Kristoffer Velde’s two goals lift Portland Timbers to MLS win at St. Louis City

Velde strikes twice before St. Louis fightback

Portland Timbers beat St. Louis City 3-2 in Major League Soccer, after leading 2-0 at half-time. Kristoffer Velde was the decisive figure, scoring twice as Portland absorbed sustained pressure and held on for the win at Citypark.

Velde opened the scoring in the 42nd minute, making it 0-1 with an assist from Cole Bassett. David Da Costa then doubled Portland’s advantage at 45', assisted by Jímer Fory, leaving St. Louis with a difficult second half.

Portland extended the lead to 0-3 in the 48th minute when Velde scored again, this time from David Da Costa’s assist. St. Louis responded through Daniel Edelman, who made it 1-3 at 58' after Carlo Holse supplied the assist. Rafael Navarro Leal reduced the deficit to 2-3 in the 90th minute, assisted by Sang-bin Jung, but Portland preserved its lead.

St. Louis had the ball but not the result

The statistics suggested a more competitive contest than the scoreline at half-time. St. Louis had 61% possession, 444 total passes and 13 shots, compared with Portland’s 39%, 291 passes and 12 shots. The hosts also recorded the higher expected-goals figure, 2.07 to 0.89, while both teams registered six shots on goal. Those figures underline how Portland’s finishing shaped the result despite St. Louis controlling more of the ball.

Portland rise provisionally to 10th

Portland moved from 37 points to 40 and are provisionally #10 in the Western Conference, having gone into the game #11. St. Louis remain provisionally #3 with 51 points, four behind leaders Vancouver Whitecaps. Portland’s disciplinary problems included Kamal Miller’s red card at 90', following his yellow at 71'. The event log lists four Portland yellow cards, while the match summary lists three.