Timbers advance to MLS Cup with a tie
Columbus gets past Red Bulls in East
FRISCO, Texas — Defender Nat Borchers stepped up for the Portland Timbers with an MLS Cup spot in the line.
The Timbers had seen a three-goal lead in their Western Conference finals dwindle to a lone goal, and FC Dallas’ Blas Perez had a shot to tie the series in stoppage time— until Borchers got in the way.
“It was just a reaction for sure,” Borchers said. “I just had to make a quick decision, and somehow I made the block.”
Then at the other end, Portland’s Lucas Melano scored for a 2-2 tie in the match Sunday and a 5-3 series victory on aggregate goals.
The Timbers advanced to the MLS Cup for the first time, next Sunday at Columbus. The Crew beat the New York Red Bulls in the Eastern Conference finals.
Borchers didn’t care where they play.
“I’m just happy with the way we’ve played on the road,” he said.
On Sunday, Fanendo Adi’s left-footed goal from 10 yards in front of the net gave the Timbers a 1-0 lead in the 54th minute. Captain Diego Valeri and Dairon Asprilla assisted.
“I knew that we would find spots between the defensive box and the outer box,” Valeri said. “I got the ball there and I knew that Adi was there in that spot, and he did a great thing.”
Dallas came back with goals by Ryan Hollingshead and Perez 5 minutes apart, and had another 17 minutes to win the series, or tie the Timbers and go to overtime to decide the conference title.
“In the second half, I thought it was ours,” FC Dallas coach Oscar Pareja said. “We created a lot of chances. Unfortunately, we couldn’t put the ball in the back of the net in those last 10 minutes.”
CREW-RED BULLS: In Harrison, N.J., the Columbus Crew earned only their second trip to the MLS Cup final in the 20-year history of Major League Soccer and their first since 2008, losing 1-0 to the New York Red Bulls but advancing with a two-leg 2-1 aggregate victory.
Anatole Abang scored 3 minutes into second-half injury time and Bradley WrightPhillips hit the post with a header 1½ minutes later for the Red Bulls, who fell one step short of the MLS championship game for the second straight year.
The Crew will look to win their second MLS championship. They beat New York seven years ago.
ENGLAND: It’s a sign of how dismal Chelsea’s Premier League title defense has been that Jose Mourinho called a draw at Tottenham the best performance of the season.
With Diego Costa dropped to the bench and Eden Hazard deployed as a false nine in the striker’s place, Chelsea left White Hart Lane with a 0-0 draw that at least gave the west London club three consecutive clean sheets in all competitions.
SPAIN: Gareth Bale scored his first goal in three months for Real Madrid before Cristiano Ronaldo added a penalty to secure a 2-0 win at Eibar and end its two-game losing run in the Spanish league.
GERMANY: Bundesliga top scorer Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang got another two goals for Borussia Dortmund in its 4-1 home victory over Stuttgart to consolidate second place.
FRANCE: Defender Damien Da Silva scored twice as surprise package Caen climbed to second place in the French league with a 4-1 rout of Bordeaux.
ITALY: Five days after a humiliating 6-1 rout by Barcelona in the Champions League, Roma’s defensive deficiencies were highlighted again in an alarming 2-0 loss at home to Atalanta in Serie A.