Though they produced stretches of free-flowing soccer and got another fabulous goal out of Diego Valeri, the Portland Timbers didn't quite bring it on Sunday night at Providence Park — and in the end, the New England Revolution made them pay.
A late rebound goal from Lee Nguyen nabbed a point for the Revolution, and denied the Timbers what would have been an eight straight MLS home win just seven minutes from time.
That victory, for the longest time, looked like a formality. Portland had the Revs on the ropes at the beginning of the second half after Valeri's sumptuous volley had opened the scoring, but — with Caleb Porter again making no substitutions — they faded late.
It was a reminder of just the level of intensity needed to win games week in and week out in MLS. The Timbers played plenty well again, but, on this night, they never did find the second gear that belted Minnesota and Houston in the first two home matches of the season.
The Timbers certainly got off to a good enough start. For the fifth straight time this year, Portland scored within the first fifteen minutes — this time when a poor, looping headed clearance from Chris Tierney was smashed in by Valeri on an incredible turning volley.
It was the kind of goal most players hope to score once in their lives. Valeri seems to score it once every two weeks.
From there, the Timbers dominated the game. Sebastian Blanco was a particular focal point, with Portland's attack geared towards Tierney's right side. Blanco was crafty — to the point that Tierney only lasted 57 minutes before being replaced by JeVaughn Watson — but he couldn't quite conjure a final product.
And that was the story of the evening. For all their slick play — starting with David Guzman and Diego Chara in the engine room — the Timbers weren't exactly goal dangerous. They didn't get the numbers in the box they had against Minnesota and Houston, and had little success penetrating through the middle of the field.
Much of the Timbers' attack was generated from wide areas, where the team's crossing left something to be desired. It was a game in which the Timbers could have used Vytas, despite Marco Farfan again playing well on his home debut. In the end, Portland put just two of their fifteen shots on target.
The Timbers did, unsurprisingly, have questions to ask throughout the night of the infamous Kevin Stott — dean of the PRO officials and, until Sunday, blessedly not seen in these parts for nearly two years.
Stott, at various points, denied two good penalty shouts for infringements against Fanendo Adi, failed to give a foul as Valeri was scythed down from behind by Xavier Kouassi, and then showed Kelyn Rowe just yellow after an ugly late standing challenge on Farfan.
In the end, it would all catch up to the Timbers — who, it has to be said, took their foot off the gas in the last twenty minutes. In the 83rd minutes, Roy Miller let Kei Kamara get a clean cross away, and Teal Bunbury got a touch that Jake Gleeson could only push into the path of Nguyen to hammer home.
It was the culmination of an unhappy evening for Gleeson, who began the night by banging his head into the post and ended it by conceding the game-tying goal, and another questionable moment for the Timbers' makeshift central defense.
There were no more meaningful attacks in the game, and the Revs celebrated at full-time as if they'd won the game. It was an understandable reaction — in their previous three trips to the Rose City, New England had never even managed to score a goal.
The Timbers, then, were left to reflect on what went wrong. The team might have benefited from fresh legs down the stretch, but Caleb Porter again opted not to make any substitutions.
It's an interesting dichotomy: On one hand, Porter has praised his team's depth at lengths this year. On the other, the team's front six is so good, he doesn't appear willing to take any of those players off the field.
Against Houston two weeks ago, that was fine. In this game, though, with the Timbers clearly dragging to the finish — and Darlington Nagbe, for one, slowing after starting in Panama on Tuesday night — it was objectionable.
That point, though — along with the criticism of Miller and Gleeson on the New England goal — is rendered moot if the Timbers grab a second goal at any point in the midst of their late first half and early second half dominance.
Porter is always is more praiseful of his team's performances in losses and draws than victory, so his postgame boast that "if you're honest, you haven't seen a team play like that on this field" has to be taken with a grain of salt. Still, the claim wasn't entirely without merit. The Timbers did play some excellent soccer.
For all of that, though, the finishing wasn't there like it had been in March. Adi wasn't his sharpest, with New England rookie center back Josh Smith locking horns more effectively with the big man than any other central defender has all season. Adi's wait to break the club goalscoring winner will extend into next week.
The Timbers are still one of if not the team to beat in MLS right now. But because they dropped points at home, Saturday night was — in a way the loss at Columbus last week was not — a wake-up call.
It's a long, hard season — and no matter how good you are, there is little room to breathe.