The Seattle Sounders suffered a frustrating 1-0 loss on the road against the Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Saturday night.
The 121st all-time meeting between the Sounders and Timbers got off to a rocky start for the Rave Green. In the 5th minute, Stefan Frei made a sprawling save to deny Mason Toye from point-blank range but picked up an injury in the process. Andrew Thomas replaced the veteran goalkeeper a few minutes later through a concussion substitution.
Seattle appeared to open the scoring in the 19th minute when Pedro de la Vega poked home a redirected pass from Cristian Roldan following a corner kick, but the play was flagged for offside.
Five minutes later, Alex Roldan and Yeimar were forced into moments of last-ditch defending to repel a pair of dangerous attacks from Portland.
In the 30th minute, Josh Atencio clipped a lovely pass into the box for de la Vega, who settled the ball with his chest before firing a goal-bound volley that was blocked by Dario Župarić. Three minutes later, Albert Rusnák’s corner kick found the head of Jordan Morris, but the subsequent shot fell straight to Portland goalkeeper Maxime Crepau.
Both teams continued to trade half chances for the final 15 minutes of the half but entered the break scoreless.
The Timbers took the lead in the 55th minute when a counter attack released Juan Mosquera down the right flank. The Colombian’s shot from outside the box took a deflection off Nouhou and looped over Thomas into the side netting.
In the 63rd minute, Georgi Minoungou broke into space down the left and played a ball into the path of Morris, but Kamal Miller produced a slide tackle at the last second to deny the chance.
Seattle’s best chance at an equalizer came five minutes later when Raúl Ruidíaz’s scuffed shot bounced into the path of Morris inside the six, but his shot was blocked over the goal by Toye.
In the 70th minute, Thomas produced an acrobatic save to deny Evander’s free kick from 30 yards out.
The Sounders continued to push for a goal throughout the final 20 minutes of the match, with Minoungou generating a handful of exciting opportunities, but were unable to capitalize.
THREE TAKEAWAYS
Cascadia Cup standings
With the loss, the Sounders fall into third in the Cascadia Cup standings with four points from four matches against their regional rivals Portland and Vancouver. The Timbers move into second with six points, while the Whitecaps remain in first with seven points.
Minoungou makes impact
After signing a First Team contract on Wednesday, Minoungou showed plenty of promise in his 40-minute stint on Saturday night. The 22-year-old Ivorian winger dribbled and weaved past Timbers players with ease before playing inviting passes into the box. Almost all of Seattle’s best chances at an equalizer started from the feet of Minoungou.
Road trip continues
The Sounders will play their third straight road match in league play next Saturday when they visit reigning MLS Cup Champions Columbus Crew SC (4:30 p.m. PT; Watch on MLS Season Pass, 950 KJR AM, El Rey 1360) at Lower.Com Field.
