MLS Cup 2015

"2015 MLS Cup" redirects here. For details on the tournament, see 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs.
MLS Cup 2015
Event MLS Cup
Columbus Crew SC Portland Timbers
1 2
Date December 6, 2015
Venue MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Most Valuable Player Diego Valeri
(Portland Timbers)[1][2]
Referee Jair Marrufo[3]
Attendance 21,747
Weather Partly Cloudy

MLS Cup 2015 was the 20th edition of MLS Cup, the championship game of Major League Soccer (MLS). The match was to determine the champion of MLS' 2015 season. The championship was contested on December 6, 2015 between the Columbus Crew SC and the Portland Timbers at MAPFRE Stadium in Columbus, Ohio, with the latter winning 2–1 and earning a berth into the 2016–17 CONCACAF Champions League.

The Timbers' Diego Valeri scored the fastest goal in MLS Cup history at 27 seconds after Crew goalkeeper Steve Clark miscontrolled his defender's back-pass. [4] Portland doubled their lead in the seventh minute with a goal by Rodney Wallace, and although Columbus got a goal back through Kei Kamara in the 18th minute, the Timbers held on for their first MLS Cup championship. It was the first men's professional sports championship for a team from Portland, Oregon since the Portland Trail Blazers won the 1977 NBA championship.

Road to the final

For more details on this topic, see 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs.

Tournament Bracket

                                           
Knockout Round Conference Semifinals Conference Finals MLS Cup
October 29 – Stade Saputo              
W6  Toronto FC  0
E3  Montreal Impact  2  1  3
W3  Montreal Impact  3      
E2  Columbus Crew (a.e.t.)  1  3  4  
Eastern Conference
October 28 – RFK Stadium E2  Columbus Crew  2  0  2
 
  E1  New York Red Bulls  0  1  1  
W5  New England Revolution  1
E4  D.C. United  0  0  0
W4  D.C. United  2   December 6 – Mapfre Stadium
E1  New York Red Bulls  1  1  2  
 
October 29 – Providence Park E2  Columbus Crew  1
 
  W3  Portland Timbers  2
E6  Sporting Kansas City  2 (6)
W3  Portland Timbers  0  2  2
E3  Portland Timbers (p)  2 (7)      
W2  Vancouver Whitecaps FC  0  0  0  
Western Conference
October 28 – CenturyLink Field W3  Portland Timbers  3  2  5
 
  W1  FC Dallas  1  2  3  
E5  LA Galaxy  2
W4  Seattle Sounders FC  2  1  3 (2)
E4  Seattle Sounders FC  3  
W1  FC Dallas (p)  1  2  3 (4)  

Source: [5]

Match

Summary

Portland midfielder Diego Valeri scored in 27 seconds, the fastest goal in the history of the MLS Cup, and was named the game's MVP.

Portland opened up the scoring early as midfielder Diego Valeri swiped the ball out from under Columbus goalkeeper Steve Clark and flicked the ball into the back of the net with one touch at the 27-second mark. It was the fastest ever goal scored in an MLS Cup match.[6] The Timbers kept the pressure on, and when the assistant referee failed to call a ball out of bounds after it drifted across the sideline and several Crew players stopped playing, Portland midfielder Darlington Nagbe capitalized, passing to forward Lucas Melano to set the table for a goal by left winger Rodney Wallace that put Portland on top 2–0 in the seventh minute.[7]

In the 18th minute, Columbus got on the board after Portland goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey failed to take control in a scramble at the goal line and Columbus forward Kei Kamara, the league's leading scorer, shot the ball into the net. Kamara's goal to make the game 2–1 ended up as Columbus' only shot on goal of the match.[8]

Portland got a number of opportunities to score in the second half, but the Timbers failed to convert. In the 60th minute, a Portland corner kick resulted in a loose ball in the penalty box, which ricocheted off the goalpost before being cleared after striking Columbus captain Michael Parkhurst's arm on the goal line. However, no handball was called and no goal was awarded. In the 69th minute, Portland striker Fanendo Adi headed the ball toward the goal, but it deflected off the far goalpost and then bounced away off Clark's body.[8] Clark also stopped a point-blank header from Portland fullback Nat Borchers in the 81st minute, and then tipped another shot by Adi over the net shortly thereafter. The game ended with a 2–1 scoreline as Columbus was unsuccessful in taking advantage of Portland's missed opportunities, giving the Timbers their first MLS Cup victory and the city of Portland its first men's pro sports championship since the Portland Trail Blazers won the NBA championship in 1977. Valeri was named the match's Most Valuable Player.[9]

Match details

December 6, 2015
4:00 p.m. EST
Columbus Crew SC 1–2 Portland Timbers
Kamara  18' Report Valeri  1'
Wallace  7'
MAPFRE Stadium, Columbus, Ohio
Attendance: 21,747
Referee: Jair Marrufo[3]
Columbus Crew SC
Portland Timbers
GK 1United States Steve Clark
RB 25Ghana Harrison Afful  34'
CB 4 United States Michael Parkhurst (c)
CB 22Argentina Gastón Sauro
LB 14Costa Rica Waylon Francis
CM 6Cameroon Tony Tchani  72'
CM 20United States Wil Trapp
RW 13 United States Ethan Finlay  63'
AM 10Argentina Federico Higuaín
LW 9United States Justin Meram  78'
CF 23 Sierra Leone Kei Kamara
Substitutes:
GK 41United States Brad Stuver
DF 2 United States Tyson Wahl
DF 3United States Chris Klute
MF 11Democratic Republic of the Congo Cedrick Mabwati  63'
MF 30 United States Jack McInerney  72'
MF 16United States Hector Jiménez
MF 8 Sweden Mohammed Saeid  78'
Manager:
United States Gregg Berhalter
GK 12Ghana Adam Larsen Kwarasey
RB 2 Jamaica Alvas Powell  65'
CB 7 United States Nat Borchers
CB 24England Liam Ridgewell (c)
LB 19 United States Jorge Villafaña
CM 6 United States Darlington Nagbe
CM 21Colombia Diego Chará
CM 8Argentina Diego Valeri  90+3'
RW 26Argentina Lucas Melano  59'
CF 9Nigeria Fanendo Adi  90+1'
LW 22 Costa Rica Rodney Wallace  90+4'
Substitutes:
GK 90New Zealand Jake Gleeson
DF 23Argentina Norberto Paparatto
DF 20United States Taylor Peay
MF 4Canada Will Johnson
FW 13United States Jack Jewsbury  90+4'
FW 37 Argentina Maximiliano Urruti  90+1'
FW 11Colombia Dairon Asprilla  59'  90+3'
Manager:
United States Caleb Porter

MLS Cup MVP: Diego Valeri [10]


Assistant referees:[3]
Peter Manikowski (United States)
Corey Parker (United States)
Fourth official:[3]
Chris Penso (United States)
Fifth official:[3]
James Conlee

Match rules

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Seven named substitutes.
  • Maximum of three substitutions.

References

  1. ↑ MLSsoccer staff (December 6, 2015). "Diego Valeri named MLS Cup Most Valuable Player". Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  2. ↑ Molly Blue (December 6, 2015). "Diego Valeri named MLS Cup MVP". OregonLive.com. The Oregonian. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "MLS Cup 2015: PRO announce refereeing crew for final". PRO Referees. Retrieved 1 December 2015.
  4. ↑ MLSsoccer staff (December 6, 2015). "Diego Valeri scores fastest goal in MLS Cup history as Portland Timbers take early lead". Major League Soccer. Retrieved December 22, 2015.
  5. ↑ "MLS Playoff Bracket". MLSsoccer.com. Retrieved October 29, 2015.
  6. ↑ "Portland Timbers' Diego Valeri Scores Fastest Goal In MLS Cup History (Video)". NESN. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  7. ↑ "Portland wins MLS Cup, beating Columbus 2-1". NBC4i.com. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  8. 1 2 "MLS Cup: Crew cut down by Timbers". The Columbus Dispatch. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  9. ↑ "Timbers go all the way". The Portland Tribune. December 6, 2015. Retrieved December 6, 2015.
  10. ↑ "MLS / NASL Estados Unidos: Valeri, MVP de la final de la MLS - MARCA.com". MARCA.com. December 7, 2015.
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