Timbers tie it with late flurry

Despite playing with a man advantage for the final 56 minutes, the Crew allowed two tying goals in the final 10 minutes and settled for a wild 3-3 tie at Portland last night.

The final goal went to Portland’s Gaston Fernandez, who scored in the 85th minute after Ethan Finlay’s first Major League Soccer goal appeared to have given the Crew (3-4-4) a 3-2 victory and answered Will Johnson’s goal in the 80th minute that tied it at 2.

Maximiliano Urruti’s goal in the fifth minute gave Portland (1-3-7) the early advantage, but the Crew grabbed its first lead since April 26 behind two first-half goals by Federico Higuain.

Higuain put the Crew on his back in the 14th minute, when his chip from outside the penalty area floated over goalkeeper Donovan Ricketts and into the net. The goal ended the Crew’s scoreless streak at 335 minutes and was the Crew’s first goal from the run of play in 374 minutes.

Twenty minutes later, the Timbers went down a man when defender Alvas Powell was shown a straight red card for a brutal tackle of Crew defender Chad Barson. In the final of four minutes of added first-half stoppage time, the Crew earned a penalty kick when Portland defender Futty Danso dragged down Crew defender Giancarlo Gonzalez on a Higuain corner kick.

A moment later, Higuain stuttered before firing low and to his left for his 10th career penalty-kick goal and fourth two-goal game.

With Crew central defender Michael Parkhurst and left back Waylon Francis away for World Cup duty, two seldom-used players earned their first starts of the season. Tyson Wahl replaced Parkhurst and Barson made his season debut in Francis’ place. Justin Meram made his second start of the season in relief of Bernardo Anor, whose only absence from the lineup so far this year was because of suspension.

In place of Parkhurst, Gahanna product Wil Trapp served as Crew captain for the first time.