The goal is from a free kick from Moralez, who’s gutting it out on a bad leg. Castellanos has too much space, and goalkeeper Steve Clark offers too little resistance.

Meanwhile, a replay shows NYCFC’s Medina was hit by a projectile from the stands. Not sure it was quite as bad as he made it look, but it’s inexcusable at any rate.

A neat header squibbles it way into the net, but now we might have an incident from the stands.

39 min: Good play from Portland at both ends, nearly connecting on a dangerous pass near the penalty spot, followed by Diego Chara neatly snuffing out the NYCFC counter.

38 min: Santiago Rodriguez crosses for his NYCFC teammates but finds the wrong side of the top netting.

Damien Neva writes: “Hello! Tuning in from Brooklyn in support of Portland (I’m a longtime Chelsea fan). That playing surface looks like carpeting, but a cursory search tells me it’s something called FieldTurf, which is manufactured, not grown. For a club whose very identity is rooted in forestry, that’s some tension.”

True, though this turf has a reputation for being better than most.

35 min: Blanco is off to the races against two NYCFC players, then cuts it back.

But the bigger story is Moralez, who is in serious anguish right now.

33 min: ESPN’s crew tells us Moralez is hobbling. That’s the last thing NYCFC needs right now. But the team in blue continues to maintain possession.

31 min: NYCFC ramps up the pressure, with Portland unable to clear. Moralez gets two chances to put in a dangerous cross, but Castellanos can’t quite get his foot to the second.

29 min: More Portland possession, and Sean Johnson is grateful to grab a cross from Blanco.

I’m soliciting opinions on the threshold for a yellow card:

24 min: Give no cards, and you end up with players fighting. That’s why there’s a code in hockey. Portland’s Larrys Mabiala gives a hockey-style check to NYCFC’s scoring king Castellanos. Players complain and shove. Still no card.

Mark Clattenburg says that by the Laws of the Game, Villarreal could have given four yellow cards by now, but he doesn’t need it. Yeah, but the rest of us do.

Portland gets a chance, as Felipe Mora’s shot is blocked. The ensuing corner comes to nothing. NYCFC breaks the other way. Actual soccer being played.

22 min: Portland wins possession at midfield and avoids being fouled. They turn it over anyway, and we’re back where we’ve been — NYCFC keeping possession 20-40 yards from the Portland goal.

19 min: The action goes again toward the Portland end, with Medina earning a couple of touches within the 18. Portland breaks the other way and … it’s another bit of brutality, this time by NYCFC’s James Sands. “Smart tactical foul by James Sands,” says Taylor Twellman.

16 min: That’s more like it for Portland. Yimmi Chara, one of two Charas in the Timbers XI, breaks free in the penalty area and sets up Sebastian Blanco, who scuffs his shot. The Timbers extend the possession with another half-chance.

13 min: Portland’s George Fochive gets away with his second card-worthy offense at midfield. The Timbers thus far have done nothing else.

11 min: NYCFC’s Maxi Moralez flings himself face-first to the Portland turf, just inside the penalty area. Villarreal is smarter than that.

This game needs a serious boost.

9 min: English referee Mark Clattenburg on ref Armando Villarreal: “He certainly doesn’t want to give an early yellow card and set a precedent.”

Based on the first two fouls in this game, Clattenburg and Villarreal should reconsider.

Corner kick to NYCFC.

6 min: Medina inflicts a kick to the leg of Portland’s Asprilla. There’s a UFC PPV tonight if you’re into that.

4 min: FINALLY, someone at ESPN flips the switch on the app, and I can watch. My five-minute trial of UniMas was about to end.

No other shots have been noted in the live stats.

Michael Vraney writes: “Great to see you back on the soccer beat at the Guardian… love these fans, who would have ever believed in this type of support back when MLS started… BTW, I’ve got Timbers winning 2-0, hoping for a entertaining game!”

You and me both.

1 min: Maxi Moralez shoots for NYCFC. It’s saved. I’m getting this from the MLS site because ESPN’s app, which is supposed to show ABC Sports content, is still not showing this game.

My apologies for the technical difficulties that have made it impossible for me to catch the kickoff. How’s it going?

Meanwhile, those who argue for promotion/relegation in US Soccer are complaining on Twitter that they’re being misrepresented. This is the same movement that has long insisted that people who point to the legitimate business reasons why it hasn’t happened are being paid under the table by a cabal of MLS, former US Soccer president Sunil Gulati and the ghost of Chuck Blazer, the Falstaffian figure who turned FIFA/CONCACAF whistleblower under duress.

That’s Twitter for you.

If you’d like to chat with me during the game, tweet @duresport — you know what, just email me.

We can discuss different formats for MLS, including a potential opening for promotion/relegation and more immediately a change to the playoff structure, after we discuss the rules in basketball that allow 30 seconds of action to take place over eight minutes. Yes, we’re now running long into the MLS broadcast window. Thanks, UConn, for missing all those free throws.

For TV viewers in the US: The good news is that Connecticut’s dominant women’s basketball team, often an annoyance for other teams who think it’d be nice if someone else won for a change, has pulled away from UCLA, which means the game preceding our broadcast is likely to end on time.

And I’ve spoken too soon, as UCLA hits a 3-pointer to cut the lead to nine, just enough to make the Bruins feel justified in taking timeouts to prolong the last minute for an hour or so.

But the other good news is that US sports broadcasts often start long before the game does, so kickoff will be sometime between 3:15 ET and our eventual rule by robots from Proxima Centauri.

How NYCFC got here: The glamour of a Manchester City/New York Yankees offshoot that brings in Patrick Vieira to coach David Villa, Andrea Pirlo and Frank Lampard has faded. In its place is a pretty good team.

Like other successful MLS teams of recent years, following the path set by Atlanta United, the roster is heavy on good players from South America and unheralded European countries rather than famous players from England and Italy.

The team in Man City light blue beat Atlanta 2-0 in the first round, shocked New England on kicks from the mark in the quarterfinals after a 2-2 draw, then scrapped their way past what was left of the Philadelphia Union after COVID protocols struck in the semifinals.

Neutrals will bemoan the fate of the Revolution and Union, with good reason, but with Golden Boot winner Taty Castellanos (19 goals) up front, this is not an unworthy title contender. Argentine playmaker Maxi Moralez had 11 assists, and occasional US international Sean Johnson is an adept goalkeeper.

How Portland got here: The Timbers still have some potent players from their 2015 Cup-winning run. Argentine midfielder Diego Valeri isn’t in the same form from his 2017 MVP campaign, but to say he has been successful on this stage would be an understatement. Forward Dairon Asprilla scored a career-high 10 goals, though he missed the semifinal against Real Salt Lake after incurring a last-minute red card against Colorado. Felipe Mora led the team with 11 goals. Steve Clark was claimed off waivers (for non-US audiences: other teams said, “Nah, we don’t want him”) in 2018 and has been a reliable goalkeeper at age 35.

Portland beat Minnesota 3-1 in the first playoff round, upset the top-seeded Colorado Rapids in the quarterfinals and cruised to a win over Real Salt Lake, the seventh and final seed in the West and the architects of an unlikely run to that stage, in a 2-0 decision to complete the trip to a final in their home stadium.

Welcome everyone. We’ve had a thrilling MLS season marked by the runaway dominance of Bruce Arena’s New England Revolution in the East and an entertaining race between the Colorado Rapids, Seattle Sounders and Sporting KC.

So, naturally, we’re about to watch a league championship between NYCFC and the Portland Timbers.

Maybe not the fairest way to determine a league champion, but it’s undeniably exciting.