The stage has been set for the 2021 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ CupÌýthis Saturday, DecemberÌý11th.ÌýAfter battling throughÌýthe playoffs, the Portland Timbers and New York City FC haveÌýcome out on top in their respective conferences.Ìý
The path forÌýbothÌýteamsÌýwas anything but normal, as the case usually is in 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ playoffs,Ìýbut despite theÌýhurdlesÌýboth teams had toÌýovercome,Ìýthey’veÌýprevailed. Here is all you need to know about theÌý26thÌýedition ofÌý91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæÌýCupÌýand how we got here.Ìý
A Tale of TwoÌýSeasonsÌý
TheÌýPortlandÌýTimbersÌýcame into 2021Ìýas a popular projected contender for 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ Cup.Ìý
Those lofty expectations quickly turned into earlyÌýdisappointment asÌýPortland stumbled out of the gates. TheirÌýfirst half of the season, spent almost exclusively outside the playoff spots,Ìýwas an inconsistent, underperforming mess.Ìý
You could have cut them some slack, because they were without their star playmaker Sebastián Blanco for a substantial portion of that period. However,Ìýdespite that, theyÌýstill hadÌýgood depth on their roster to compete.Ìý
Fast forward to the present and Portland look like a completely different team to the one we saw at the beginning of the season. They endedÌýthe latter part of the season in fine form, not onlyÌýmaking the playoffs, but earning the fourth seed.Ìý
You could sayÌýNYCFC had the opposite trajectory of Portland this season. While Portland had an upward trajectory throughout their regular season, NYCFC had a downward trajectory.Ìý
They started off the season as one of the hottest teams in 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ but started falling offÌýnear the end. At one point, it didn’t even look like they would be able to retain theirÌýplayoff position.ÌýÌý
However, they clutched up in the end and got the results they needed to makeÌýplayoffs,ÌýjustÌýlike Portland,Ìýended up as the 4thÌýseedÌýin the East.Ìý
Injury IssuesÌý
While this year’s 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ Cup finalists had very different regular season trajectories, they both got hot in the playoffs despite some major injury issues.Ìý
As is always the case in 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ, both teams had depth players step up when important playersÌýwentÌýdown throughout the season.Ìý
NYCFC had the injury bug hit them right at the end of the regular season, losing key players like midfielderÌýKeaton Parks and AntonÌýTinnerholmÌý(who is arguably the best right back in the league). Parks had a blood clotÌýandÌýTinnerholmÌýruptured his Achilles,Ìýruling themÌýboth out for the rest of the season.Ìý
Portland also lostÌýone of their keyÌýmidfielders, Homegrown Eryk Williamson, who suffered anÌýACL tearÌýin August. Then, during the playoffs, Sebastian Blanco suffered an apparent hamstring injury that relegated him to the benchÌýforÌýthe Western Conference final.Ìý
Blanco should be available for 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ Cup, but his level of health will be a key storyline to watch.Ìý
How They Got HereÌý
Both teams had crazyÌýplayoffÌýjourneys to reach Saturday’s final at Providence Park.Ìý
The Timbers comfortably beat Minnesota in their first-round home game,Ìýbut then had the daunting task of going to Colorado to play the number one seed. They beatÌýthe RapidsÌýon a second half set piece goalÌýand booked their spot in the Western Conference finals against this season’s Cinderella story, Real Salt Lake.Ìý
DespiteÌýhaving lost Blanco to injury and attacker Dairon Asprilla to a red card suspension,ÌýPortland scored an early goal off a bad clearance and from then on, RSL could never seem to get into the game. OnceÌýPortland scored the second,ÌýitÌýnever looked like RSL had what it took to pull off another yet another playoff miracle.
This won’t be Portland’s first rodeo in an 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ Cup final as they became the first Cascadia team to win the trophy back inÌý2015. However, this time around, theÌýfinal will be held in PortlandÌýfor the first timeÌýagainst a tough New York City FCÌýteam.Ìý
NYCFC, for their part, had aÌýplayoff pathÌýthat was oddlyÌýsimilar toÌýPortland’s.Ìý
They also comfortably beat their first-round opponent, Atlanta United, at home, before traveling for a much-hyped matchup against the number one overall seed, the New England Revolution.Ìý
It started with each team scoring a goal less than 10 minutes into the match,Ìýforeshadowing the madness that would ensueÌýlaterÌýonÌýin overtime.Ìý
Golden Boot winner Taty Castellanos scored for NYCFC to take the leadÌýbut then got a second yellowÌýfourÌýminutes later, putting theÌýCityzensÌýdown to 10 menÌýbefore injury struggles put them practically down to nine men, allowing New England to score a dramatic equalizer in the 118thÌýminute. In the ensuing penalties, though, NYCFC triumphed and advanced to the Eastern Conference Final against the Philadelphia Union.Ìý
Unfortunately forÌýPhiladelphia, 11 of their players weren’t eligible for the game due to COVID protocols,Ìýcosting theÌýUnion several of their key players for the big game. NYCFC, though,Ìýwere without their star strikerÌýdue to his red receivedÌýthe previous game.Ìý
Philadelphia gave a valiant effort, but NYCFC ended up winning the game 2 – 1 with another dramatic ending from anÌý88thÌýminuteÌýgame-winning goalÌýbyÌý19-year-old BrazilianÌýTalles Magno.ÌýÌý
NYCFC willÌýnowÌýbe playing in hostile territory for 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ Cup but will have their leading goal scorerÌýCastellanos back. This will beÌýNYCFC’s first ever 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ Cup final appearance and they will have to bring their absolute best to beat the TimbersÌýat what will beÌýaÌýraucous Providence Park.
These are two sides that have shown incredible resilienceÌýthroughout the regular season and playoffs,ÌýbutÌýtheyÌýwill need plenty more ofÌýitÌýwhen they faceÌýoffÌýSaturday.ÌýÌý
You can watch the match at home atÌý3Ìýp.m. ETÌýon ABC,ÌýUnÃmas, and TUDN. However,Ìýa more fun option is to watch the final with fellow Charlotte FC fans at the 91¿ì»îÁÖ×îаæ Cup Watch parties hosted by local supporter's groups at the followingÌýlocations around the Carolinas:
