential suddenly turned into production, Fanendo Adi suddenly morphed into one of the league’s top strikers, and Valeri finally began to rise to the level he displayed all through the 2013 and 2014 seasons prior to his ACL injury.
Make no mistake however; while Valeri and Rodney Wallace provided the highlights, this Timbers team won, as they have all season, on the strength of their defense. For all the noise and print about Porter’s shift to the single-pivot and Nagbe and Adi’s burgeoning stardom, it was a rear guard among the best in the league that carried the Timbers while the goals were few and far between, and continued to be the constant throughout the playoff run.
Portland’s back four of Alvas Powell, Liam Ridgewell, Nat Borchers, and Jorge Villafaña along with defensive midfielder Diego Chara were immense all game, allowing only one shot on goal by a Columbus Crew squad that scored the second-most goals in the entire league this season and featured Golden Boot winner (along with Toronto’s Sebastian Giovinco) Kei Kamara.
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