Timbers top Sounders to seize advantage
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Seattle, WA (SportsNetwork.com) - The Portland Timbers seized the advantage in their Western Conference semifinal with Seattle Sounders FC on Saturday by securing a 2-1 first-leg win at CenturyLink Field against their Cascadia rivals.
Ryan Johnson opened the scoring after 15 minutes for the Timbers and Darlington Nagbe added a second for the visitors with 23 minutes to play.
But the Sounders grabbed a lifeline with a 90th-minute goal from Osvaldo Alonso, giving the side a bit of hope ahead of Thursday's second leg in Portland.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Jack Jewsbury set up the first goal when he got down the right wing and drove the ball to the near post for Johnson, who beat goalkeeper Marcus Hahnemann with a glancing header.
Clint Dempsey was easily the most dangerous man for Seattle, but he endured a night of near misses, with his first good chance clipping the top of the crossbar from a 25-yard free kick.
Kalif Alhassan came off the bench in the second half for the Timbers and he needed just six minutes to make his impact as he fed a ball into the area for Nagbe, who turned past a defender with a nice touch and fired his shot beyond the reach of Hahnemann.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Dempsey then sent a volley whistling inches past the post before he saw a header hit the crossbar in the 87th minute.
It looked like it wasn't going to be Seattle's night, but Alonso popped up with a well-struck volley from 12 yards to give the Sounders some life ahead of Thursday's return leg.