CITY hung their first championship banner in club history last night, but visiting Portland hung three goals on the hosts in a disappointing 3-2 loss to a Timbers side desperately trying to remain in the playoff race. CITY's late comeback attempt fell short, leaving them in a tenuous spot to stay in the top 4 in the West. Let's look at the goals from last night: Henceforth known as the Norwegian Brian White (Vancouver's notorious CITY killer) because he has absolutely torched St. Louis in two games this season, Velde took advantage of Portland's clear plan of attack last night: isolation play out on the left wing (CITY's right side defensively). Here, Velde takes a long pass down the line from Cole Bassett and beats Lukas MacNaughton at the start of his run. Timo Baumgartl is in a support position, but he was in a space where Velde could have slid a pass to one of three Timbers attackers, so he stayed flat-footed to defend the area and couldn't react or step toward Velde. MacNaughton arrived just as Velde slowed at the edge of the box, and the CITY defender just slightly overran the correct positioning. As he did, Velde deftly cut back across MacNaughton, who was turning to square up, but it created just enough space for Velde to fire a shot that beat Ben Lundt low and to his left. Credit to Velde for a well-timed cut and excellent shot, but a slight mistake from MacNaughton created the space he needed to put Portland up 1-0.   submitted by   /u/STLSoccerNews   to   r/stlouiscitysc [link]   [comments]