Impact settle for a 2-2 tie with Timbers
Providence Park in Portland is not an easy place for visiting teams to earn points in Major League Soccer.
The Impact managed to pick up one point by tying the Timbers 2-2 Saturday night, but they could have — and probably should have — earned three. Saphir Taider and Matteo Mancosu scored for the Impact, while Samuel Armenteros and Diego Valeri replied for the Timbers.
The Timbers were playing in front of their 132nd consecutive sellout crowd of 21,144 at Providence Park and extended their MLS unbeaten streak to 13 games with the tie (8-0-5) and remain unbeaten at home this season (5-0-3). The Impact now have a 9-12-1 record and the one point moved them into a tie with the New England Revolution for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with the top six teams advancing to the playoffs. The Revolution lost 2-0 to the New York Red Bulls on Saturday.
Incredibly, the Impact had gone 41 games without a tie, dating back to last June 17 when they tied 3-3 in Orlando. The Timbers haven’t lost a game since April 8 when they dropped a 3-2 decision against Orlando.
The Impact, who are now 5-1-1 in their last seven MLS games, could have ended the Timbers’ unbeaten streak, but errors from goalkeeper Evan Bush proved costly.
Taider opened the scoring in the 23rd minute on a gorgeous setup by Alejandro Silva. After jumping on an errant Portland pass near midfield, Silva was knocked down by a defender, but got up with the ball and ran hard down the right side past another defender and into the 18-yard box before making a drop pass to Taider at the top of the box and the designated player beat Timbers goalkeeper Jeff Attinella with a low, right-footed shot into the left corner of the net.
Five minutes later, Silva made another impressive run down the right side into the box after taking a long pass from Ignacio Piatti before making a beautiful pass into the goal area for Mancosu, who wasn’t ready for the ball and missed a golden opportunity to put the Impact up 2-0.
The Timbers evened the score in the 39th minute after Bush dropped a high ball at the top of the goal area that he should have caught easily. Armenteros accepted the gift and used his left foot to knock the ball into the net. It marked the first time in seven games that the Impact allowed a first-half goal.
Only two minutes later, Mancosu put the Impact back in the lead when he slipped behind the Portland defence and took a beautiful, long pass from Piatti before scoring from the top of the box with a low, left-footed blast into the left corner of the net past a diving goalkeeper.
The Timbers got the equalizer in the 65th minute when Sebastian Blanco ran the ball deep into the left-hand corner of the box before hitting a hard cross into the goal area that Bush knocked straight up in the air with his hands. Valeri then out-jumped the goalkeeper and knocked a header into the net.
Impact coach Rémi Garde was furious — believing Bush had been interfered with after knocking the ball in the air — and was ejected from the game after screaming at the officials.
“I was surprised to finish the game in the stands, as I was not pointing fingers,” Garde said on the Impact’s website. “My English probably is not good enough and the assistant referee might have thought I was speaking to him.”
In the 78th minute, Bush made a fantastic, diving save on a rightfooted blast from just outside the box by Alvas Powell to keep the score tied.
“I would have preferred to win the game, but it’s a good road point,” Bush said after the game on the team’s website. “I am proud of this group. We did not abandon after the two goals we conceded.”
Said Garde: “It was a crazy game, but a very good game, in which both teams came to play. Maybe it was our best road game this season against a team unbeaten in its last (13) games. The task at hand was a tough one, but the game plan was applied with discipline. There was tremendous solidarity on the pitch and nothing was left to luck in our play today.”
The Impact will be back in action Wednesday night when they visit the Vancouver Whitecaps for Game 2 of their Canadian Championship semifinal. The Impact’s next MLS game is Saturday night when Atlanta United FC — the best team in MLS with a 13-4-5 record — visits Saputo Stadium (7 p.m., TVA Sports, TSN 690 Radio).