The Portland Timbers draw the LA Galaxy 1-1 at home

The LA Galaxy came to Portland and left with their first point of this MLS season. It was a match that showed a lot of promise for the Timbers in the first half but ended with a missed penalty call that head coach Phil Neville said “Tops off one of the worst decisions I have ever seen in the MLS that I have been involved in.”

Portland changed their formation from their loss on the road in Nashville last weekend to capitalize Santiano Moreno and Felipe Mora being available to start.  They had four defenders across the back line including Finn Surman, who played his best game for the Timbers so far. 

The Timbers looked good as the first half played. There was an energy building with Mora and Antony connecting well and Diego Chara commanding from the midfield. The new players looked more comfortable than the last time they played at home, but it is obvious they are still figuring out where they can maximize their input.

David Ayala had a shot blocked in the 7th minute to start things off for the Timbers. It wasn’t until the 26th minute that anything of note happened for Portland when defender Jimer Fory earned the first yellow card of the match for a late slide foul after just being talked to by head referee, Lukas Szpala.

Santi Moreno took a strong shot on goal in the 30th but a defection saved it from going in. Edwin Cerrillo had two missed shots for LA in the first half, but neither was close enough to worry Timbers’ keeper, James Pantemis. The first half ended with no stoppage time. 

Like the first half, the first notable action in the second was a yellow card. LA’s Harbor Miller made a late foul on Ayala after the ball was out of bounds and found his way into Szpala’s book in the 47th minute. 

The following corner kick went nowhere but Diego Chara was able to keep possession and give the Timbers a second chance. David Da Costa sent the ball into Felipe Mora, who scored his 40th goal for the club, putting the Timbers up 1-0. Mora now ranks 4th in club history for goals. 

LA keeper, John McCarthy, was able to stop Mora’s second shot on goal in the 51st minute. Gabriel Pec tried desperately to get one back for LA with 3 shots in 5 minutes. His second shot in the 63rd minute was saved with a phenomenal jump by Pantemis. 

James made his second save of the night in the 66th after going to ground and stretching in a mad scramble to stop Miguel Berry’s shot from rolling across the line. He made another great save 4 minutes later when Tucker Lepley took a left footed shot on goal. 

Timber defender Kamal Miller went down holding his right side in the 72nd minute after making a strong block on Pec’s attempt from halfway outside the box. Kamal was able to walk off the pitch, but it was evident that he was hurt.

Both teams used the stoppage to make their first substitutions of the match. LA made two changes and it looked as if Portland was planning on doing the same, but Miller’s injury prompted a 3-man substitution.

Kevin Kelsy came in for Mora, Christian Paredes relieved Ayala, and Zac McGraw was the substitution for Miller. McGraw fouled Christian Ramírez his first minute in the game, giving LA a set piece opportunity. It was also McGraw who headed away Ramírez’s shot. 

Ari Lassiter entered the game for Portland in the 79th minute for Da Costa during an LA corner kick. A minute later Mathias Jørgensen sent a long ball over the top to Ramírez, who beat McGraw on the run and scored from the right side corner to even the score. There was a VAR look at the play to determine if Ramírez had a handball, but the ball hit his shoulder without clear or obvious error and the goal stood.

Antony took a solid shot in the 83rd minute but it was saved by McCarthy. McCarthy seemed a little injured after the save and was seen limping after but was ultimately fine. 

Paredes was stomped on top of his foot by Jørgensen in the penalty area halfway through the 6 minutes of stoppage time. He went down grabbing his foot in obvious pain, but advantage was allowed without a penalty called. Ari’s shot missed wide, and a goal kick was called.

The Timbers were heated! Mora and Phil Neville were shown yellow cards by Szpala for their sideline protests. Neville said post match, “The referee told our captain that it was a penalty but because Ari Lassiter had the shot, he played the player…that is probably why we were really emotional. We’re really really angry because this is not good enough on any level.”