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Timbers ride strong start to win over Sounders

DavidHorst (Getty)

In a match-up of heated rivals both in need of a victory, the Portland Timbers started Sunday's showdown vs. Seattle looking every bit like the team intent on snapping their recent funk.

The Timbers rode a pair of first-half goals from Kris Boyd and David Horst and some of their best soccer of the season to a 2-1 victory over the Sounders at Jeld-Wen Field on Sunday.

Boyd opened the scoring with a 16th-minute finish from Boyd, who slipped past Jhon Kennedy Hurtado to finish with ease. In the 25th minute, Horst headed home a corner kick from Franck Songo'o to send the sold-out crowd in Portland into an uproar.

Seattle battled back, and pulled to within 2-1 courtesy of a beautiful goal from Eddie Johnson, but they never found the equalizer in a match that ended with Seattle's Fredy Montero and Portland's Lovel Palmer earning red cards.

The loss marked Seattle's seventh straight MLS match without a victory, a stretch that has dropped the Sounders to fourth place in the West, just five points ahead of fifth-place Los Angeles.

Portland won the match on the field, while Timbers supporters won the battle in the stands, unveiling a jaw-dropping tifo before the match.

Here is the tifo (Match highlights are after the jump):

TimbersTifo (Getty)

What did you think of the match? See the Timbers climbing back into the playoff race? Starting to worry about the Sounders?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. sorry, everything is lost when you call yourself the “King of Clubs”…exactly what did they do to claim that moniker?!?!?!?!? It’s a bit of an insult to rest of the league…especially the clubs that can lay claim to such a title. Win a few MLS Cups then we’ll talk.

    The one this past Sunday is actually fantastic though…I will give them that.

    FYI..not a fan of either PORT or SEA.

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  2. No, if I had been wondering that I would have said that.
    I was merely pointing out that your claim that Seattle was “diving” any more than Portland was had no basis in reality, only in partisanship.
    However, your ability to dodge the point, regardless of how clear it is made, is truly staggering. I tip my hat to you.

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  3. I never claimed that Montero wasn’t out of control, my point was that any claim that Seattle was going to turf more easily or with more dramatics than Portland did was nonsense.

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  4. Clive Charles, former Timber, assistant coach to USWNT, founder of UP’s men’s and women’s soccer [consistent top 25 for the women’s program even today], coached Kasey Keller, started one of the top area youth clubs in FC Portland [although not the best today]. RIP

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  5. You mean that extremely detailed design with intricate incorporation of many Portland Timbers items? The pudding was in the detail on that one.

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  6. Montero shoves Horst in the back. After he shoved for 70 minutes. Shoved the ref. Got in Salazar’s face more than once. Blatant handball on free kick while encroaching. Walked over a lying and injured player. Attempted more than once to disrupt the goalkeeper. Seriously, it was the culmination of douchebaggery.

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  7. not from either city but I liked Portland’s better. Seattle’s was bigger but required explanation, and were pointing out players that had minimal impact on the club. This one was well done. I hope that motivated every player!

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  8. If Horst doesn’t go down that would never have been a call, which it should have been. He went down easy, yes but out of necessity more than anything. Though you are spot on, every team dives and every team claims innocence.

    Now as for the ref, anytime you call soft fouls or numerous fouls ins Sea vs PDX match you aren’t going to help a lot. The constant starting and stopping of the game always seems to add to the jitters the players already have.

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  9. If you look closely at the lower left corner of the banner, you can see where is says:

    BAC is 0.08%
    if you are pregnant
    celebrate with a soda

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  10. Portland native here with a couple observations about the display. Very typical regional-urban bad hippy style art on the large pre-game TA banner, but overall funny considering the MLS is licking up every single drop of the “authentic fan culture” on display. The stadium needs real grass because even good players get reduced to nervously hacking and heading high bouncing pin balls which can frustrate either team’s attempt at fluid possession. No matter how good they might be, the turf makes a lot of players look like chumps with so many hard to control high bounces. Apart from that, the stadium looks good on TV and overall, I feel that the NW rivalries are pushing up the profile of the league without a doubt. Another positive, lots of foreign players mixed with the the US players on these two teams. Lots of different soccer cultures represented out there, and in general, lots of hungry players that will relish the opportunity to play with the heightened visibility and adoration (and derision) that comes with the Portland/Seattle rivalry. Happy not to lose, but under no illusions about the Timbers. They are simply not fated to come out of the gates as strongly as the Sounders have over their first MLS seasons. Sounders are still the better team right now, but no sweat for Portland. They can only get better and grow into their team.

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  11. You can say that with a straight face after watching Hoorst flop when pushed a bit by 150lbs Montero?
    Every supporter thinks their opponents are the only divers only the field, including me – we’re all wrong (unless you’re playing against Felipe and Montreal – that guys ridiculous.)

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  12. The tifo was gorgeous. City of Portland flag on the left & Cascadia flag on the right. Timbers Army crest on the left and the pre-MLS Timbers crest on the right. I think the designers out-did themselves.

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  13. Too many free kicks conceeded in the timbers half. I have to agree with Keller, pains me to as a former sounder, but he is spot on…. Timbers lacked the experience to finish this one off in style. Nail biter for sure. Salazar didn’t help with all the ticky tack calls in the midfield… His whistle added to the physical note the game ended on.

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