MLS Portland Timbers

Timbers, Crew Play to Draw at Jeld-Wen Field

Published on May 6, 2012 under Major League Soccer (MLS)
Portland Timbers News Release


PORTLAND, Ore. - The Portland Timbers picked up their second straight shutout at home, playing the Columbus Crew to a scoreless draw in front of a sellout crowd of 20,438 fans at JELD-WEN Field on Saturday.

The sellout crowd marked the Timbers 22nd consecutive capacity crowd for a league match at JELD-WEN Field since joining MLS in 2011.

Portland's defense, which featured the return of defender Futty Danso and the insertion of Jack Jewsbury at right back, limited the Crew to just three shots on goal and contributed to a second consecutive shut-out performance by Perkins at JELD-WEN Field. The Timbers generated 15 shots in the match, including 12 in the second half, but Columbus goalkeeper Andy Gruenebaum recorded six saves as the two clubs finished the back-and-forth affair in a draw.

Perkins logged his second shutout of the season, forward Kris Boyd took a team-high six shots and midfielder Rodney Wallace had three shots on goal for the Timbers (2-5-2, 8pts). Portland is unbeaten in its last two home fixtures.

Gruenebaum's matched a season high with six saves to earn his third shutout of the season and defender Josh Williams put two of his three shots on goal to help the Crew (2-4-2, 8pts) pick up their first road points since March 31.

The Timbers' best scoring chance of the first half came in the 20th minute, when Wallace unleashed a shot five yards from the top left corner of the box. His effort was on target until Gruenebaum knocked it just wide of the right post with an outstretched hand.

Portland's defense held the Crew to a pair of shots on goal in the opening stanza, both near the half-hour mark. Crew midfielder Milovan Mirosevic was on the receiving end of a cross in the box, but his shot was blocked. Moments later on a corner kick, Williams had a shot from the middle of the box blocked on the line by Timbers midfielder Diego Chara.

The Timbers put the Crew under pressure early in the second half, forcing Gruenebaum to make two of his five second-half saves in the first eight minutes of the half. Wallace was the first to test the Crew goalkeeper with a shot in the 51st minute, before Boyd fired a shot from beyond the box on target in the 53rd minute.

Wallace had another chance in the 69th minute to put the Timbers on the board. With the ball at his feet at the top of the box, he turned and released a rolling shot on frame towards the right post. Gruenebaum was able to knock Wallace's shot off course with an outstretched hand on a diving effort.

Among the Timbers 12 second-half shots, Boyd rifled a curling shot from 23 yards out that just missed the top right corner of the goal in the 58th minute. Forward Darlington Nagbe forced Gruenebaum into his final save of the night in the 83rd minute with a shot from the top of the box.

Perkins made a crucial save for the Timbers in the 66th minute to keep the match scoreless. Off a short corner, Mirosevic found Williams on the back side at the post and Williams delivered a header on the doorstep of the goal. Perkins was in position and calmly knocked the shot over the crossbar for his lone save of the half.

The Timbers have 10 days until their next league match, traveling to face the Houston Dynamo at the new BBVA Compass Stadium on Tuesday, May 15; kickoff is set for 5:30 p.m. (Pacific). A live television broadcast will be available on ROOT SPORTS, with radio broadcasts on 750 AM The Game and in Spanish on La Pantera 940 AM.

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Major League Soccer Stories from May 6, 2012


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