With or without Hirving “Chucky” Lozano, San Diego FC will look to seal victory in their first-ever MLS Cup playoff series when they visit the Portland Timbers in Game 2 of their opening-round matchup on Saturday night.
After securing the top seed in the Western Conference in its expansion season, San Diego completed a 2-1 victory at home on Sunday in the opener of the best-of-three set. Onni Valakari and Anders Dreyer scored inside the opening half-hour for the hosts.
However, the biggest story may have been Lozano’s omission from the match-day roster after his apparent involvement in a verbal altercation in the club dressing room earlier this month. He also sat out the team’s regular-season finale.
Lozano apologized on social media, attended the first playoff game in street clothes with his family, and has been back in training with the club since. He potentially could return to action in Portland after he was San Diego’s second-most productive attacker in the regular season, with nine goals and 10 assists in 27 matches.
How has he looked in training?
“Just (like) he wants to be part of the group,” San Diego coach Mikey Varas said. “I think it’s the most important thing, through actions, that you want to be part of the group.”
Kristoffer Velde’s 36th-minute goal gave the eighth-seeded Timbers a lifeline on Sunday, and Antony missed an excellent chance to level in the 61st minute.
However, Jimer Fory was ejected in the 66th minute after receiving a second yellow card, complicating the Timbers’ later efforts to equalize and meaning the defender will miss the Saturday match.
Portland manager Phil Neville knows his side has to be crisper to prolong the series than in recent weeks, when the Timbers have won just once in seven matches while being held to one or fewer goals on five occasions.
“I think we are a really good counterattacking team,” Neville said. “(But) what I would say about in the last three, four weeks is, I don’t think we’ve executed the final pass or the final finish as well as what we should have done. And I think that that’s really important going into this game.
“I think it’s a game where we have to accept that they will probably create chances, and we have to create more chances and we have to score more goals than them.”
–Field Level Media
