Valeri’s late goal helps Timbers draw vs. LA

PORTLAND — For the second game in a row, the Portland Timbers delivered a dramatic goal in the dying seconds.

But Diego Valeri’s 95th-minute goal did little to lessen the dismay on Sunday after the Timbers let Robbie Keane — one of the best forwards Major League Soccer — score a tap-in goal in the 92nd minute as the Timbers and Los Angeles Galaxy played to a 1-1 draw at Providence Park.

The result means Portland failed to make up ground in an important home match.

The Timbers have one win and five ties in six games in their sold-out home. They sit tied for seventh in the Western Conference with nine points, but at 1-3-6 the Timbers have no team behind them in the conference standings.

Valeri’s goal was the latest scored by the Timbers in MLS competition, later than Maximiliano’s final-seconds winner a week ago against D.C. United and later than Andrew Jean-Baptiste’s goal to stun the Galaxy in Portland last season.

But that drama wasn’t the focus of Timbers coach Caleb Porter or team captain Will Johnson after an outcome both called disappointing.

“I’m sounding like a broken record after games because most of the goals we’re giving up are simple crosses and guys running through to head the ball in,” Porter said, confounded at how star forwards have been left open for at least four easy goals this season. “At this level, it’s unacceptable.”

Johnson’s words were equally harsh.

“Guys aren’t making plays. It’s another amateur mistake in the box,” the midfielder said. “Box defending, box attacking. At this level, I don’t know how that happens. It’s embarrassing. It’s hard to put into words. It’s something that we’ve been talking about fixing and it just hasn’t happened.”

The breakdown came in the 92nd minute. A long left-wing throw in from Dan Gagan took one big bounce before Keane, running free behind Futty Danso, headed the ball home. Both Danso and midfielder Ben Zemanski were flat-footed.

“I don’t think there was any communication issue,” Danso said, noting that the throw in went over both Pa Modou Kah and a Galaxy player before bouncing. “By the time the ball bounces, both players missed the ball and it’s already behind me and Keane came in for an easy tap in.”

Moments later, the Galaxy had a chance to make it 2-0 on a Juninho breakaway. But a hustling Darlington Nagbe bumped Juninho off the ball before he could shoot or pass to an open Landon Donovan.

The play that tied the game began with a long kick from goalkeeper Donovan Rickets as the Timbers flooded forward in desperation.

Valeri, Johnson and Danso in turn put their head to the ball before it fell to Johnson with his back to goal. Surrounded by six Galaxy players, Johnson was able to back-heel the ball into open space and Valeri’s low strike from the right of goal found its way past goalkeeper Jaime Penedo and into the left side of the goal.

“I saw Valeri. I was shut down. There was nothing I could do so I just tried to pull off a play,” Johnson said. “All the credit to him because he hit a great ball to the back post.”

Portland didn’t have a shot on goal until the 53rd minute when Valeri and Nagbe forced Penedo to make a pair of stops. In the 59th minute, a Danso header from a free kick caught the post.

With Landon Donovan playing behind the Los Angeles forwards, the Galaxy were able to possess the ball 56 percent of the time, making 87 more passes than the Timbers. Los Angeles outshot Portland 21-10, but only 5-4 on goal. Most dangerous on counter attacks, the Timbers did earn 10 corner kicks.

“There’s positives from this game,” Porter said. “We showed again our (tough) mentality. We showed again that we’re up for any game against any team. (Los Angeles) is one of the best teams in the league … we didn’t back down.”

But, the coach admitted, with only one win through 10 games the Timbers backs are being pressed against a season-threatening wall.

“If you want to go anywhere as a team, you’ve got to defend crosses,” Porter said. “We’re running out of time and we need to pick it up and we need to change that trend. It’s got to change, otherwise we’re not going to be the team we want to be.”

NOTES — Timbers left back Michael Harrington was lost in the fifth minute to what appeared to be a left ankle injury that happened when Harrington cleared a ball out of the penalty area. Alvas Powell came on, playing right back with Jack Jewsbury shifting to left back. In the 68th minute, midfielder Diego Chara departed with a left-hand injury, replaced by Zemanski. Those injuries left Porter with only one strategic substitution, which he used in the 76th minute to replace Gaston Fernandez with Maximiliano Urrti.

TIMBERS 1, GALAXY 1

Los Angeles 0 1–1

Portland 0 1–1

First half–None.

Second half–1, Los Angeles, Keane 5 (Gargan), 90th+ minute. 2, Portland, Valeri 2 (Johnson), 90th+.

Goalies–Los Angeles, Jaime Penedo; Portland, Donovan Ricketts.

Yellow Cards–Fernandez, Portland, 34th; Gargan, Los Angeles, 58th.

Referee–Armando Villarreal. Assistant Referees–Corey Rockwell. Baboucarr Jallow. 4th Official–Drew Fischer.

A–20,804 (20,000)

Lineups

Los Angeles–Jaime Penedo, Leonardo, Kofi Opare, Dan Gargan, A.J. DeLaGarza, Juninho, Landon Donovan, Stefan Ishizaki, Baggio Husidic (Gyasi Zardes, 83rd), Rob Friend (Samuel, 72nd), Robbie Keane.

Portland–Donovan Ricketts, Mamadou Danso, Michael Harrington (Alvas Powell, 5th), Pa-Modou Kah, Diego Chara (Ben Zemanski, 68th), Steve Zakuani, Darlington Nagbe, Will Johnson, Jack Jewsbury, Diego Valeri, Gaston Fernandez (Maximiliano Urruti, 76th).