Kevin Kelsy and Antony each scored their fifth league goal after halftime and the Portland Timbers rallied for a 2-1 victory over the visiting Colorado Rapids on Wednesday night.
Antony’s goal in the 59th minute leveled the match while the Timbers (7-4-5, 26 points) and Rapids (6-6-4, 22 points) were still at even strength.
Kelsy’s close-range tally put Portland ahead in the 76th minute, nine minutes after Colorado substitute Wayne Frederick was sent off by referee Chris Penso for a late and high sliding challenge on David Ayala.
The comeback helped Portland halt a three-match winless run in the league and four in all competitions. The Timbers scored multiple goals in league play for the first time since a 4-2 win over the Los Angeles Galaxy on April 27.
The Timbers did so despite Felipe Mora having his late-first-half penalty kick saved by Rapids goalkeeper Nico Hansen.
Djordje Mihailovic opened the scoring with his team-leading seventh goal in the 33rd minute for Colorado to finish off an excellent solo run.
However, he had to depart after 54 minutes with an apparent hamstring injury, with Frederick coming on as his replacement.
Sam Bassett nearly doubled Colorado’s lead in the 59th minute when he rattled a header off the crossbar from about 6 yards out.
Portland leveled on the ensuing counterattack, a moment that seemed to change the orientation of the entire match.
After a defensive clearance and a header down into the center circle, David Da Costa picked up the ball in space with Antony sprinting up field to his left.
Da Costa drove at the two defenders in front of him before laying off the pass perfectly into Antony’s stride, and the Brazilian coolly finished past the sprawling Hansen to level affairs.
Frederick received his marching orders eight minutes later for his offense only several yards from Penso, and from there Portland’s winner felt like only a matter of time.
It arrived via Juan Mosquera’s marauding run down the right and a low driven cross past the back post, where Kelsy met it with a well-timed run for a point-blank finish.
–Field Level Media
