In front of large crowd in Seattle, Portland Timbers play to scoreless draw with Sounders

Aug 17, 2023

Putting together a strong defensive effort but unable to produce a defining moment with the ball, the Portland Timbers drew the rival Seattle Sounders, 0-0, on Saturday at Lumen Field in front of a crowd of 42,054.

It was the first-ever scoreless draw between Seattle and Portland in their MLS history.

The Timbers (4-7-5, 17 points) outshot the Sounders (8-6-3, 27 points) by a margin of 11-5 in a grinder of a match. It was the first of a Seattle vs. Portland doubleheader, with the nightcap being the Portland Thorns vs. OL Reign.

"I think if we were on the table in a better spot, you would feel like this point is really good," Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. "We feel that our performance, the first half was really good. Overall, a good performance. It's a point, and as good as it is — especially in a place like Seattle — we need points. If we play like today, get three points at home, and go out there and get points away, then I’m okay. But at this particular moment, this point feels like great improvement, could move forward, but it's still not satisfied in the sense that we need more points."

Both the Timbers and Sounders produced minimal chances in the first half, with the Sounders not recording their first shot until the 31st minute. Portland was more productive with the ball, but couldn't quite find its final moment to take the lead.

Early on, playing physical in the midfield, Diego Chará picked up a yellow card for the Timbers in the 7th minute. Always a foil for Sounders fans, the home crowd cheered. Chará smiled.

In the 14th minute, Evander fed the ball ahead to Dairon Asprilla, but Asprilla couldn't catch up with it for a shot attempt.

Asprilla kept up his involvement with a shot on-frame in the 27th minute after a long throw-in by Eric Miller. In the 33rd minute, Asprilla's header off the set piece feed by Evander went just high of goal.

The Timbers and Sounders entered the half tied, 0-0, after 45 minutes of mostly struggle in the middle third of the field.

"I think it's a good result for us," Miller said after the match. "Any time you go on the road and get a point in MLS, it's good. I think our guys were really able to match the intensity, match the fight of the derby match. Middle of the day, dry surface, turf, it's obviously going to be tough to play any really quality stuff. The important thing is the fight, the will, the determination is there."

Evander maintained his playmaking impact in the second half, taking a shot in the 55th minute and playing a long ball ahead to Asprilla in the 56th minute. The Timbers wanted a foul on the latter, claiming Asprilla was pulled down in the box.

In the 59th minute, Santiago Moreno went down with an apparent left ankle injury. He couldn't put much weight on the leg, and was replaced in the 66th minute by Marvin Loría.

One of Seattle's best chances of the night came in the 63rd minute, a header by Léo Chú at the end of a nice run, fed in by an elusive Cristian Roldan.

Portland defender Claudio Bravo picked up a yellow card in the 70th minute. In the 73rd, the Timbers replaced Jaroslaw Niezgoda with Franck Boli up top.

Cristhian Paredes — a stalwart presence in defensive midfield all night for Portland — received a yellow card in the 79th minute.

"I think we were able to get a good result even though we weren't able to get the win," Paredes said in Spanish. "We know that it's hard to play here against Seattle."

In the 84th minute, in an effort to bolster their attack with fresh legs, the Timbers brought on forward Nathan Fogaça for Asprilla. But it didn't lead to any tangible chances despite five minutes of stoppage time, and the match finished in stalemate.

Timbers teammates Fogaça and Boli had to be separated as time expired, arguing over the results of the final play during which Fogaça was offside.

"Very good," Savarese said of the confrontation. "This is what we need, players who care. … This, to me, shows that we want to win."

Next up: Portland returns home for a matchup with FC Dallas. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. June 11 at Providence Park, with a live broadcast on FS1 and streaming for free on the Apple TV app.

-- Ryan Clarke reported from Seattle.

[email protected], Twitter: @RyanTClarke

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