Match Recap & Highlights: Portland Timbers vs St. Louis City SC

The Portland Timbers went down a goal twice at the start of both halves, but rallied to salvage a hard-fought 2-2 draw against a St. Louis City team who've been red-hot since the World Cup break. Kristoffer Velde scored off two free-kicks to cancel out a brace from Brazilian striker Rafael Navarro.

Lineups & Prematch

The Timbers won in unconvincing fashion against Minnesota United on Satruday, and as has been the case throughout Marti Cifuentes' fledgling Timbers tenure, he only rotated his starting XI where he had to.

First choice defensive midfielder Jose Caicedo was forced off of the pitch during the Minnesota win, and with Diego Chara having only just returned from a hip injury, Joao Ortiz was given the nod at the base of Portland's three in the middle of the park.

Newly-acquired right back Ronald Hernandez wasn't able to go on Saturday, and despite speculation he could get the start on the right side of Portland's backline, Cifuentes kept rolling with Eric Miller. Joel Waterman made a debut cameo last time out, but Ortiz was the lone change for the Timbers.

Sawyer Jura was relegated from the matchday squad to accommodate Hernandez.

Recap & Highlights

1' Goal St. Louis, 1-0 – That didn't take long... An awful giveaway from Kamal Miller inside his own half was pounced on by Tomas Totland, who drove forward on the right wing and served a cross into Rafael Navarro to bundle into the back of the net. Eric Miller was draped all over him, but St. Louis' shiny new designated player striker showed immense strength to will the ball past James Pantemis.

15' Substitution – Unfortunately the Timbers' poor start was compounded by a forced change after David da Costa took a rocket of a clearance directly to the face from about five yards away. The independent concussion specialist deemed him not able to continue, and Cifuentes opted to bring Diego Chara off the bench. The concussion substitution meant the Timbers were still allowed five more substitutions.

32' GOAL TIMBERS, 1-1 – Kristoffer Velde and my sister both share a very satisfying birthday: 9/9/1999. He marked it with a great present to himself, curling a free kick up and over the wall to beat Switzerland's former #1 Roman Burki in the St. Louis net. It's Velde's seventh goal of the season, the highest on the team following Kevin Kelsy's departure to Scotland.

45' – Seven additional minutes of first-half stoppage time were awarded after the lengthy concussion check and two goals.

45+1' – Kristoffer Velde received the ball on the top left side of St. Louis' box, and after a couple shimmies freed himself up to lay the ball into the path of Cole Bassett, who hammered the ball over the bar and into the South deck.

Halftime – Portland Timbers 1 - 1 St. Louis City SC

46' – The Timbers attacked the North end in the second half, and didn't concede a goal within the first minute.

51' Goal St. Louis, 1-2 – This time it took the Timbers six minutes to concede coming out of the locker room. Alexandru Matan took the ball to the endline inside of Portland's box, before knocking the ball through Surman's legs and squaring a pass to Navarro for his second tap-in of the evening. The Timbers backline, specifically their fondness for cheap concessions, remains a major concern.

65' Substitutions – Ariel Lassiter and Eric Miller OFF // Antony and Ronald Hernandez ON – Hernandez makes his Timbers debut at home.

81' Substitutions – Joao Ortiz and Kamal Miller OFF // Omir Fernandez and Ian Smith ON. Jimer Fory slid inside to left center back with Smith in at left back.

89' GOAL TIMBERS, 2-2 – Velde was fouled right at the top of the box, and after jawing with the defender who fouled him after the whistle, wandered over to where the ball was spotted. A lengthy deliberation between he, Bassett, and Vincent Janssen saw the latter of the three step away, before Bassett rolled the ball backwards into Velde to smash home his second goal of the night. Game back on.

90' – Five minutes of second half stoppage time were awarded by the fourth official.

90+1' Substitution – Vincent Janssen OFF // Gage Guerra ON

Full Time – Portland Timbers 2 - 2 St. Louis City SC

As unfortunate as both goals Portland conceded were, I thought tonight was another example of the resilience the Timbers are developing under adversity. In recent years, when the Timbers shot themselves in the foot like they did tonight there wasn't the same drive and desire to get back into the game and earn a result. Kristoffer Velde was quick to tell reporters in his post-match press conference that the goals the team are conceding don't have anything to do with Marti Cifuentes or his tactics, but rather the concentration or mentality of the team – Something we heard time and time again from Phil Neville.

Speaking of Velde, boy he is something special. He and Portland, OR, are a hand-in-glove fit. He's a straight shooter: Assertive, blunt, and wears his heart, and other adjectives (accurate or otherwise), on both his literal and figurative sleeve. The type of player who Timbers supporters are naturally drawn to.

Velde is the driving force behind how Cifuentes wants his team to play going forward, and the 2026 Portland Timbers can only go as far as he takes them. The ceiling is raised by him, and subsequently lowered by the backline continuing to ship maddening goals. This was the 12th time in 24 games that the Timbers have conceded the first goal within the opening 20 minutes, and the opener was once again a completely unforced error.

The draw keeps the Timbers planted 8th in the Western Conference, level on points with Colorado in 7th and six points behind St. Louis in 6th as the table slowly starts to settle into what it's likely to look like when the post-season begins. Based on the Jekyll and Hyde nature of Portland's season, I think 8th pretty fairly reflects what the Timbers are.

Up next is a trip to Dallas on Saturday, September 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. PT.