Gotham FC secures a big win with the victory over the Portland Thorns | OneFootball

After a road trip out west, NJ/NY Gotham FC returned home and came away with a win after beating Portland Thorns FC by a score of 3-0. This was a great bounce-back win for the club after a disappointing draw away to Bay FC this past Sunday. While there were extenuating circumstances, such as fatigue, that played a role in that game, the team knew that winning against Portland was crucial to continue this incredible run of form.

Both teams entered this game tied on points, so whoever was able to come away with the three points would have been sitting in a great position at this point in the season. With just five games to go in the NWSL regular season, and four after this match, all points are crucial, especially against teams this close to each other in the standings.

Before the fixture started, both teams made changes to their lineups that influenced the game. Gotham had Jaedyn Shaw join the frontline in place of Geyse, who was out with a knee injury. This meant Josefine Hasbo came back into the Starting XI in Shaw's original spot, alongside Rose Lavelle in the midfield.

Meanwhile, Portland started with a back five, partly in thanks to some of their forwards like Reilyn Turner and Pietra Tordin not being at 100% going into the game. It almost seemed like the Thorns were resigned to accepting a draw as the best-case scenario before a ball was even kicked on Friday night, given their injury situation and how they appeared to have chosen their approach for this game.

Gotham bounced back after frustrating road draw

As expected, given how the two teams lined up to start this game, Gotham FC was by far the more aggressive team to begin with. About all of the opening 10 minutes were played in Portland's side of the field. While the visitors did offer an early scare in the form of a Deyna Castellanos long-ranger where she tried to catch Ann-Katrin Berger off of her line after a Jess Carter giveaway, it was Gotham who scored first.

The two longest tenured players for the Bats combined for the opening goal, with Mandy Freeman finding Midge Purce. The forward headed the ball home past Portland goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold. This was Purce's first goal at home since October 15, 2023, when she scored in the sixth minute against the Kansas City Current. That was the final game of that season, where Gotham clinched the sixth and final playoff spot en route to their first-ever NWSL championship.

The NJ/NY side continued pushing for a second goal, with Portland spending most of the next 30 minutes just soaking up pressure and doing very little to get the ball past the halfway line. They would eventually do so around the 40th minute, with them pinging the ball around and getting a few half-decent chances.

They could not capitalize and find an equalizer, though, and it would come back to bite them with Gotham shortly after doubling the lead. A very nice sequence of passing and great-timed runs resulted in Shaw assisting Lavelle with a skillful first-time flick pass that Lavelle took and slotted past Arnold in the Portland goal.

The second half began with both sides making changes as Gotham brought on Katie Stengel to replace Esther González and Portland made an attacking change, bringing on forward Reilyn Turner for defender Isabella Obaze. Both teams would then go on to trade chances with Portland initially having the better of the run of play before the Bats had a turn of their own, with both teams looking somewhat dangerous.

So, in the 73rd minute, Gotham got their third goal of the match with Lavelle finding Stengel with an incredible backheel assist that saw the halftime substitute score her first in NWSL play and second in all competitions.

The home side got close to a fourth goal, with the best chance coming from Purce, who banged an outside-of-the-box curler off the post. But in the end, Gotham came away as 3-0 victors. This win extends the Bats' unbeaten run to nine games in all competitions. It also sees them reduce the gap to the Washington Spirit to three points, albeit with the Spirit still to play this weekend.

As mentioned earlier, bouncing back from last weekend's draw was crucial for Gotham to be the pace setters of all of the teams fighting below second place. The team was also able to get some players some rest, with González only playing 45 minutes, Lilly Reale playing just 30, and Lavelle, Freeman, and Shaw getting the final 10 minutes off.

The matches in NWSL play do not get easier as they welcome Seattle Reign FC to Sports Illustrated Stadium next Sunday. The Reign are currently three points behind Gotham in the table, but if they manage to beat the North Carolina Courage later this weekend, it will again be a matchup of teams tied in the standings.