Portland Thorns 3, Bay FC 2 | Instant Reaction

Rob Gale led the Portland Thorns on the road against Bay FC for the first time in club history, and the interim coach won his third consecutive game

Credit: Portland Thorns FC

Both teams would need to rotate their starting XIs with three games in one week. Albertin Montoya would make six changes and Rob Gale would counter with four changes.

Changes

• Meghan Klingenberg in at fullback for Marie Müller

• Kelli Hubly in at center back for Isabella Obaze

• Payton Linnehan and Janine Beckie in at winger for Christine Sinclair and Morgan Weaver.

The 2024 first round pick has made an impact in each appearance so far this season and this game would be no different.

Gale’s faith in Linnehan would pay off immediately in the second minute when Soph Smith laid it off to her. She would roof it past Lysianne Proulx for her first ever goal.

Linnehan stole the ball and placed a perfect pass to Soph Smith in the seventh minute to get her alone with Proulx. She would dribble pass her and calmly finish to double the lead.

After the early 2-0 lead it would mostly be Bay FC the rest of the half. Portland was sloppy in possession and gave the ball up in bad positions. They failed to maintain control over the game

Deyna Castellanos was a key playmaker for them, but Racheal Kundananji was the best player in the half. She was everywhere and incredible in the attack. The highest transfer in NWSL history would make her mark and more.

In the 41st minute, she spun and dribbled off Becky Sauerbrunn and took the shot before the help came from Reyna Reyes to cut the lead in half.

After a slow start, Bay FC would outshoot Portland 6-5 at the half.

The defensive work by Princess and Kundananji took away a ton of time and space away from the midfield of Portland and forced the Thorns to speed up their play which had more bad results than good.

In the first 20 minutes of the second half, Portland looked absolutely gassed. Bay FC continued to dominate the proceedings and outshot them five to one in this span. The Thorns could not get any meaningful spells of possession.

In the 60th minute, Bay FC would tie it up… Unfortunately, it’s exactly how you would imagine. Sauerbrunn gave the ball away to Kundananji who proceeded to dribble to the right of Portland’s box and slip in a perfect ball to Castellanos for a tap in equalizer.

After going up 2-0 in the seventh minute, it was all Bay FC. The Portland Thorns looked exhausted and were second to every ball. Kundananji ran past every defender in her path and was downright the best player on the pitch and it was not particularly close.

However, all it takes is one moment. In the 78th minute, 2022 MVP and 2023 Golden Boot winner Soph Smith broke the 2-2 deadlock. After clapping and calling for the ball, she took a few dribbles and hit the far post upper 90 past Proulx who managed to get a hand on it, but not enough.

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In the 90th minute, Morgan Weaver went down and had to be helped off the field. Our thoughts are with her and hoping a speedy recovery for one of the most beloved players ever.

The last ditch defending down a player and relentless effort by the final ten was world class. Isabella Obaze was masterful in clearances, Reyes was physically winning the ball, and Soph Smith was relentless in trying to pressure to close out the game. The effort at the end to close out the 3-2 victory speaks volumes about the effect Rob Gale has had on this team.

Make no mistake, Bay FC outplayed the Portland Thorns. They outshot the visitors 18-9 and out possessed them 54%-46%. The second half was all Bay FC and they were unlucky to not score more than two goals.

In the NWSL, it doesn’t matter if you win by an inch or a mile, or in other words, pretty or ugly. This is one heck of a win although it came at a huge cost.

That’s now three straight wins for Gale and the Portland Thorns. They’re now at 10 points.

How was your heart rate after the game?

Summary

Portland Thorns

2' - Payton Linnehan

7’, 78’ - Soph Smith

Bay FC

41' - Deyna Castellanos

60' - Racheal Kundananji

Next

Portland Thorns (5th in table) vs Washington Spirit (2nd in table)

Saturday, May 4 at 7pm (Providence Park)

Streaming: ion