PORTLAND, Ore. – The main objective was to get back in the win column, and in the process, put Saturday’s disappointment behind them, but after seven minutes on Wednesday at Providence Park, the nightmare was poised to continue. The goal from Columbus Crew SC’s Niko Hansen, and the controversy that surrounded it, only fed into the feeling that persisted from this weekend’s deflating loss.
Then the match settled, and with David Guzmán’s 18th-minute equalizer, it turned. Ultimately, for most of the next 72 minutes, the Portland Timbers proved the better side, eventually defeating the Crew 3-2 in a game made closer by a Hansen stoppage-time goal.