With a place in the MLS Cup Final at stake, Sporting Kansas City hosted Portland Timbers at Children’s Mercy Park in the Audi 2018 MLS Cup Playoffs Western Conference Championship second leg. That'll do very nicely for the next installment of our 'Framed' series.
The energy levels were cranked up even further as we got deep into the playoffs, which meant that Kansas was the only place to be for a MLS showdown at the weekend. The teams went into the game on the back of a stalemate in the first leg in Portland, and usually there’s no place like home, except for the Timbers it seems, who enjoyed more fortune on their trip to Kansas.
The game didn’t disappoint, the lead swapping and changing in a five goal thriller. But it was the Timbers who were able to hold onto their nerve, the away goal rule meaning that the home side had to continue to press for an advantage well into the nine minutes of stoppage time. This allowed the Timbers to snatch a break away goal, sealing the win and securing their place in the MLS Cup Final where they will face Atlanta United. Timbers fans were left in a delirious fantasy land that certainly didn’t feel like Kansas anymore...
Photography by Stephen Shireman for SoccerBible.
