PORTLAND – The word magical was heard more than once in the Portland Timbers locker room on Thursday after they cheated elimination on multiple equations in one thriller of a soccer game.
But it wasn’t so much magic as belief that somehow lifted the Timbers to the improbable tiebreaker triumph over Sporting Kansas City that sends them into a MLS Western Conference semifinal matchup with the Vancouver Whitecaps.
Especially important was the belief of Maximiliano Urruti that and Dairon Asprilla that they could he could make their limited time count – as they did by combining for the tying goal three minutes from the end of overtime.
Diego Valeri said he was very happy for his friend, admitting that Urruti has been “a little sad” about his lack of minutes this season.
“Striker is like that. You have 10 minutes and you can be the hero,” Valeri said. “(Urruti) deserved this.”
In fact, Asprilla and Urruti might have been the only Timbers who could have pulled it off. Portland looked pretty much finished after Krisztian Nemeth scored a spectacular overtime goal. Having led late into regulation, the Timbers spirit and energy appeared sapped as time ticked away.
“When they scored in the 87th minute, they got confidence,” Valeri said. “After that, they started to get the ball and put a lot of attacking players up the field and we couldn’t manage that well.
“After 100 minutes the legs start to feel heavy and (Kansas City) used that. But we got some fresh people from the bench” to help,” Valeri said. “It is a very good feeling. (Urruti and Asprilla) want to play and they have a couple minutes in the game. Like I always say, to win a trophy you need the whole team.”
Nat Borchers, who was on the losing end of a PK shootout to Sporting in the 2013 MLS Cup championship match, said the Timbers spirit never wavered even when fatigue and momentum were working against them.
Now, improbably, the Timbers are in the conference semifinals. With a 2 p.m. visit from the Vancouver Whitecaps coming Sunday, the Timbers will be challenged to re-energize themselves.
”This is a special locker room. The first day I walked in here I could feel it,” Borchers said. “This group just has a good collective belief about themselves. I think we’re going to be buoyed by this win on Sunday.”
