Timbers Rally For 2-2 Draw With FC Dallas
Blas Perez of FC Dallas walks upfield during the second half against the Montreal Impact at FC Dallas Stadium on April 14, 2012 in Frisco, Texas. (credit: Brett Deering/Getty Images)
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - Pa Modou Kah scored in stoppage time and the Portland Timbers rallied for a 2-2 draw with FC Dallas on Wednesday night in the last scheduled game before Major League Soccer takes a break for the World Cup.
Fabian Castillo and Blaz Perez scored for injury-depleted FC Dallas in the first half, but Portland’s Will Johnson narrowed it on a penalty kick in the 79th minute in the chippy match that saw two Dallas players sent off with red cards and an assistant coach ejected.
“We knew that the pressure was coming,” Dallas coach Oscar Pareja said.
Both teams were playing on a short turnaround. Injury-depleted Dallas FC (6-7-4) was coming off a 3-2 victory over Colorado on Saturday.
The Timbers (4-4-8) are winless at home in their last four matches. Portland beat Real Salt Lake 3-1 Saturday, the team’s first victory at Rio Tinto since joining MLS in 2011.
Portland coach Caleb Porter was frustrated that his team keeps conceding goals at home.
“No one wants to step up,” he said. “No one wants to take the bull by the horns and lead this team on the back line.”
Defender Kah returned to the starting lineup after sitting out the RSL match with sore Achilles tendons. Defender Jack Jewsbury was a reserve after starting 12 matches this season.
Dallas has been hit hard by injuries. It was without defenders Matt Hedges and Walker Zimmerman. Midfielders Michel, Mauro Diaz and Hendry Thomas did not play, either.
Rauwshan McKenzie thought he had a goal for the Timbers in the 10th minute, but Johnson was offside.
Castillo put FC Dallas in front with a header toward the box that he chased down himself and buried in the left corner past Timbers goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts. It was his fifth goal of the season.
FC Dallas made it 2-0 with Perez’s hard boot from out front in the 39th minute. He also has five goals.
Johnson caught Dallas goalkeeper Raul Fernandez out of his goal in the 62nd minute, but the shot sailed over the net. Johnson was able to beat Fernandez on the penalty kick to spoil the shutout.
“Obviously it’s good to come back and get those two goals, but it’s tough because there were so many good chances out there,” Johnson said.
Dallas’ Moises Hernandez and Perez each were sent off with red cards in the final minutes as the match got heated. Dallas assistant coach Josema Bazan was also ejected by the officials for “not behaving in a responsible manner in the technical area.” Bazan appeared to confront a fan after he got a liquid thrown at him.
As time ran out, Castillo headed toward Ricketts and bumped a referee repeatedly. He had to be restrained by teammates.
“We kept fighting against many other factors,” Pareja said.
When asked if his players got frustrated with the match, Pareja responded: “No comment.”
The Timbers held a moment of silence for Emilio Hoffman, the 14-year-old Reynolds High School freshman who was killed Tuesday in a shooting at the school east of Portland. Hoffman was a soccer player and fan who wore No. 29 for the high school team. The Timbers Army supporters group honored Hoffman by waving their scarves in the 29th minute.
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