PORTLAND, Ore. – The Portland Timbers put forth yet another dramatic comeback to earn a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas on Wednesday night at Providence Park, and they certainly gave their fans a show.
After FCD went into halftime with a 2-0 lead through Fabián Castillo and Blas Pérez goals, Portland pulled two back in dramatic fashion, the first on an 88th-minute Will Johnson penalty kick and then a stoppage-time equalizer from defender Pa Modou Kah as the visitors finished the game with nine men.
It all started as a meeting of two Western Conference teams looking to create momentum heading into the World Cup break, with Portland coming off their first win at Real Salt Lake and FCD having beaten the Colorado Rapids over the weekend.
And through it all, the share of points moves Dallas up the table into a tie with the Rapids with 22 points from 17 games. The Timbers head into the break still in sixth place in the West with 20 points from 15 games.
Despite playing their third game in a week-and-a-half, the Timbers dominated possession and set a new team MLS-era record witn 30 shots. But FCD worked two key counter attacks. Castillo struck in the 27th minute when he chested down a perfectly placed chip by Pérez while charging down the right flank. His next touch tucked it neatly past a diving Donovan Ricketts.
Dallas added on in the 39th minute when rookie Tesho Akindele, making just his second MLS start, made a run down the right and sent a back pass through the middle of the area that was first dummied by Castillo before Pérez sent a blast top-shelf to beat Ricketts once again.
Portland continued to push forward after the break, leading to a dominating half that featured 19 shots for the home team. They got their first when Dallas defender Je-Vaughn Watson took down Fanendo Adi in the box in the 78th minute for a penalty converted easily by Johnson.
FCD were put under further pressure in the 87th minute when Moises Hernandez was shown red for a dangerous challenge on second-half substitute Danny O’Rourke and then Pérez was sent off in stoppage time for stomping Kah.
That led to Kah’s heroics right before the final whistle after a rebound on a Maximiliano Urruti shot fell to the big center back for the calm finish into the open goal.
FC Dallas return to action on June 17 in a fourth-round US Open Cup meeting with the San Antonio Scorpions at Toyota Stadium and then resume league play on June 28 at Columbus. Portland also play host in Open Cup action on June 17 vs. the Orlando City U-23s before resuming MLS action at home on June 27 against Sporting KC.
Portland Timbers (4-4-8, 20pts) vs. FC Dallas (6-7-4, 20pts)
June 11, 2014 – Providence Park (Portland, Ore.)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
FC Dallas 2 0 2
Portland Timbers 0 2 2
Scoring Summary
FCD: Castillo (Pérez), 27
FCD: Pérez (Akindele), 39
POR: Johnson (penalty kick), 79
POR: Kah (Urruti), 90+4
Misconduct Summary
POR: Adi (Caution), 54
FCD: Keel (Caution), 60
FCD: Fernandez (Caution), 77
FCD: Hernandez (Ejection), 87
FCD: Pérez (Caution), 90
FCD: Pérez (Ejection), 90+2
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Ricketts, D Harrington (Urruti, 82), D McKenzie (O’Rourke, 46), D Kah, D Villafaña, M Chara, M Valeri, M Johnson ©, F Nagbe, F Adi, F Zakuani (Fernández, 60)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Weber, D Jewsbury, M Alhassan, M Nanchoff
TOTAL SHOTS: 30 (Valeri, 8); SHOTS ON GOAL: 9 (Adi, 3); FOULS: 9 (Chara, 4); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 9; SAVES: 4
FCD: GK Fernandez, D Hernandez, D Keel, D Loyd, D Watson, M Moffat, M Castillo (Hollingshead, 90+2), M Escobar (Jacobson, 74), M Ulloa, F Akindele (Walker, 87), F Pérez
Substitutes Not Used: GK Seitz, M Luccin, M Span, F Texeira
TOTAL SHOTS: 13 (Castillo, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 6 (Castillo, 4); FOULS: 18 (Pérez, 4); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 8; SAVES: 7
Referee: Alan Kelly
Assistant Referees: Fabio Tovar, Oscar Mitchell-Carvalho
4th Official: Tyler Ploeger
Attendance: 20,814
Time of Game: 1:55
Weather:Partly Cloudy, 70 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
