Portland, Oregon Timbers Beat St. Louis City 3-2 as Velde Brace Sparks Six-Minute Burst

Portland's playoff push is still alive, and it took six frantic minutes in St. Louis to keep it that way. The Portland Timbers beat St. Louis City 3-2 at Energizer Park on Wednesday night, scoring three times between the 42nd and 48th minutes to win a second straight match and move within one point of the ninth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Six minutes, three goals

The match was scoreless until late in the first half, and all three Portland goals came from attacks down the left side. Kamal Miller started the first play out of the back with a wide ball to Cole Bassett, who threaded a pass down the left wing for Kristoffer Velde. Velde dribbled into the box and fired a right-footed strike inside the far post in the 42nd minute. Three minutes into stoppage time, Velde laid the ball off near midfield and Jimer Fory advanced it with a first-touch pass down the left sideline, and David Da Costa cut past his defender and slotted a right-footed finish home. Da Costa then opened the second half by collecting his own rebounded shot and recycling the ball to Velde, who hit the upper right corner from distance in the 48th minute.

Velde finished with two goals and an assist, his second brace of the season, and reached 20 goal contributions for the year with 10 goals and 10 assists. Da Costa added his sixth goal of the season and his 10th assist. Portland has scored 57 goals this season, the fourth most in the Western Conference and the fourth most in the club's MLS history, and it has scored three goals in two straight matches. Velde had not recorded a goal contribution since September 9, when he also scored twice against St. Louis City. A third Velde goal on Wednesday, from a free kick, was taken off the board because a teammate was called for a foul.

St. Louis nearly spoils it

St. Louis answered in the 58th minute, when Carlo Holse crossed from the right wing and Daniel Edelman finished with a header. The home side kept pushing, and in the first minute of stoppage time Rafael Navarro got a touch on a Jeong Sang-bin cross to make it 3-2. The finish turned tense when Miller received a second yellow card and was sent off in the sixth minute of stoppage time, but goalkeeper James Pantemis, who made four saves, held the last St. Louis shot and the whistle followed. St. Louis (14-9-9, 51 points) lost its third straight league match. Portland defender Fory, who had an assist, left in the 67th minute with an unspecified injury after he had earlier knocked heads with Damion Downs, been evaluated, and stayed in the match. The announced attendance at Energizer Park was 22,423.

Two matches left

The Timbers (11-14-7, 40 points) sit one point behind the Los Angeles Galaxy for the ninth playoff spot with two regular season matches remaining. They host Houston Dynamo at Providence Park on Sunday, November 1, in their final home match of the season, with kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Pacific.