Three days shouldn’t be enough to give the matchup a completely different feel, but with the stakes of a U.S. Open Cup semifinal casting Wednesday’s match at Allianz Stadium in a new context, Sunday may tell us little about this, the next match between Minnesota United FC and the Portland Timbers.
At least, let’s hope it doesn’t tell us much. Neither team played poorly nor well. Neither had or gave up a lot of chances. Sunday’s was two hours of fighters posturing to land the first blow, with both evoking a posing, posturing Nuke Laloosh. “I never strike another man first.