Match Recap: Portland Thorns 1-2 Gotham FC

The Thorns pick up their third loss in a row on the road against Gotham FC.

The Thorns came up with their third straight loss in all competitions after dropping their match against Gotham FC Sunday, July 9th. Though they fell 1-2, The Thorns still sit in second place in the league table, just one point behind North Carolina.

With all of Portland’s stars away preparing for the World Cup, their starting lineup looked a little different than what we were used to, with Meghan Klingenberg pushing up into the midfield.

How it happened- the overview:

The first half

The half first started off relatively even, the first glimpse of excitement came in the 6th minute when Bella Bixby, in a rush to clear a poor pass, fouled her former teammate Yazmeen Ryan, earning Bixby a yellow.

Morgan Weaver had an open opportunity on net but it was saved by Abby Smith who came out and blocked the shot.

The first and only goal of the first half came from Gotham’s Alli Long in the 21st minute, her goal came from a finish at close range off a Gotham cross.

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Media credit: Thorns FC and Pete Mackin

In the 31st minute, Gotham almost earned a second as a shot from Stengel was deflected off Menges and the post before Bixby collapsed on it.

Seven minutes later Bixby came up with another big save as she stopped Midge Purce’s shot with her foot.

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Media credit: Thorns FC and Pete Mackin

Gotham’s Abby Smith came up big in denying the Thorns in the 42nd minute. Moultrie played a wonderful ball into Weaver but Smith was there to stop the shot.

The second half

Abby Smith opened up this half by denying yet another goal-scoring opportunity. This time it was Kling with the chance.

The second Gotham goal came from a rebound in the 56th minute. Stengel was there to put away the ball that Bixby had saved. The initial header was from Purce, the save was also quite good, unfortunate that Stengel had to be in the right place…

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Media credit: Thorns FC and Pete Mackin

The Thorns followed this up with a goal of their own shortly after. The lone Thorns goal came from Hannah Betfort in the 61st minute. Kling played a ball from the top of the 18 to Betfort who neatly put it away. This ended the current score drought the Thorns had been going through.

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Media credit: Thorns FC and Pete Mackin

Kling came close to a goal of her own with a right-footed shot from outside the box, it went just wide.

Neither team have any other chances as the game wound down, and in the end the Thorns picked up another loss on the road.

Photo Credit: Portland Thorns FC

A few things to consider

• This is the Thorn’s third loss in a row, with all the losses come after saying goodbye to the WC players.

• Portland only has to make it through two more games in this window (both Challenge Cup matches) before we can welcome back those players.

• The Thorns finally put a goal away after being outscored 4-0 in their last two matches, including the first hour of the Gotham match.

The NWSL will take a mandatory league-wide break and Thorns FC will return to home for a Challenge Cup on Friday, July 21, against San Diego Wave FC. The July 21 match kicks off at 7:30 p.m. (Pacific) and can be watched on Paramount+.