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The Tampa Bay Rowdies were the toast of the town two weeks back (along with a certain New Caledonian) after the pluck NASL squad upended the hated Sounders to knock loathsome Seattle out of the U.S. Open Cup early for the first time in five years.

But tonight, Ralph's Mob reacquaints itself with your Portland Timbers, eager to earn a Northwest sweep. The Rowdies' supporters group arrived in J-WF just after 6:30 p.m. and for a moment at least, their voices were louder than Timbers Army.

Yeah, that probably won't last.

Coming off a rather "meh" draw in which they yielded a pair of second-half goals, the Timbers look to give Tampa Bay the 'ol Wilmington treatment and advance to the quarterfinals of the U.S. Open Cup with a win tonight. The Timbers have longest unbeaten streak going in Major League Soccer (they haven't lost since MARCH) but kick off a four-game, 12-day stretch this evening. With Western Conference-leading Dallas heading into town on Saturday, Portland coach Caleb Porter will likely be mindful of his gents' legs. After all, as Capt. Will Johnson pointed out, "it's not humanly possible for a guy to play four games in 12 days, or so, at a high level."

So is it possible for Tampa Bay to pull off an upset tonight? The defending NASL champs are right in the middle of their league's table but are 4-1-1 on the road this season. Their chances may be as dreary as the weather in Goose Hollow tonight, but stranger things have certainly happened.

There are plenty of good seats available in The Jelly tonight, but if you're staying dry and sitting at home, click past that jump and follow along, as I deftly describe the action on and off the pitch.

LINEUPS:
Tampa Bays's starting XI: Diego Restrepo in goal. Frankie Sanfilippo, Jay Needham, Andres Arango and Stuart Campbell on defense. Luke Mulholland, Shane Hill, Keith Savage and Raphael Cox at midfield. Georgi Hristov and Mike Ambersley up front.
On the bench: Andrew Fontein, Kyle Clinton, Evans Frimpong, Thurstan Johnston, Amani Walker, Devin Del Do. Sanfilippo is the captain and the Rowdies are sporting black kits with yellow trim.

Portland's starting XI: Milos Kocic in goal. Sal Zizzo, Andrew Jean-Baptiste, Rauwshawn McKenzie and Ryan Miller in goal. Diego Valeri, Ben Zemanski and Michael Nanchoff at midfield. Kalif Alhassan, Frederic Piquionne and Jose Adolfo Valencia up front.
On the bench: Jake Gleeson, Steven Evans, Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara, Mobi Fehr, Darlington Nagbe, Sebastian Rincon. Valeri is the captain, and the Timbers are sporting their Rose City Red kits.

PREGAME:
Those hardcore, know-your-history types remember the 1975 Soccer Bowl (TB won it, 2-0) and plenty of battles when both these sides were minor leaguers.

Speaking of, Tampa Bay midfielder Keith Savage—who suited up in Portland green in 2009 and 2010—said nothing quite compares to Northwest soccer.

"They get big crowds and they're loud and they're passionate and they sing and they fight," he said. "and it's awesome."

FIRST HALF:
And we're underway ... Timbers heading toward their Army.

2nd minute—Piquionne hasn't scored yet. Both teams feeling each other out. Long balls galore. Timbers Army has filled in pretty well and are making themselves heard.

6th—McKenzie called for a foul about 45 yards out on a 50-50 ball. Mulholland lines it up and drives it in low, but it's cleared away.

8th—Not a lot of crisp passing on display from Portland early. Rowdies bring it up and send a cross in front, but it glances off Hristov for a goal kick.

9thTIMBERS GOAL It's Nanchoff with a lovely left-footer! He takes it off a Valeri header that bounces high at the top of the box and slams a left-footer about to the far post. No chance for Restrepo there and Nanchoff says hello to TA with a devastating left-footed volley strike. Timbers lead, 1-0.

11th—Nanchoff plays a ball into Trencito, who stops and steps back to shoot, but it's deflected up in the air. Piquionne is there to nab the rebound, but TB is able to clear.

13th—Piquionne trying to muscle his way through the defense at the top of the box and is called for a handball. Crowd still buzzing from Nanchoff's strike.

15th—Did I say "dreary" earlier? Because the sun has come out. On the pitch, Nanchoff goes sliding out of bounds for a ball and takes out Porter at the knees. Porter looks OK, and the crowd is chanting "Cleats up, Porter, cleats up!"

20th—Zemanski fires from distance after collecting a rebounded Trencito attempt. It's wide and right, goal kick Tampa.

22nd—Zizzo with a bit of a heavy touch along the east sideline, but chases it down and crosses in front. Restrepo leaps and grabs it, though, and here comes another TB goal kick.

26nd—Cox with some fancy footwork on the east sideline and attempts a cross. Miller looks to chest it down and gather it, but he knocks it over the line. On the corner, AJ-B tries to clear, but its lands for Cox who fires a shot. Well high, but Tampa records it first shot the night there.

28nd—Alhassan dancing at the top of the box amid traffic and fires a curling shot low, but Restrepo is there to gather it in.

31st—Decent chance there for Portland as Valeri pops it up near the top right corner of the box for Alhassan. He heads it forward for Piquionne, who can't quite get a solid foot on it.

34th—Nanchoff leads the counter then after it's dropped back for him, looks to put it back in the box for Alhassan. But Needham is there to nab it and knock it away. Nanchoff has been very active in this one. Besides the goal, a lot of the offense has run through him tonight.

36th—Tampa gets a little something going as Ambersly gets behind the Portland defense for but a moment. Jean-Baptiste recovers, though, and slides over to clear it.

39th—Timbers going forward and Valeri with a heavy touch. Timestamp that shit. That's a rarity.

43rd—Hristov picks the first yellow of the match for a hard foul on Miller. Free kick leads to...nothing.

45th—Another yellow for Tampa, and it's Needham. No stoppage time indicated.

HALFTIME: Timbers lead 1-0. An uneventful first half, other than the brilliant goal by Nanchoff. Tampa with just one shot in the first half—none on goal. Timbers outshot the Rowdies 5-1, with three shots on goal.

One sub for Portland at the half: Jewsbury is on for Valeri. He'll take the band—still fits!

SECOND HALF: Timbers headed toward the south end.

47th—Bit of a shaky start for Portland. Not-quite-crisp passing and a couple giveaways. Reminds me of the first half. Nanchoff wundergoal coming?

55thTIMBERS GOAL It's Jewsbury! Nanchoff sends it into the box for Piquionne, who heads it forward to Jewsbury. He finishes the job, and it's 2-0 Portland.

57th—Timbers with another sub. Nagbe on for Piquionne.

60th—Valencia gets ahead of the Tampa defense and gathers in the box. Nagbe and Nanchoff making runs behind him, but Trencito keeps his head down and fires. One touch too many for the youngster, who should've looked behind him for a couple open teammates.

63rd—Miller with a nice run down the east sideline and gets it into the box for Nagbe, who cuts back and shoots, but it's off the side netting. Good chance there for Portland, which is pretty much dominating this one.

67th—Alhassan with some dancing and crosses in front for Nagbe, but it's too tall. Tampa clears and it'll be a corner for Portland. Rowdies with a sub, it'll be Walker on for Cox.

68th—Trencito gets into the 18 and fires, but Restrepo with a great diving save. This one may be close to over, but that would've really done it.

71st—Zizzo sends in a cross for Valencia, who heads it in, but it's offside. Timbers Army in full Tetris mode.

75th—Portland's own Steven Evans will check in for Alhassan. The homegrown player is making his pro debut.

78th—Rowdies getting a little something going here as Walker nearly gets 1-on-1 with Kocic. Seconds later, a foul just outside the box gives TB a free kick.

79th—Mulholland bends one over the 6-man wall and it's OFF THE CROSSBAR. Big break there for Portland, as Tampa nearly makes this one a bit more interesting.

83th—Walker, who's having a real impact on this one since being subbed on, sends a dangerous cross in, but AJ-B stays shoulder-to-shoulder with his man and gets it to Kocic.

85th—Nagbe heads one back to Jewsbury who plays one back ahead to Nags. He's waaaaay offside, and as the whistle blows, he's all smiles.

87th—Tampa sub, it'll be Del Do on for Ambersly. Free kick from 45 coming.

88th—Free kick comes, and it's knocked away by Miller. No problem there for Portland.

89th—Hristov with a dangerous tackle along the east sideline, taking out Miller. It's his second yellow, so he's outta here. Timbers will play a man up, as soon as Miller gets back on his feet.

Two minutes of stoppage...Nagbe works his way into the box and attempts a little chip, but it's knocked over the line.

FULL TIME: Timbers win, 2-0. They're headed to the U.S. Open Cup quarters for the first time ever.