Cole Bassett's 90th-minute goal gives Portland Timbers 3-2 win over Charlotte

Bassett settles five-goal finish

Cole Bassett scored in the 90th minute to give Portland Timbers a 3-2 win over Charlotte in Major League Soccer at Providence Park. The goal completed a match in which Portland twice led, were pegged back once, and found the decisive response at the end.

Charlotte opened the scoring in the 3rd minute when Pep Biel converted Ashley Westwood’s assist for a 0-1 score. Portland turned the game around before half-time: Ariel Lassiter equalised in the 11th minute from Eric Izoita’s assist, then struck again in the 40th minute, again assisted by Izoita, to make it 2-1.

Idan Toklomati Jorno restored parity for Charlotte in the 69th minute, with Luca De La Torre providing the assist. Bassett, introduced in the 64th minute for Izoita, then supplied the final change in the score, making it 3-2 with Ian Smith credited with the assist.

Portland created the clearer chances

The statistics indicated a stronger attacking display from the winner despite the narrow margin. Portland had 56% possession, 26 total shots to Charlotte’s 6, and 12 shots on goal compared with 3. Portland also recorded 20 shots inside the box and an expected-goals figure of 2.67, while Charlotte had 4 and 0.9 respectively. Charlotte goalkeeper K. Kahlina made 9 saves, helping keep the visitors level until the closing minute.

Eric Izoita received Portland’s only yellow card in the 17th minute, while Nathan Byrne was booked for Charlotte in the 45th. Neither side received a red card.

Result reshapes the provisional tables

Before the match, Portland were #11 in the Western Conference with 34 points, while Charlotte were #5 in the Eastern Conference with 47. After the result, Portland had 37 points and moved provisionally to #10 in the Western Conference. Charlotte stayed provisionally #5 in the Eastern Conference on 47 points. The positions are not directly comparable because the teams are in different conferences.

Lassiter was the standout performer, earning a 9.2 rating after scoring twice and registering 4 shots on target.