In a rare show of resilience in a season that has had plenty of games go the opposite direction, the Portland Timbers came back from down 2-0 to earn a 2-2 draw on the road at Nashville SC on Sunday.
The Timbers (5-6-8, 23 points) remain undefeated since the international break at 2-0-2 and sit at 10th in the Western Conference standings. Nashville (7-5-6, 27 points) ascended to fourth in the conference by picking up the point.
“We knew it was going to be a difficult game,” Timbers coach Giovanni Savarese said. “They have a good team, and they’re excited to play at home. The weather conditions are difficult because of the heat you have to manage. We haven’t played in too many places that are this hot.
“I thought the first half, we suffered a little bit. We had some chances, we had some moments, but we still were too open. We allowed them to find too many open spaces. … Yimmi sacrificed in the middle in the first half to help us out, and in the second half we created chances, we were a team, and we came back. What a difficult game to score the second goal to tie. We looked good to try for the third goal and gave it everything we had.”
Portland rotated a handful of reserves into the starting lineup either by necessity or through a desire to give regular starters a breather during a busy stretch. Diego Chara missed the contest due to a minor foot injury that a Timbers source told The Oregonian/OregonLive was “not considered serious.”
Defender Bill Tuiloma missed the game due to his red card earned in Portland’s 2-1 win over Houston last Wednesday.
Nashville was the aggressor at the outset, with star midfielder Hany Mukhtar rifling in a shot less than 20 seconds into the contest that was saved by Timbers fill-in goalkeeper David Bingham.
After some back-and-forth play for a dozen minutes, Santiago Moreno curled a strike that went off-target. Nashville struck first in the 19th minute on a beauty from Sean Davis from outside the box which Bingham had no chance at.
The home team led 1-0 and carried that into the half. Portland wasn’t without its chances, however, despite an onslaught from Nashville on the other end that kept Bingham busy.
Defender Claudio Bravo, whose play stood out on both ends, had a pair of scoring chances in the 22nd and 26th minutes. After David Ayala picked up a yellow card in the 29th minute, Portland’s legs started to appear increasingly tired in the thick Nashville humidity.
“It felt like sometimes the ball was a medicine ball,” Timbers midfielder Eryk Williamson said. “You’re sweating so much. Jerseys get heavy. Legs get heavy. Even playing just 45 (minutes), my shorts are soaking wet, and it was even cooler in the second half.”
Portland did find the energy to create a terrific chance in the 40th minute, however, as Bravo played a ball back to a streaking Moreno. While Moreno hit it with pace from in close, an incredible save by Nashville’s Elliot Panicco kept the Timbers from scoring the equalizer before half.
The Timbers brought on Williamson for Yimmi Chara at the half, hoping to inject some life into a tired midfield. He did so in spades.
After Nashville extended its lead to 2-0 on the 57th minute goal from Hany Mukhtar, who came through the Portland defense nearly unmarked, the tone of the game remarkably shifted.
In the 63rd minute, Jaroslaw Niezgoda took the ball away on a bad pass from Panicco, and he was able to draw the penalty soon after. Dairon Asprilla stepped up to the spot for Portland and nailed it, cutting the Nashville lead to 2-1.
Portland found its equalizer in the 69th minute on a perfect through ball from Williamson to Niezgoda, who finished with pace to knot things up, 2-2.
“Very good second half,” Niezgoda said. “We didn’t give up, so that’s a good sign for the rest of the season. … First half was really difficult for me personally and for all the team, and really difficult to breathe. But the second half was really good what we could show on the field.”
The Timbers brought on Marvin Loría for Sebastian Blanco in the 72nd minute, and after a tremendous run of play, Niezgoda was replaced by Felipe Mora in the 81st. Loría had a rocketed chance in stoppage time hit the crossbar, but otherwise Portland never really had a major threat at goal down the stretch. Neither did Nashville.
“Three games in eight days, it’s not easy to do,” Williamson said. “To come here in these conditions, fly across the country, and battle it out the way we did, I’m super proud of everyone. Especially the way we fought and came back in that second half.
“We knew the task at hand was either to get one point or three points. No one put their heads down after (going down 2-0) and we said to each other that we’re still in this. 2-0 is the most dangerous lead in soccer. We had to make sure that we fought back.”
“It’s a good sign when you’re losing 2-0 in a game like this, you’re away from home, you’re in these conditions, and you’re able to come back and feel that you could have found a third goal,” Savarese said. “It says a lot from the team. I’m very proud of every player that played today.”
Portland’s next match is on the road at the rival Seattle Sounders, with kickoff scheduled for 1:30 p.m. Saturday at Lumen Field (TV on FOX).
— Ryan Clarke, rclarke@oregonian.com
