After going down a goal early in Frisco, Darlington Nagbe emerged in the second half to hand FC Dallas their first home loss of 2013. With this win Portland moves on to the semi-finals for the first time to face Real Salt Lake at Rio Tinto Stadium on August 7th.
The Portland Timbers came out of the locker rooms drained of energy, playing their sixth match over 18 days in 100 degree Texas heat. While Caleb Porter opted to field a full team of starters, the first half was largely abysmal. Darlington Nagbe was given no room to operate in the midfield and Fabian Castillo consistently beat defender Ryan Miller.
FC Dallas struck first in the 15th minute off a Je-Vaughn Watson goal assisted by Blas Perez. Perez drew defenders to him at the end of the box and played off to an open Watson. Watson simply tossed the ball into a relatively open net past Timbers keeper Donovan Ricketts .
Portland continued to slag through the next 25 minutes of the game. Dallas forwards Castillo and Jackson abused the Timbers’ outside backs with their speed and kept Portland on the back foot. The Timbers defense held with help from Pa Modou Kah and they were finally able to open things up around the 40th minute. Darlington Nagbe and Rodney Wallace began making runs through the midfield and up the wings, serving balls into the box and shifting momentum in their favor. While none of the resulting shots beat Dallas keeper Chris Seitz, the Timbers went into the half with newfound energy and confidence.
Darlington Nagbe came out of the locker room for the second half a changed man. He had been hounded by Andrew Jacobson all night and finally got mad. In the 60th minute Nagbe decided that enough was enough, took control, and put the team on his back. Nagbe possessed the ball 30 yards out and effortlessly worked his way through Dallas’ left side. He dribbled through Jackson, turned the corner on Zach Loyd inside the box, and slammed the ball under Chris Seitz to tie the game. Darlington Nagbe had now scored against FC Dallas in each meeting of 2013.
Just two minutes later Nagbe beat the Dallas defense again, this time with a wonderful assist of Diego Valeri. Nagbe lobbed from the center circle to a streaking Valeri who found himself onside and one-on-one with Seitz. With the keeper far off his line, the Portland designated player calmly slipped the ball through Seitz’s legs and into the goal. Suddenly, Portland was firing on all cylinders.
Frederic Piquionne, who had subbed in the 57th minute, wasn’t content with just two goals. He pressured Walker Zimmerman into playing a lazy ball back to the keeper which was easily intercepted. Piquionne took a first-touch shot and beat the stranded Dallas keeper to give Portland a two goal lead, 3-1.
Between the 68th and 84th minutes four changes were made, Portland freshened up their defense while Dallas did the same for their attack. Dallas’ tactical substitutions nearly took the game to an extra 30 minutes. Donovan Ricketts botched a clearance in the 86th minute by punching a falling ball into Blas Perez rather than safely over the crossbar. Perez headed the ball in and brought FC Dallas within a single goal of extra time.
David Ferreira then came within inches of tying the game in the final seconds. He found himself at the top of the box with Ricketts on the wrong foot and shot towards the lower-left corner. Save of the night went to the post, which deflected the ball back into play as the ref called for full time and Timbers fans found their breath.
