There’s no way around it, the Seattle Sounders’ 2-1 defeat to the Portland Timbers in the Fourth Round of the 2019 U.S. Open Cup on Wednesday night was disappointing.
The Rave Green outshout their opponent (24 vs. 13) and dictated the tempo for long stretches of the match, but a brace from Portland’s Brian Fernández and some outstanding saves from goalkeeper Steve Clark saw the Timbers knock the Sounders out of the U.S. Open Cup for just the second time in six head-to-head matches.
One silver lining from the frustrating result was the fantastic atmosphere at Cheney Stadium in Tacoma.