Portland Timbers and St Louis City split points at Providence Park

Kristoff Velde celebrates his second goal during the MLS Regular Season St Louis City SC at Portland Timbers at Providence Park (Photo by Diego G Diaz).

The match raised many questions: could St. Louis keep its consistent cruise to the playoffs, nicking points away (only 4 losses and 5 draws); would the Timbers take another step toward the ambitious project of positional dominance that their new coach, Martí Cifuentes, has been implementing? Would the Timbers’ defense again be unable to gain its foothold (only 2 clean sheets this season)? The answer was yes to all. The duel was resolved in a 2-2 draw, and both sides had plenty to take home.

This is the part of the season when the heat starts to rise: 10 games remain, and only 8 teams move on to the postseason. Matches like last night are key. There are only two teams in pursuit of Nashville for the Supporters’ Shield, an award that, with each week, seems to be heading to Nashville, with only Vancouver and Messi’s Miami giving them any serious chase; for the rest, it is a fight to secure the highest possible seed for home advantage.

How they might get there is what differentiates the two teams that met last night. St. Louis did exactly what they had to do: avoid a loss, deny a possible rival a home win, and keep adding points to stay in the race. They have a good road record: 4 losses in 6 games, 8 draws (5 on the road), and 10 wins overall. While the draw dropped them to 6th place, they proved they are a capable side, able to hurt and hang on even in the hardest atmospheres.

Portland, as noted in the match’s preview, faced a tough test after Cifuentes’ month-long tenure, as the team began to show more of that new philosophy, the “new era” GM Ned Grabavoy spoke of during Martí’s presentation. A team that never seemed to live up to its potential under Phil Neville saw a revival in results under interim coach Jack Cassidy before the current coach took over in August. Even amidst the turmoil, the Timbers are still expected to show on the pitch that they can be a playoff team in 2026.

Portland’s defense again struggled against a fast, coordinated counter-attack. The first goal came after an error in the first minute of the match. And again, five minutes in after the break, St. Louis would find the net, both times by Brazilian forward Rafael Navarro. But the Timbers’ mentality held. Norway native Kristoff Velde answered both times with masterful free kicks from outside the box: the first in the 21st, the second in the 87th after a short touch by Cole Bassett.

The Timbers had a few opportunities inside the box, including a header in the first half by Janssen, last weekend’s hat trick hero. They resorted to mixing in through-ball attempts and shots from outside; Bassett, Velde, Ortiz, and Lassiter showed more composure than in the loss to Austin. This time, the Timbers looked like a team with more tools to adapt to an obstinate defensive formation that left Janssen with little space to hurt them. While it’s a step in the right direction in Cifuentes’ implementation of his football philosophy, after only a month on the job, there is still much more work to do.

The most positive note for the home fans was Kristoff Velde’s brace. Velde is becoming this season’s fan favorite, with fans falling for his charisma, intensity, and goals (6 total in all competitions, but 4 in the last 5 matches); they were heard singing “Happy Birthday” during Timber Joey’s post-match cedar slice ceremony. The winger turned 27 on September 9th and celebrated it at the office with a great performance.

Here is the match photo gallery