The Portland Timbers earned a 1-1 draw against New York City FC on Saturday night. This result comes off the back of a 2-1 loss at home to the Chicago Fire FC just three days prior.
“Just as coach I’m very proud of the guys,” Timbers head coach Giovanni Savarese said postgame. “The intensity that they put in today, the enjoyment that we put in; we played really well today, really well. Now not to conclude in a win after everything and conceding one second, one moment. So its like a déjà vu.” The Timbers finish their June matches with a record of 1-1-3.
The first half at Providence Park saw Portland gaining an edge offensively. While Portland was barely ahead in terms of the time of possession, 51% to 49%, the Timbers’ offense was finding ways to get the ball into dangerous spots. Portland was outshooting New York City 7-1, and 2-0 in shots on goal at halftime.
The big moment for Portland’s offense came in the 38th minute. The play would start with Franck Boli getting the ball well wide and outside the box. Boli would find Cristhian Paredes inside the box, but he would be collapsed upon by two NYC defenders. Paredes quickly found a gap to center the ball across, which gave Marvin Loría possession just left of the penalty dot. Loría would have no room to shoot, but his pass back to the top of the box would set up Evander for a right-footed strike. Evander’s shot would launch high towards the far side of the net, past NYC goalkeeper Matt Freese, and stay under the crossbar to give the Timbers a 1-0 lead.
The second half had plenty of back-and-forth action that started off quickly. Just 22 seconds into the second half Santiago Moreno would receive a pass, juke around a defender, and spot Boli in the attacking third with space. Boli would control the pass at the top of the box, then move inside and take a right-footed shot from a short angle. Freese’s quick reactions helped him save the near post shot, and smother the rebound to keep the game within arm’s reach.
It wouldn’t be long after that save that NYC found their window back into the match. At 50:55, a foul was called on Larrys Mabiala, which earned him a yellow card. The foul was called just outside the corner of the box, giving New York a free-kick opportunity. Matías Pellegrini would take the kick, and send a lofting cross into the box. From the Goal Area line, Keaton Parks would connect on a high-pointed header towards the near post. Portland goalkeeper, Aljaz Ivacic, would extend his right hand, but the redirect was too far out of reach and NYC would tie the game at 1-1.
One player that helped spark a late push for the Timbers was Felipe Mora. Mora had been out with an injury since July 30, 2022, and only saw 14 minutes of action this match. However, his presence on the field had a near-immediate impact. Right off the bench, at the turn of the 76th minute, Mora narrowly missed a chance at a rebound off a bounce shot from Evander. Justin Haak for NYC was able to slide back to the ball before Mora had a chance to play the rebound.
The Timbers had three golden chances to take the lead in the final ten minutes of action. The first came at 84:25 when a defensive header would fall to Boli on the outskirts of the box. Boli would corral the loose ball, and turn to shoot. However, his shot was blocked, and the redirect would set up Moreno for a one-timer strike from the high center of the box. Unfortunately for Moreno, his shot went wide left of the goal.
The second chance came off a set piece from Evander. Evander’s ball in would be headed away by a New York defender. The rebound would fall just beyond the penalty arc to Juan Mosquera. Mosquera would take his shot before the ball fell to the ground, and force a save out of Freese. However, Freese couldn’t cleanly trap the ball, and it would squeak past his gloves and roll dangerously close to the goal. Fortunately for NYC, the ball would roll just wide of the post, and over the end line.
The third chance for Portland came on the very last play of the game. Evander had earned one last free kick, from deep outside the box. With the rest of the players hovering above the penalty box, Evander would send a strike towards the far post. The shot would curl back towards the high corner of the net but would ping off the outside of the post. NYC’s defense would hold on, and the game would end in a 1-1 draw.
The Timbers next game will be July 1 on the road, against Minnesota United FC with kickoff set for 5:30 p.m.
Northwest Sports Desk 