Portland leads Cascadia Cup race after three rounds with seven points.
The Portland Timbers went on the road to earn a 0-0 draw with Seattle Sounders FC Saturday afternoon at Lumen Field. With the point, Portland stay atop the Cascadia Cup standings.
As both clubs struggled to find openings and create space in the initial half, play was chippy and mostly stuck in the midfield. With the ball under the control of the hosts, it was the defensive midfielders Cristhian Paredes and captain Diego Chara that were relied on the most. Their returning runs on defense, and pressure on ball carriers helped mitigate the 62% possession Seattle developed.
It was in counter attacks that Portland saw their best opportunities. Dairon Asprilla appeared to be most dangerous and in the 14th minute had one of the clearest chances of the half. Full-speed on a counter, Evander pushed the ball into Seattle's final third on a 3-v-3 situation. As the play neared the box, the Brazilian put a through-ball in the direction of a running Asprilla on the left. Just when the Colombian winger prepared to take his shot, Sounders defender Cody Baker intercepted and tapped the ball away from Asprilla and into Seattle goalkeeper Stefan Frei's hands.
Even after being out-possessed, Portland outshot Seattle by six to one by the conclusion of the first 45 minutes.
The second part of the match resulted in similar, chippy play. Portland goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic was called to action and was more active as Seattle pushed for a result at home.
Ivacic came up big in the 54th minute, clearing a ball off the line following a Nicolas Lodeiro in-swinging corner kick that spurred a Portland counter. The ball was pushed the full-length of the field, ending in an Evander shot that was comfortably saved by Frei.
Asprilla, who led all players with four shots on the day, looked close to scoring the first of the afternoon again in the 56th minute following an Evander out-swinging cross into the box that went just a few inches wide of him and the waiting Frei.
Head coach Giovanni Savarese opted for some offensive changes in the final 20 minutes of the match, bringing on Franck Boli and Nathan Fogaça to energize the attack. Unfortunately the move would not bear a goal as the two rivals split the points in the scoreless draw.
The 0-0 scoreline brings the Timbers to a fifth straight game unbeaten against Seattle, and eight undefeated at Lumen Field. In the table, Portland sits one spot and one point out of the playoff race as they prepare to host FC Dallas next Sunday June 11 (7pm PT, TICKETS, Free on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV).
Portland Timbers (4-7-5, 17pts) at Seattle Sounders FC (8-6-3, 27pts)
June 3, 2023 – Lumen Field (Seattle, Was.)
Scoring Summary:
None
Misconduct Summary:
POR: D. Chara (caution), 7
POR: Bravo (caution), 70
POR: Paredes (caution), 79
SEA: Ragen (caution), 90+2
Lineups:
POR: GK Ivacic, D Bravo, D McGraw, D Zuparic, D Miller, M D. Chara ©, M Paredes, M Evander, F Moreno (LorÃa, 66), F Asprilla (Fogaça, 84), F Niezgoda (Boli, 73)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bingham, D Rasmussen, D Mabiala, D Mosquera, M Blanco, M Caliskan
TOTAL SHOTS: 11 (Asprilla, 4); SHOTS ON GOAL: 2 (Asprilla, 2); FOULS: 17 (Bravo, 6); OFFSIDES: 6; CORNER KICKS: 5, SAVES: 1
SEA: GK Frei, D Nouhou, D Ragen, D Baker, D Gomez, M Paulo, M Rusnak, M Chu, F Lodeiro © (Heber, 87), F Baker-Whiting (C. Roldan, 57), F Montero (Ruidiaz, 57)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Cleveland, D Arreaga, M Atencio, M Rowe, M Sousa, M Teves
TOTAL SHOTS: 5 (five players tied, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Gomez, 3); FOULS: 10 (Paulo, 5); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 2
Referee: Allen Chapman
Assistant Referees: Cory Richardson, Jose Da Silva
Fourth Official: Fotis Bazakos
VAR: Drew Fischer
Attendance: 42,054
