Portland Timbers Can't Find the Goal Again in 0-0 Draw Against Sporting Kansas City

In a match that saw the Portland Timbers take 18 shots, 12 of which came inside the box, a goal was once again not on offer as Sporting Kansas City came to town and ground out a 0-0 draw.

The match started at a frantic pace as both teams looked to break down the pitch and take the game to their opponents. With neither side content to hold the ball, it was the Timbers that once again looked like the more dangerous team as the attacking foursome of Darlington Nagbe, Diego Valeri, Lucas Melano, and Fanendo Adi combining for eight shots in the first half.

Running at the Kansas City back line, the Timbers' attack were able to get several one on one chances in the early going only to see them shut down by Sporting keeper Tim Melia or, just as often, by the raised flag of the linesman.

Although the pace of the match slowed in the second half, the Timbers kept up their domination of the run of play, outshooting SKC again at a rate of 10 to 4. Where in the first half, the Timbers were foiled by the linesman, who called the team offside four times, the second half was all Melia as the Kansas City keeper racked up seven saves en route to the shutout.

Headers, free kicks, and one on one break after one on one break all proved insufficient as the Timbers failed to get the final bit of quality needed to put one in the back of the net.

Treading water, the Timbers remain in 6th place in the Western Conference at 41 points, still behind 5th place SKC on a tiebreaker. The Timbers have another week and a half off before their next match when they host the strongest team in the Eastern Conference, the New York Red Bulls on Sunday, September 20th.