It was a performance to remember in the final 45 minutes for St. Louis CITY SC, as they managed to score twice late in the game to secure a 3-1 victory over Portland Timbers at CITYPARK to advance to the Round of 16 in Leagues Cup.
The locals were pressuring since the start of this one, as they created chances from the get go when a Chris Durkin shot went off the post and a laser from Simon Becher went just over the crossbar, all in the first two minutes of the game.
Portland Timbers suffered a big blow as Evander had to come off the pitch because of an injury and that hurt them in more ways than one. They could not create much offense in the first 45 minutes and in the second half the story was similar.
The talent displayed by STL CITY paid off in the 51th minute when Cedric Teuchert controlled a deflected shot inside the box and then finished with his right foot to the far post to open up the scoring. This lead did not last long, as Claudio Bravo shot from a long distance putting the ball far from the goalkeeper to tie the score only three minutes later.
This did not diminish the home team’s game plan as they continued attacking and near the end, the door they knocked on all night opened up twice. Marcel Hartel took a corner kick to execute a set piece practiced during the week, but after Eduard Lowen controlled the ball, he served to Hartel who finished the play by shooting in between the goalkeeper’s legs to once again put his team a goal up.
Then it was Becher’s turn. After all his effort during the game, he was rewarded with a goal of his own as he changed the trajectory of a deflected ball and kicked it to put it in the upper right corner for the third goal of the game in the 87th minute to seal the deal.
“It’s a really good performance overall and something that I think the whole group knew they were capable of coming into this game,” said CITY SC head coach, John Hackworth, after the game with a smile on his face. “We’re playing some good soccer, we're defending together and I really like the in-game adjustments the guys are making and the staff is making.”
Portland head coach, Phil Neville, knows his team did not show their best version. “They deserved to win the game, from the first whistle we didn’t compete and away from home we need to compete, in life sometimes you get a reminder of what needs to be done and it happened tonight,” he said. “I am disappointed with how we played really but mostly with our mentality.”
St. Louis CITY SC will prepare to fight for a spot in the quarter-finals against a Liga MX opponent as they have their eyes set on the Leagues Cup trophy, one they wish to conquer in 2024.
