Portland through, Sporting KC out after outrageous penalty shootout

Goalkeeper Adam Kwarasey was the hero for the Portland Timbers as he scored the 21st penalty and then saved the 22nd - taken by substitute shot stopper Jon Kempin - to send his side through to the Western Conference semifinals at the expense of Sporting Kansas City.

It was quite possibly the best ever night in Major League Soccer for the Timbers, and the club will now meet the nearby Vancouver Whitecaps in the next round.

After a scrappy first stanza, the contest grew into a pulsating tie as two clubs exchanged blows throughout the second half and into extra-time.

The penalty shootout was a joy to behold as 20 players struggled to edge the score in their favour until it was left up to the goalkeepers to take responsibility from 12 yards.

The Ghanaian 'keeper will now live in Portland Timbers folklore.

The deadlock was finally broken in the 57th minute by Rodney Wallace, who doubled up with his colleague Diego Valeri to heap the pressure on the opposition and not allow them to clear. When the ball broke for the Costa Rican, he made no mistake with his prodded finish.

KC shot stopper Tim Melia was involved in a worrying collision with the goalscorer shortly afterwards. Wallace seemed accidentally to clip the goalkeeper's head with his boot, and although he valiantly tried to remain on the pitch, he was withdrawn in the 84th minute for Jon Kempin.

With Portland seemingly cruising to a semifinal berth, Kevin Ellis crashed the party in the 87th minute as he soared into the air and nodded an unstoppable effort to take the game into extra time.

Sporting KC was then unexpectedly in the ascendancy, as Krisztian Nemeth planted a beautiful, placed shot into the top corner after jeopardising on George Fochive's over-committed challenge.

The away side began to deploy time-wasting tactics, but Maximiliano Urruti did not read the script. The Argentinian forward was introduced into the game during the break of extra time, and with two minutes remaining until his side's elimination he delivered a blast to send the game to penalties.

A preposterous match was topped off with an unbelievable 22 penalties. If a couple of the remaining matches of the playoffs manage to be a quarter as good as this one, we should be in for a memorable postseason of Major League Soccer.