Portland Timbers Frustrated by Montreal Impact in 1-1 Draw

The Portland Timbers got on the board first in tonight’s 1-1 draw against the Montreal Impact, but they could not make the result stick as the visitors grabbed a goal of their own then clamped down.

The Timbers opened the scoring in the early going as they put Montreal in a series of difficult spots, culminating in a 14th minute corner kick. Jack Jewsbury stepped up to the ball in the corner and served in an out-swinging ball that dropped perfectly for Jack McInerney, crashing the net from the center of the box. Shedding his man, McInerney leapt and got a head on the ball, putting it squarely into the back of the net.

The Timbers thought that they had another in the 33rd minute as Fanendo Adi thumped home a header off a chipped in Ben Zemanski cross. As the fans around Providence Park went wild, however, referee Alan Chapman called the goal back, citing Adi for a foul as he got free for the header.

Instead, it was the Impact who would get on the board next as Ignacio Piatti burst down the field on the break after some deep Montreal defending. With Timbers defenders around him, Piatti bulled through their tackles and — with some help from a few good bounces — got in one on one with Jake Gleeson, hitting a hard, low shot that the Timbers’ keeper had no chance at to even up the score.

The goal was not without controversy, however, as Piatti had been involved in an incident in the 18th, getting only a yellow card for a studs-up, airborne tackle to the achilles of Alvas Powell that seems like a good candidate for retroactive suspension from the MLS Disciplinary Committee.

The chances would continue to come for the Timbers in the second half as McInerney and Adi would both force saves from the Impact keeper in the first minutes of the half.

As the Timbers pressed forward, looking for the game winner, the Impact were looking for chance of their own on the break and in the 63rd minute they got one. Once again it was Piatti in on goal, but this time Gleeson was able to close him down and get a paw to the Argentine’s close-in shot, preserving the tie.

The Timbers continued pressing forward and the Impact continued looking to counter as the final minutes of the game wound down, but no winner was to come.

The Timbers are back in action on Sunday as they host the Seattle Sounders.