Chris Wondolowski celebrates his late equalizer (Getty Images)
The San Jose Earthquakes season is starting to feel like one of those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books, except that no matter what path you take, you get pretty much the same ending every time. If you're a Quakes supporter, this is an excellent proposition. Last night the Portland Timbers thought they had finally figures matters out, but it wasn't to be.
The first half of the match was pretty pedestrian, and it seemed that people were having more fun with Merritt Paulson's ripping of San Jose tifo via twitter than watching the match. San Jose typically controlled possession and looked to be licking their chops going up against a 3rd string Timbers 'keeper in Joe Bendik.
While the Quakes did get some shots, it wasn't generally a severe test for Bendik. Sam Cronin hit a shot right to the center of the goal on 11 minutes that was easily rounded up and got the Timbers shot-stopper into the feel of the match. Other than that, the Quakes seemed to have a hard time finding the target with Chris Wondolowski starting on the bench.
One of the first real big news items in the match came in the 18th minute. Portland were forced in to using an early substitution when designated player Kris Boyd sustained an injury. He was replaced in the lineup by Bright Dike. The Timbers would end up with the final say in the first half though, as one of the few meaningful Timbers attacks came up with a goal. Rodney Wallace hit Danny Mwanga in the center of the box with a nice ball, and the former Union man slotted a finish to the lower left corner to make it 0-1 to Portland at halftime.
The Quakes didn't panic in the second half. Lets face it, they never do. They set out confidently in search of an equalizer, but sloppy play led to another Timbers chance on a counter attack. In the 62nd minute Frank Songo'o dashed up the pitch and was able to make a connection with the aforementioned Mwanga on the outside of the 18. The striker calmly set his sights on goal and blasted his second of the match past Jon Busch to make it 0-2.
At that point San Jose stopped fooling about, and both Chris Wondolowski and Alan Gordon had been inserted into the lineup. The rally was on for the Quakes. In the 73rd minute Gordon connected with Steven Lenhart, who promptly dished over to Wondo just inside the 18. The league's leading scorer easily scored his 20th goal of the season to make it 1-2 with 17 minutes left.
Despite the outpouring of pressure on the Portland goal, it looked like they might survive and hold on for all three points. Then stoppage time hit. In the 92nd minute their defense went horribly wrong. Hanyer Mosquera tried to flick the ball clear of his own area, but it flew right to Wondo, which meant bad news for the men from the Rose City. He expertly headed inside a wide open back post to make it 2-2.
With three minutes of stoppage time left, San Jose went full throttle for the winner. After all, this is well trodden territory for them. It almost cost them this time though, as throwing men forward resulted in yet another Portland chance on the counter. In the 95th minute Songo'o and Dike broke through to manufacture a chance for Dike at nearly point blank range, but seemingly from out of nowhere Lenhart came dashing in from behind, putting in his foot in on the Portland striker at the last second, helping to send his shot wide of the post and preserve the 2-2 score at full time.
The good news for Portland, if there is any to be had for them at this point, is that the point keeps them above Chivas USA and out of last place in the west. Any playoff hopes are pretty much done and dusted though, as they travel to Rio Tinto to take on Real Salt Lake on Saturday. The Quakes got a point, but Sporting Kansas City's win over New York earlier in the evening cut their Supporters Shield lead to just three points. They travel to Seattle for a massive match Saturday night.
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