Reinforcements
It’s been 286 days since midfielder Sebastián Blanco played in a Timbers match due to a knee injury suffered on Sept. 6, 2020. Tonight, that changed as he made a late appearance in the 80th minute to thunderous applause from the Providence Park faithful to help see out the win.
But Blanco wasn’t the only returning player. Portland saw formerly injured goalkeeper Steve Clark and midfield talisman Diego Chara return to the field with starts while defender Larrys Mabiala came in late to help marshal a five man back line to blunt the Sporting attack. Meanwhile, goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic was available as a sub for the first time of the 2021 season after undergoing surgery on April 1.
Goals X 2
Midfielders Dairon Asprilla and Marvin LorÃa each scored their second goals of the 2021 season, both of which are career highs for the players.
Snapped
With the win, Portland snapped Sporting Kansas City’s four-game unbeaten streak while also improving their home record to 3-1-1 and extending its own unbeaten streak against SKC across all competitions to five.
