Thursday, August 6, 2020
No one got either semifinalist giving TarjetaRoja 2nd and The Six Foot Box 3rd
BUBBLE PARTY & PLAYTIME, CA (smt) -- Group F winner Portland Timbers capitalized on two corner kicks and survived giving up their 5th penalty kick and a 50/50 offside call to defeat 2A-Philadelphia Union, 2-1. PHI skied a PK over the crossbar before halftime and after cutting the lead in half, nearly scored a minute later but the ref called offsides nullifying the goal. Had the ref done let the 50/50 call go to VAR the goal would've stood. Alas, POR defeats their second consecutive Group A foe (beating 3A-New York City FC in the quarters) and will have a chance to make it 3-for-3 in Group A as they will face Group A winner Orlando City SC. POR has won the past two matches despite having two days less rest than their opponent. This time they will have one more day rest than ORL.
Host ORL roared with two Nani first-half goals, the first Nani just overpowering the defender to toe poke it past the goalkeeper and the second a world-class strike from outside the box. Nani added a garbage time assist as ORL beat 2D-Minnesota United FC 3-1. MIN's first goal came on a 50/50 offside where the ref correctly let it go and it was close enough VAR didn't even have to review it closely, just check it like all other goals. ORL had just 7 shots but four were on goal. The Final is Tuesday.