Velde’s Late Brace Earns Portland a 2-2 Draw with St. Louis

Portland Timbers and St. Louis City drew 2-2 at Providence Park, with both teams sharing the points after a match in which St. Louis twice took the lead and Portland twice responded. The result leaves Portland eighth in the Western Conference and St. Louis fifth after Regular Season Round 24.

Navarro strikes early, Velde responds

St. Louis moved in front after only one minute when Rafael Navarro Leal scored his first goal of the night. Portland recovered from the early setback and levelled in the 32nd minute through Kristoffer Velde, making the score 1-1 at half-time.

The opening half also featured two St. Louis cautions. Dante Polvara was booked in the 31st minute, one minute before Velde’s equaliser, while Jaziel Alberto Orozco Landeros received a yellow card in the 36th. Orozco Landeros was replaced by Lukas MacNaughton at half-time, and Tomas Totland was booked in the 45th minute.

Two more goals settle the score

Navarro restored St. Louis’ advantage six minutes after the restart, completing his brace in the 51st minute. His second goal again put Portland in a position to chase the game, and the hosts eventually found their answer late on.

Velde scored his second goal in the 89th minute to make it 2-2. Cole Bassett supplied the assist, adding to a strong individual performance that also included four key passes. The late equaliser ensured that St. Louis could not protect its one-goal lead, while both teams finished without a red card.

There were several changes during the second half. Fallou Fall and Simon Becher came on for St. Louis in the 65th minute, replacing Polvara and Sang-bin Jung. Portland also made two substitutions at that point, with Ronald Hernández replacing Eric Miller and Antony coming on for Ariel Lassiter. Miller had been booked in the 58th minute, while Navarro was cautioned in the 67th.

Portland had the greater volume

Portland controlled 55% of possession and produced 16 shots to St. Louis’ 10, including eight attempts from inside the box. St. Louis had seven shots inside the box and four shots on goal, compared with three for Portland, helping explain how the visitors twice led despite being outshot overall. Portland also had the advantage in corners, 9-2, and both sides recorded 380 accurate passes.

Table positions unchanged

Portland entered the match eighth with 31 points from 23 games and now moves to 32 points. St. Louis, fifth on 37 points before kick-off, rises to 38. The draw adds to Portland’s most recent loss in its listed form and gives St. Louis consecutive draws in its latest results. Velde was the standout performer, earning an 8.8 rating after scoring twice in 90 minutes and recording two shots on target.