ORLANDO, Aug 12, 2020 (BSS/AFP) – The Portland Timbers defeated Orlando
City 2-1 on Tuesday to clinch victory in Major League Soccer’s “MLS is Back”
restart tournament.
Goals from Congolese defender Larrys Mabiala and Croatian center-back Dario
Zuparic sealed Portland’s second piece of MLS silverware in five years
following their 2015 MLS Cup triumph.
Uruguayan midfielder Mauricio Pereyra had equalised for Orlando after
Mabiala’s opener, but the Florida club were unable to cap their fairytale run
to the final with the club’s first trophy.
Instead, it was Gio Savarese’s well-organised Portland side who showed the
greater composure at key moments in a sometimes testy final that saw seven
players pick up yellow cards.
Portland took the lead after 27 minutes when a superb curling free-kick
from the Timbers’ veteran captain Diego Valeri picked out Mabiala in the
area, who headed home for 1-0.
Orlando, however, responded well and drew level six minutes from half-time
with a goal that owed everything to the trickery of captain Nani.
The former Manchester United and Portugal international glided down the
left flank and beat his man to slide in a low cross that Pereyra controlled
before smuggling a shot under Timbers keeper Steve Clark.
The winning goal came on 66 minutes, and once again, it was via another
Portland set piece. Valeri’s corner found Eryk Williamson on the edge of the
area who shot towards goal.
The midfielder’s effort was touched on by US international striker Jeremy
Ebobisse into the path of Zuparic, who turned the ball into the net from
close range.
The Timbers’ win put the seal on a broadly successful tournament for Major
League Soccer, which relaunched its season in July after a four-month
shutdown following the coronavirus pandemic.
MLS chiefs based all of the league’s teams at Orlando inside a secure,
quarantined “bubble” to play in a one-off World Cup-style tournament without
spectators at the ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex at Disney World.
Although the early days of the competition ran into problems, with both
Dallas and Nashville forced to withdraw because of COVID-19 outbreaks, the
tournament ran smoothly thereafter.
Major League Soccer will resume its regular season this month with teams
playing at their home stadiums with no fans allowed.