Jaroslaw Niezgoda and Aaron Long traded second-half goals as the New York Red Bulls and Portland Timbers went from a scoreless draw to a 1-1 draw at Red Bull Arena on Saturday night.
In a matchup between two teams differently challenged of late – the Timbers in scoring, and the Red Bulls in winning at home – the sides went scoreless in the first half, with surprise Timbers starter David Bingham making the only save on Tom Barlow's 43rd-minute attempt. On the other end, the crossbar did the work to keep Portland's Santiago Moreno from getting an opening goal.
Niezgoda stopped the Timbers' scoring drought at 335 minutes in the 53rd, finishing on an excellent Moreno pass in the box. But then Long answered on a corner kick putaway at the 67th minute, after the Red Bulls were knocking in response to the Timbers' goal.
Neither team, however, could find a winner, despite seven minutes of stoppage time adding to their opportunities to score.
Three Things
- THE BIG PICTURE: Though the Red Bulls got another home result to help their ongoing bid for a playoff spot, a first home win in 2022 still eludes them. Still, though, they find themselves challenging atop the Eastern Conference table through 10 weeks. Portland finally got a goal after three scoreless matches, in a challenging place to get one. Though a point on the road is regarded as a good result in MLS, it didn’t do much to nudge the Timbers above the playoff line.
- MOMENT OF THE MATCH: Aaron Long scored the equalizer at an opportune time – and given Miles Robinson’s serious-looking injury earlier in the night, more discussion around Long and the national team might be coming as the World Cup nears.
- MAN OF THE MATCH: Had Moreno been a bit more on-target with his first-half strike, we could be talking about him having a goal and assist on the night. Though he just finished with the latter, he had the biggest all-around impact for a Timbers team that denied the Red Bulls a win at home.
Next Up
- RBNY: Tuesday, May 10 at D.C. United | 7:30 pm ET (ESPN+) | US Open Cup Fourth Round
- POR: Tuesday, May 10 at LAFC | 10:30 pm ET (ESPN+) | US Open Cup Fourth Round
