Something special felt like it was in the air on Saturday.
The Portland Timbers took to Providence Park on Decision Day with their mission laid clearly in front of them: Win or tie against San Diego and they were into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed. Lose — and if Dallas could pull off an upset against Vancouver — and Portland would be relegated to the wildcard play-in match for the second straight season.
Fans packed the stands early. Portland manager Phil Neville, who typically wears sweats on the sideline, took the field in a full suit. The national anthem rocked, a tifo was raised and energy swelled as 20,000-plus fans anticipated playoff-caliber soccer.
Instead, everyone in attendance left disappointed after a very regular-season-like Timbers performance.
The Timbers lost 3–0, and Dallas knocked off Vancouver 2–1, meaning for the second year in a row, Portland will have to try to play its way into the full MLS playoffs.
And with the form the Timbers have shown of late, there’s little reason to believe they’re primed for a deep postseason run.
Portland had 29 points in its first 17 matches — equaling the club’s third-best first half in history. The Timbers finished with just 15 points in their final 17 matches and have won only two games since July 5.
They were out of it quickly against San Diego. While the Timbers challenged early with a pair of quality attempts from Kristoffer Velde, San Diego took a 1–0 lead into halftime on an Amahl Pellegrino goal, then opened the second half with two goals in four minutes — an Andres Dreyer left-footer in the 47th minute, followed by a Dreyer chip over keeper James Pantemis in the 49th.
By then, the cheers from Portland supporters had turned into a subtle chorus of boos, as the roar of banging drums from the San Diego supporters section took over the stadium.
In Vancouver, as Dallas took a 2–1 lead in an eventual win over the Whitecaps, San Diego put the final touches on Portland with another Pellegrino goal in the 63rd.
Next up: The Timbers will host Salt Lake on Wednesday in the MLS Western Conference Wildcard game.
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