Timbers close their Leagues Cup participation with a 3-1 win over Tijuana (photo gallery)

Thursday night was a night of beginnings and ends. It was the start of the Martí Cifuentes era as Timber’s new coach, and the end of the team’s participation in the 2026 Leagues Cup. 

The assignment was simple: win the game and start the new era on the good foot. There were remote chances to go through the league stage at the Leagues Cup; they went about any of the top four to have at least one defeat (6 out of 9 possible points), and Portland to have a big win to end this league stage with a favorable goal average of at least 5 goals. The four MLS spots to advance went to teams that never lost a game; Salt Lake City, the beneficiary of the last spot in the semis, had 7 out of 9 possible points and a +7 goal differential. 

In front of Portland, the visiting Tijuana had a similar assignment in completely different circumstances, having lost the previous two games; this third was about ending the tournament with a good result. The team led by the legendary Uruguayan striker Sebastián Abreu, known as “el loco” (the mad one), played without any pressure, defending deep and trying to exploit Portland’s weaknesses on the counterattack. And it started well for them with a goal by Mourad El Ghezouani; the Moroccan striker got the visitors ahead in the 10th minute. 

Portland reacted before the break with a goal by Kevin Kelsey, a striker in form with eight goals in his last 10 appearances, a fact that is not going unnoticed, and it is starting to get attention. The second half saw the Timbers play more aggressively and tightly, and the goals were a natural consequence of the current form gap between these two teams. Kelsey would again be the difference with his assist to Anthony in 64’, and then Anthony would again be the critical assist to Ariel Lassiter for the final goal in 74’. 

After the Club América takeover last Sunday, the stands featured a more equitable distribution of home and away fans. This time, we could actually hear the Timbers Army supporters group cheering for the home side, while there was also a strong presence of the Northern Mexican team. Both fan groups enjoyed collaborating on “the wave” and Tijuana fans could be heard outside of the stadium cheering for their side as they were packing up the bus.

Now, after this “flash league”, with only 8 teams moving forward out of 36, after only three games, Tijuana and Timbers are going back to league play. Two different realities for them: Tijuana sitting second, level on 7 points with Club América, in a fresh edition of Liga MX (after just three games), and the Portland Timbers sitting 8th in the MLS Western Conference after 18 games. 

Here are the match photos.

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