By the time defender Steven Taylor had sent his header past a stunned Stefan Frei, the Timbers had already secured an embarrassment of first half riches against Seattle Sounders FC. Three goals inside of 30 minutes had put the Timbers in the driver's seat. Four felt unreal.
So when the two fierce rivals walked off the field at half time of their August 28 encounter at Providence Park, the mood on the players' faces could not have contrasted more sharply.
Portland jubilant. Seattle stunned.
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In their previous two matches in 2016, the two sides had traded victories.
In July, the Timbers defeated Sounders FC at home 3-1 behind a brace from Diego Valeri. While Sounders defender Chad Marshall had pulled the Sounders within a goal with his 59th minute header, Timbers forward Fanendo Adi iced the match with his 64th minute goal.
The Sounders returned the favor at CenturyLink Field in August, defeating the Timbers 3-1 behind goals from Clint Dempsey and Christian Roldan, with the Timbers' lone goal coming from Adi.
But the rematch at Providence Park? Over after 45 minutes.
Or so it seemed anyway.
Shortly after the second-half was underway, the Sounders got on the board, as Sounders FC midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz put a shot from the top of the box off the head of a Timbers defender and past Timbers goalkeeper Jake Gleeson. Four minutes later, Sounders FC forward Jordan Morris scored to cut the Timbers' lead to two.
The sell-out crowd, Timbers and Sounders fans alike, spent the remaining 40 minutes holding their breaths as the two teams traded chances at each end, neither able to break through with a decisive finish.
So when referee Hilario Grajeda blew his whistle on final time, over 20,000 Timbers fans celebrated with the kind of gusto you'd expect after defeating your bitterest rival in such nerve-wracking fashion.
As defender and goalscorer Taylor put it after the match: “...today our fans were unbelievable. They were like a 12th man for us. You can see some of the Seattle boys in the first half. They didn’t want to be on the pitch. In that atmosphere we just felt more confident and the confidence builds within the side and I think that showed today.”
