Portland Timbers Come Out On The Losing End Of Shootout.

Portland, Ore. — (CBS Sports) — New York City FC have their first MLS Cup in franchise history as they defeated the Portland Timbers in their home via a penalty shootout after the match ended 1-1 after regulation and extra time. Founded in 2013, NYCFC got an early goal from Golden Boot winner Valentin Castellanos who capitalized off some clumsy goalkeeping in wet conditions from Portland keeper Steve Clark. Felipe Mora scored the equalizer at the death as no one was able to find the breakthrough goal in the 30 minutes of extra time. NYCFC keeper Sean Johnson was the hero in this one as he made two clutch saves to secure a 4-2 shootout win to clinch the title.

The Portland Timbers never got things going early on as Sebastian Blanco seemed to be playing at 60 percent after replacing Santiago Moreno in the lineup from the Western Conference Final. Early on, both sides were essentially playing a ping pong match as the slick field gave them trouble moving the ball. There was a point when New York were clear through in the box and both Tayvon Gray and Maxi Moralez both slipped in the box for Portland to regain possession that summed up how the conditions were.

Things did open up a little thanks to Claudio Bravo fouling Tayvon Gray in the 40th minute to concede a free kick. Dead ball specialist Moralez sent in the free kick that Castellanos headed into the net but it’s a chance that should have been saved.

This is familiar territory for Clark as he had a similar mistake in 2015 while playing for the Columbus Crew against the Portland Timbers. But once New York got their noses ahead, Moralez began expert game management pinging passes around the pitch and it seemed like it would work but at the end of regulation but Filipe Mora made up for his miss earlier in the match by rifling a finish past Sean Johnson. That goal by Mora was also the latest goal ever scored in regulation of MLS Cup but New York wanted it ruled out for a foul. Maxime Chanot was appealing to the referee as his teammates encircled the ref but it was determined that the goal would stand.

In the first period of extra time, New York seemed disjointed as they weren’t able to move on from Portland’s equalizer being ruled out. Even with the Timbers having players out of position due to tossing on so many attackers, New York wasn’t able to cut through their defense. Valeri had the best chance for both sides with a shot in space from outside the box but he fired it into the stands behind the box