Greenville Battles Back to Earn 3-3 Draw with Portland
- Forrest Wimberly
- Aug 3
- 3 min read
Updated: 5 days ago
Nour with a brace; Liadi with the late, late game-tying goal for the Triumph
The Greenville Triumph just would not be defeated last Saturday night at GE Vernova Park as the visiting Portland Hearts of Pine twice had a two goal cushion only to see the Triumph battle all the way back at the final whistle to knot things 3-3.
New Triumph signing Muba Nour scored a brace to get things close before Azaad Liadi tied the match in second-half stoppage time to share the points in the Upstate.
The match opened with Greenville having the best chances in the first 20 minutes as a bicycle kick (why not give it a go after the Meek wondergoal last week) and a header cleared off the line looked like the hosts would find the nets first in the match.
The visiting Hearts of Pine from Portland didn’t concede the opening goal and in quick order scored a pair of goals in a five minute span to jump out to a 2-0 lead. A sequence of passes built the ball up the right flank before a cross into the near post in the 28th minute was swept into the nets by a streaking Aboubaca Camara for the 1-0 Portland lead. Then in the 32nd minute, Diogo Barbosa finished off a combination play at the top of the box firing the ball into the lower left corner of the goal for the quick 2-0 advantage.
Greenville’s Nour had the ball in the nets in the 35th minute off a wild scramble inside the area only to see the goal disallowed for a foul in the build-up play. Not fazed by the goal being disallowed, Nour went on a long solo run just minutes later in the 37th minute with the ball at his feet driving up the left flank. Nour made his move cutting inside at the top of the box to hit a wicked, bending shot into the back post side netting.
Portland regained their two-goal cushion in the 40th minute as Konstantinos Georgallidis was slipped a ball into his feet at the top of the box for a rocket of a goal ripped to the back post.
Greenville created another goal-mouth scramble in first-half stoppage time, but Portland escaped the half with the 3-1 lead still intact.
The Triumph almost cut into the Portland lead in the 50th minute off a corner kick but the ball was always going wide of the right post as the players were crashing together inside the Portland goal box. The very next sequence of play saw Greenville’s Nour pick up his brace in the 51st minute after a low cross from the left flank from Lucas Meek was spilled inside the Portland goalmouth. Nour collected the loose ball and then shuffled the ball and his feet from right to left to poke the ball into the nets to get the Triumph closer to leveling the match.
The match would enter second-half stoppage time and in the 93rd minute Azaad Liadi stepped up to a free kick at the top of the box shaded towards the left touch line. The right footed strike was lifted up and over the wall as the ball swerved away from the Portland keeper and into the near post upper 90 to tie the match in dramatic fashion with what was almost the final kick of the contest.
At full time, it was a spirited 3-3 comeback draw for the Triumph who just refused to go away during the match despite begin down by two goals twice in the contest.
Greenville inches up the table with the draw into thirteenth place on 18 points (5W-9L-3T) and is 10 points out of the final playoff spot with fifteen matches still on the 2026 regular season schedule. Two huge road matches at the Independence on August 8 and at Forward Madison on August 12 will be played over the next 10 days before Greenville returns home to GE Vernova Park to play One Knoxville on August 15.
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