Only twelve days after Seattle Sounders were knocked out of the U.S. Open Cup by Portland Timbers, the two sides met yet again during rivalry week on national television. Bragging rights were on the line like in any classic rivalry match but also this game meant much more. In a tight Western Conference, Portland found themselves in 7th place and needed a win to boost them up the table and increase squad morale heading into a busy July of league play, Open Cup, and a friendly against Newcastle United. Seattle Sounders were forced to start a less experienced attack because of a Clint Dempsey suspension and an Obafemi Martins injury which are tough pills to swallow. Defense was key in an effort to get a result away from home without two of Seattle's best players and perhaps the best strike partnership in the league. 

Only four days ago, Portland Timbers were completely undone in Los Angeles by a losing scoreline of 5-0 to the Galaxy. Sunday night the Rose City boys looked like a totally different team then what was showcased this past Wednesday. Portland rushed quickly out of the gates to start the match, earning a free kick in under two minutes in what was their first decent opportunity of the evening. What was noticeable about the Timbers against Seattle is that the midfield completely bossed the Sounders attack and their midfield, shutting down any opportunity on a run at goal. In the ninth minute Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei denied a Will Johnson strike and saved a follow up shot by Fanendo Adi which brought much momentum to the Timbers in the opening minutes.

Darlington Nagbe provided the breakthrough for the home team. The Timbers attacking midfielder smashed a strike from twenty yards out to beat Frei and send the Portland faithful into an absolute bliss in a huge rivalry match. Seattle were constantly on the backfoot during the first half as Frei was forced into another save five minutes later on a blast by Diego Chara. Again, three minutes later Frei came to the rescue again after a beautifully set up attack by Diego Valeri who played in to defender Alvas Powell, but his shot resulted as another tally on the save stat. Though Portland were completely dominant in the match, Seattle found an equalizer.

In the 38th minute, Seattle Sounders received a free kick on the left side of the field and defender Tyrone Mears was the one to deliver in the ball. Mears sent in a vicious ball to the back post to an unmarked Lamar Neagle who tapped in off the volley. After the Sounders first goal they finally found themselves in the game and playing much better on the night. At half time the score read 1-1 in this Cascadia rivalry.

A tale of two halves perfectly describes how Seattle played against Portland. In the first half, it took a 38th minute free kick to finally kick the Sounders into high gear and they are lucky to not have been further punished on the score sheet. The second half was a different story though. After the restart, Seattle earned back to back dangerous corners that put much pressure on Timbers goalkeeper. Consistently throughout the first 20 minutes Seattle looked very threatening in attack and were playing with a better b=vibe than in the first 45 minutes. All seemed well for Sounders until Portland started to kick it up a notch. On a brilliant give and go between Timbers players Diego Valeri and Gaston Fernandez, Valeri shot just wide of the right post. On a quick counter attack four minutes later Fernandez curled a shot looking to go upper 90 but Stefan Frei saved once again. Seattle's resistance was broken on a fantastic play by Darlington Nagbe.

Nagbe steamed up the field in what was a darting run into the Seattle Sounders 18-yard box. Instead of shooting, the playmaker from Liberia found teammate Fandeno Adi who perfectly shot a curler into the upper right corner of the net and put the Timbers up 2-1 in the 74th minute. If the game had not turned up enough, another goal was found just a two minutes later. 

Seattle lost control of the ball in the center of the park to Portland. Fanendo Adi took the ball upfield and with all of the confidence in the world, shot from 20 yards out and sunk the ball into the back of the net, a throat punch to the Seattle team. To hammer the nails into the coffin, Portland scored again in the 90th minute plus one minute stoppage time. Maximiliano Urruti pounced on a loose ball in the midfield where he found Rodney Wallace square to his left after another great run, and Wallace made no mistake this time as he hammered home the Timbers fourth of the game. The energetic Portland Timbers team kept up pressure throughout the whole match and it ended 4-1 in favor of the Rose City against their bitter rivals from the north.

In an interview by reporters, Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid commented on the match with Portland Timbers. "Portland was the better team. It was a deserved victory. The first fifteen minutes of the second half we played well, that was our best phase, we just made silly errors at the end and just were not alert enough. In response to a question about composure from the experienced Seattle midfield, Schmid stated "We just didnt do a good job of compacting the midfield. We stayed too wide. We didn't even force their goalkeeper into a save, that's not enough. Sigi also remarked "I am extremely disappointed with our reaction" in response to the two quick goals by Adi. "It's our fault, we allowed ourselves to get deflated at 2-1, and 3-1 shouldn't have happened. 

VAVEL's very own Brandon Farris caught an interview with Seattle debutant Andy Craven after the match. On regards to his substitue appearance in a high profile match, Craven said "It was intense, it's everything I could have dreamed of or imagined." Craven states "I felt prepared (for Portland). I've been training hard and playing hard for the past few months, I'm fit and ready to contribute." In a Seattle attack, the forward nearly found a cross in what was a great opportunity to score his first goal for Seattle Sounders. "I was really trying to hit the near post hard and when it was there, it was just inches away... I thought I had it!" exclaimed Craven.

Without Clint Dempsey and Obafemi Martins in the lineup due to suspension and injury, Seattle had to rely on an attack that underperformed during the match. It would always be tough for Sounders and their defense did not help them out either as they lost out to a full of life Portland team who deserved the three points Sunday night. After the result, Portland find themselves 3rd in the table with 28 points and their rival, Seattle Sounders are only a point ahead in second place. This win for Timbers is huge, but they will need to keep up the pace to break away from a close Western Conference table. Seattle on the other hand need to hope for the best. The neighbors to the north have lost four straight, three in the MLS and once in Open Cup. Without the two playmakers up top, Seattle are struggling to score goals and can find themselves in a heap of trouble if they fail to do so. Next week won't be so easy for them either, as they are facing off against the best team in the league, D.C. United. Portland take on Western Conference foe, Real Salt Lake, in another pivotal match up in the race for the Supporters' Shield.

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About the author
Logan Alexander
18 year old senior in high school, and native of Jacksonville, FL. Lead writer for the Jacksonville Armada FC, also huge fan of the Seminoles, Jaguars, Flyers(random I know). Life is a blessing and writing is a dream.