US Open Cup: Portland Timbers 1-2 Seattle Sounders

By: Bob Kellett | July 1st, 2009

Bottom Line: First half goals by Roger Levesque and Stephen King lifted the Seattle Sounders to a 2-1 victory over the Portland Timbers in a US Open Cup match played in front of 16,382 at PGE Park. Levesque, a former member of the USL Sounders, stunned the packed stadium with a goal in the first minute. The visiting Sounders took a two-goal lead in the 26th minute when King struck a shot from outside the box and beat Timbers keeper Steve Cronin. The Timbers pulled one back in the 43rd minute when Mandjou Keita emerged from a scrum in front of the net and poked it past Sounders keeper Kasey Keller. The Timbers were unable to find the equalizer and lost for the first time in 14 games. With the win Seattle advances to the next round of the US Open Cup and will face the Kansas City Wizards.

Timbers lineup
Cronin
Thompson Knowles Keel (Danso 90) Hayes
Farber Claesson Savage (McManus 45) Suzuki
Keita Josten (Nimo 80)

Did you notice…

As disappointing it is to see the Timbers lose, it was a fantastic night for soccer in Portland and the Pacific Northwest. The atmosphere was outstanding. Both supporters groups sung loud and proud. A lot of new faces showed up to the stadium. This is what a lot of us have worked for for a very long time.
I give the Timbers credit for sticking in the game. A first minute goal is always deflating and to fall behind by two goals usually means game over. The team fought through the early struggle and played a pretty decent, even game.

The biggest difference tonight was the central midfield. Claesson and Savage were badly outplayed in the first half. The both are a step slow to be successful playing against MLS caliber players. I thought Gavin Wilkinson made the right move bringing in Tony McManus for the second half. He is a more physical player than Savage and broke up some of the Sounders’ build up.
Roger Levesque has always killed the Timbers. It was disappointing to see an Oregonian and former University of Portland player Nate Jaqua join in the goal celebration by pretending to chop down Levesque. Until he uses a real chainsaw to do the deed, Jaqua is dead to me.
I thought Wilkinson waited a little too long to bring in the bench. He didn’t make a substitution until the 80th minute and when he did it was Nimo, who was very effective, for Josten, who had his moments. That left Suzuki paired with Keita up front. Suzuki worked hard, but he isn’t going to get it done late in the game. He doesn’t have the gas. Bringing in Danso as an extra forward was intriguing, but at the 90th minute a bit too late.
When the Timbers panicked they resorted to the long ball. When they were under control, they rolled it around. For a 20-minute stretch in the first half it was almost all long ball.
Who shot Sanna Nyassi? There must be a grassy knoll out there somewhere that is hiding the sniper that felled him late in the game. How else can you explain him going down to the turf in a heap with no one around? Whoever threw the empty water bottle from the North End has tremendous aim. Next time throw it at Wilkinson too for letting Nyassi play for the Timbers last season while on trial with Seattle.
True conversation I had with a Seattle customer fan after Levesque scored:
Me: Your guy Levesque always kills us.
Him: Who?
Me: Levesque. The guy who just scored.
Him: (Tumbleweeds…)
Me: The guy who played for your USL side.
Him: (Deer caught in headlights look)
Me: Your team. The one you had for a decade or so.
Him: (Looks like he doesn’t understand English)
Me: Never mind
Him: (Relieved look on his face)

Match Reports

Sounders down Timbers in US Open Cup (USA Today)
Sounders FC cuts down Portland 2-1 in spirited battle of Northwest rivals (Seattle Times)
Sounders beat old rival Timbers in U.S. Open Cup (Seattle P-I)
Sound loss for Timbers (The Columbian)
Seattle 2, Portland 1: Sounders stun sold-out PGE Park crowd in U.S. Open Cup (The Oregonian)
Photo Gallery (Allison Andrews Soccer City USA)