The Portland Timbers and Austin FC were forced to split the points after a defensive-minded scoreless draw Saturday in a Western Conference match played in damp, cool and windy conditions in Texas’ capital city.
Brad Stuver of Austin garnered his fourth clean sheet of the season by recording six saves, while his Timbers counterpart James Pantemis stopped just one shot to complete his fourth shutout of the campaign.
Austin had a three-game winning streak snapped but is still off to its best-ever start after seven matches. Portland extended its unbeaten streak to four, and eight of its points have come in its past four contests.
The Verde (4-2-1, 13 points) had two excellent scoring chances in the match’s opening minutes, with Brandon Vazquez and Myrto Uzuni missing the mark on shots in the first and third minutes, respectively.
Portland (3-2-2, 11 points) had the first half’s only two shots on target as David Da Costa tested Stuver with a low-percentage shot in the 33rd minute and Felipe Mora producing a better attempt eight minutes later that Stuver ran far off his line to kick out of harm’s way.
The Timbers continued to be the aggressor after halftime, with back-to-back shots by Santiago Moreno and Juan Mosquera in the 51st minute garnering saves from the Austin keeper. Da Costa’s shot on target in the 73rd minute carried the highest probability of crossing the goal line but was snatched out of the air by Stuver at the near post.
Austin produced its only shot on goal in the 80th minute when Vazquez’s header off a pass from Jon Gallagher was punched over the crossbar by Pantemis.
Uzuni, who was Austin’s high-profile offseason signing from Spain, failed to get a shot on target from inside the area on two chances over the final five-plus minutes as the Verde pressed for the win.
Both Austin’s Dani Pereira and Portland’s Kamal Miller had scoring chances in second-half added time, but the respective goalkeepers were up to the task to keep the match scoreless.
–Field Level Media
