Last night marked the conclusion of the quarterfinal round of the MLS is Back tournament. In what was an action-packed round of fixtures, Minnesota United thumped the San Jose earthquakes with a scoreline of 4-1 while the Portland Timbers defeated New York City FC 3-1.
Despite only controlling 38% of possession on the night, Minnesota proved clinical upfront, getting a 20th minute lead against the San Jose Earthquakes by way of a Robin Lod header. With San Jose clearly disgruntled after conceding, Minessota doubled their lead one minute later, with Jacori Hayes scoring from a rebounded shot.
While San Jose pulled one back from the penalty spot on the 50-minute mark, their revival was short-lived as Luis Amarilla scored Minnesota’s third just six minutes later. The responsibility then fell to Marlon Hairston to put San Jose out of their misery, by scoring a fourth in the 86th minute.
Portland’s game against NYC FC followed a similar tale, with the winning side making the most of their opportunities despite seeing less of the ball. While Jesus Medina put New York City in the lead with a 27th-minute penalty, the momentum swung strongly in Portland’s favor for the remainder of the clash.
Sebastian Blanco leveled in the 43rd minute, while second-half goals from Diego Valeri and Andy Polo put the game out of NYC’s reach. Portland is set to face Philadelphia in their semi-final clash, while Minnesota comes up against Orlando City.
