Final: Portland v Orlando City LIVE! (8/11)

It's finally here.  The MLS is Back Final!  Will Group F winners Portland Timbers get their 2nd trophy or will Group A winners Orlando City SC get their first?  No drama for the pool as the top 3 have secured their spots.

5:49 pm PDT:  Geez, I hate late kickoffs, especially when there is no pomp and circumstance or national anthem. Wasn't this a 5:30 pm start (and originally 5 pm even up to the Semifinals)?

14':  Great job by the groundskeepers in keeping Fields 16 and 17 in great shape every match.  This final is on Field 17, next to the main building.  Either way, the teams will be happy to see their families in person for the first time in more than month.

26': Nice touch with the added MLS is BACK FINAL lettering on the front of the jersey.  Oh, and GOAL!  27' put in by POR's Mabiala off a free kick cross.  POR 1:0 (tiebreak total goals = 8).

31':  Hydration break.  Great audio between POR' Blanco and the referee.  No fake crowd noise!  Though, I do not know why they can't just feed hundreds of live streams with real fans, fans who can do chants and stuff for their home team.  You can add a noise filter so if one person wanted to yell and swear over and over it wouldn't be heard, just come across as crowd noise.  And get live oohs and aahs instead of manufactured ones or chants that are just not in the right place.   You couldn't do it random because the networks have a 10-20 second delay, but let fans sign up for live feeds.

39': #10 Pereyra ties it up with an assist from... Nani (OK, Opta incredibly didn't give an assist on that.. Only Opta).  And for the 11th straight match, each team has scored a goal.  Remember all those 0-0 halftime scores early on?   ORL 1:1 (tiebreak total goals = 9).  POR has given up at least one goal in all 7 tourney matches.

43':  POR's Valeri tries a close free kick kicking it low and trying to go under the wall.  The one I remember that worked was in the famous '07 LA@NY match for Beckham's NY debut and NY's Juan Pablo Angel scored that way in a wild 5-4 Red Bull win in front of 66K fans.

Half:  4 min of stoppage and we're tied at 1.  This is the 24th tie (of 51 matches) at halftime.  Remember, no Extra Time.  Oh, the part-Austin FC owner Matthew McConaughey MLS commercial!  He's got a great voice and loved the love it/hate it Interstellar.

55': POR has let ORL have possession (>64%) while pretty much even on shots.  Kudos for ESPN for complimenting the grounds crew.  Also, jealous of the FC Dallas fans who will get to see their team play tomorrow.  Limited to 5,000 or so fans but since it's DAL, no guarantee of a sellout.  I don't know of any other teams allowing fans and Louisville City (USL Championship - that's the name of the league, not an actual final) has had success with sellouts of almost 5,000 each match with no "outbreaks".

64': A giveaway where ORL needs to foul right outside the box.  Great free kick opportunity for Valeri whose shot is saved by ORL GK Gallese.

65':  Another fast reaction save by Gallese (again) off the CK attempt.

66':  Another POR CK bounces around and POR puts it in!  Goes through the box and Zuparik redirects it in.  POR 2:1 (tiebreak total goals = 10).

72':  Nani may have knocked POR's Villafana but Villafana then moved his head into Nani and fell backward.  Well, Nani still got the yellow (73').

76': Hydration break.  ORL has more shots but only one on goal and still has 63% possession.  Teams are under .500 when having 63% or more possession (2-3-6).

85': 7th card, 4th on ORL.  Really bad high boot by Ruan.  Regardless, both teams will start the regular season in 3rd place in their respective conference.  One more goal will give Super League 10th place over BigRedMessi 2.

88':  Always nervous when the ball is played back to POR's GK Steve Clark.  Remember the CIN match?  One thing I hope they keep is the live audio between VAR and referee.  Simple, non-judgmental.  Just the facts.

90': Another big save by ORL.  5 minutes stoppage.  Blanco and Valeri are out, hopefully no PSO.

90'+2':  ORL has a clear shot all by himself and... skies it high.  Kyle Smith.  American.  College-trained.  USL.  No wonder.  ORL GK Gallese's OMG reaction was classic.  It's no coincidence that the players mentioned thus far are from outside the USA (Blanco, Mabiala, Pereyra, Nani, Valeri, Zuparik, Gallese).  The exceptions are POR GK Steve Clark, but I only mentioned him because of his gaffe against CIN, and Jorge Villafana, who I only mentioned because he acted like he got hit by a sledgehammer and dove.  OK, McConaughey is American and great and probably would've scored on that clear shot.

90'+4':  ORL GK in the box on the CK.

90'+5': POR with CK and they can kill 30 seconds.

95:03:  Match over!  Great to see POR celebrating like it means something!  POR gets their 2nd trophy to go with MLS Cup '15.  ORL falls short with an uninspired last 30 minutes or so.  With 10 goals scored in the final 3 matches, Kona Coast Sliders takes 7th over Kona Coast Fauci's.  BigRedMessi 2 takes 10th over Super League.