The Portland Timbers and Colorado Rapids played to a 2-2 draw in a wild Week 19 match at Providence Park.
Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark made four sprawling saves in the first half, but the Timbers went down a man in the second half and in the end, failed to hold two separate leads against the visiting Rapids.
The Timbers played the final 35-plus minutes with 10 men after defender Julio Cascante was sent off for a hard foul on the Rapids' Kei Kamara with the score at 1-1. But a hand ball in the box committed by the Rapids' Lalas Abubakar in the 62nd minute led to Diego Valeri slotting home from the spot for a momentary 2-1 Timbers lead.
Sam Nicholson's 76th-minute goal kept the Rapids from leaving without a point. Colorado hasn't beaten the Timbers in more than two years.
The teams exchanged goals in the first half: A badly-timed header by Colorado's Tommy Smith resulted in an own goal in the 27th minute, giving Portland a 1-0 lead. But Jonathan Lewis, back from the Concacaf Gold Cup and the U.S. national team, answered with a strike off a failed Timbers clearance in the 28th minute.
The Timbers were playing their third game in seven days. Portland lost defender Marco Farfan in the 10th minute to an apparent knee injury, forcing the Timbers to go to the bench early.
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Goals
- 27' – POR – Tommy Smith (OG) | WATCH
- 28' – COL – Jonathan Lewis | WATCH
- 63' – POR – Diego Valeri (PK) | WATCH
- 76' – COL – Sam Nicholson | WATCH
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: The Timbers will want to address numerous defensive breakdowns and they have to feel fortunate to get a draw, given that Colorado did much more to win. The Rapids arguably deserved better than a point and got a standout effort from Andre Shinyashiki on the wing, his speed proving a factor. Colorado gets three of the next four matches at home in an effort to climb the table, not including a friendly against Arsenal on Monday.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Abubakar's gaffe was exactly what the shorthanded Timbers needed, though they couldn't get three points. Valeri did what stars do and put away the kick from the spot.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Clark kept the match at 1-1 with a pair of saves on the same Rapids possession, and then another seconds later. The Timbers were fortunate to be tied at halftime. And he wasn't done -- Clark turned away a Nicolas Mezquida attempt in the 72nd minute when he came off his line for a huge stop and finished with six saves.
Up next
- COL: Saturday, July 20 vs. New York City FC (9 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN in US, on DAZN in Canada)
- POR: Thursday, July 18 vs. Orlando City FC (10 pm ET | ESPN, MLS LIVE on DAZN in Canada)
