PORTLAND — Felipe Mora netted two goals in the first half, followed by defender Kamal Miller who scored another in the 82nd minute, leading the Portland Timbers to a 3-1 victory over Real Salt Lake in a wild-card fixture on Wednesday night.
Portland progresses to face the Western Conference regular-season champions San Diego in a best-of-three first-round playoff series.
Mora started the scoring in the 24th minute. RSL goalkeeper Rafael Cabral was able to make the initial stop of a glancing header from a free kick, but Mora reacted quickest to the rebound, firing it into the upper corner.
This marked Mora’s first goal in MLS action since May 3 against San Jose, ending a 23-match goal drought.
Photo by Soobum Im/Getty Images
Mora extended the lead to 2-0 in the 35th minute with another rebound. Cabral denied a close-range header, yet Mora was quick to seize the rebound.
Justen Glad reduced RSL’s deficit to 2-1 in the 39th minute, heading in Diogo Gonçalves‘ cross for his first postseason goal.
Miller concluded the scoring with a wide-open header at the back post for the sole goal of the second half.
The Timbers matched a club record by scoring three goals in a playoff match, achieving this for the fifth time.
RSL participated in the playoffs for a conference-leading fifth consecutive year.
