New York City FC fled with the MLS title after a victory snatched from the Portland Timbers in a penalty shootout on Saturday.
This victory of the NYCFC by the mark of 1 (4) – 1 (2) allows the New York formation to savor the first title of its history in the MLS. The meeting gave right to several twists with in particular a late goal for Portland and an unsightly gesture on the part of a supporter.
In heavy rain, 19-goal scorer in the regular season, Valentin Castellanos threw a cold shower on the Timbers fans gathered at Providence Park in the 41st minute.
The forward took off on a Maxi Moralez free kick and his header shifted past goalkeeper Steve Clark to open the scoring in favor of the New York side.
During the celebrations, Jesus Medina approached his teammates but was hit by what appeared to be a can thrown from the stands. The NYCFC player remained on the ground for long minutes after being struck close to the face. He was finally able to get up to resume the action.
Security was able to identify the supporter who threw the can and the supporter was kicked out.
Moralez came very close to striking the Timbers at the start of the second half, but his free kick hit the crossbar.
Portland got a good chance on a counterattack in the last 15 minutes of play. Yimmi Chara came in front of Sean Johnson, but Maxime Chanot stepped in at the last moment to deflect the shot off the field.
Felipe Mora had the tying goal at the tip of his foot moments later, but was unable to redirect Chara’s free kick behind the rising NYCFC goaltender.
In what was shaping up to be the Timbers’ last chance to level the score, Mora saw the ball land at his feet in the box as the New York defense was caught off guard. The striker vibrated the ropes in the 94th minute to send the two teams into overtime.
On the sequence Chanot appeared to be knocked down to the ground by a rival which prevented him from doing his job. The defender argued with the official afterwards, but to no avail.
The overtime was not a master, so that the penalties were necessary.
Mora was held back by Johnson with a superb dive to his right. Clark immediately responded with a save at the expense of Alfredo Morales. The NYCFC goalie once again stood up against the second player sent by Portland. He threw himself to his right to make the save against Diego Valeri.
Alexander Callens had the victory at the end of his foot to close the shootout and he did not miss this chance. His net allowed New Yorkers to begin the celebrations of their conquest.
“What a crazy adventure we experienced this year! There have been so many ups and downs, Johnson commented. We talked to each other before the game and we thought we just had a huge chance to make it all worth it. And that is what we live for, these moments. “
The NYCFC wins the MLS Cup after entering the playoffs as fourth in the Eastern Conference by a 14-9-11 regular season record.
The players stayed on the pitch long after the game was over. Head coach Ronny Delia stripped to lift the cup in his underwear as the players drank champagne.
“I don’t regret doing it, it was a great moment,” said Delia. I will continue to do so if we continue to win cups! “
For their part, the Timbers were also fourth in the Western Association with a 17-13-4 record in the regular season. During their playoff run, the Timbers showed the favorites the Colorado Rapids the way out, then did the same to Real Salt Lake before losing to New York.
The Timbers won the MLS Cup in 2015 and also lost in the final to Atlanta in 2018.
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