PORTLAND, Ore. – A handball in the box called at the end of second-half stoppage time against Portland Timbers defender Rodney Wallace led to a penalty kick goal for New York and a 3-3 tie Sunday in a wild affair at JELD-Wen Field on Sunday night.
WATCH: Full match highlights
The penalty kick was converted by midfielder Dwayne De Rosario, capping a bizarre match that featured an own goal, the ejection of superstar Frenchman Thierry Henry and a flurry of yellow cards. New York are now undefeated in six straight, having drawn five of those.
WATCH:DeRo converts stoppage time penalty
The tie broke Portland’s two-game losing streak, during which the Timbers failed to score, but that will be little consolation as they squandered a 3-1 second-half lead.
Early in the match it seemed Portland would extend its losing streak, as New York took control with a goal in the fourth minute. It was Henry who provided the spark.
He started a series of perfect touch passes that left the Portland defense spinning, ending when De Rosario found Austin da Luz at the penalty spot for a tap-in.
WATCH: da Luz gives Red Bulls early lead
For the remainder of the first half, it was tough going for Portland’s offense against the four-man Red Bull backline. Meanwhile, New York continued to pressure Portland, with Timbers’ ‘keeper Troy Perkins coming quickly off his line to snuff out a Henry chance in the 22nd minute.
The Timbers ended up suffering through two-and-a-half games without a goal. Then they came in bunches.
Portland scored two goals in two minutes at the beginning of the second half, and then were handed another for good measure in the 68th minute on an own goal by former Timbers defender Stephen Keel.
Captain Jack Jewsbury tied the game in the 47th minute, pouncing on a poorly cleared ball at the top of the box and slamming it past a flat-footed Greg Sutton.
Two minutes later the Timbers found paydirt through their preferred route, as they punished the Red Bulls on a set piece. Jewsbury lofted a cross to the back post, where an unmarked Eric Brunner was free to head it back across the area. Former Red Bull defender Kevin Goldthwaite beat the offside trap and flicked it into the open net, giving Portland a shocking, sudden 2-1 lead.
The own goal came 19 minutes later when Portland forward Jorge Perlaza got behind the defense and drew Sutton off his line. Perlaza’s cross was booted in by Keel as the defender attempted to clear.
After the two Portland goals, things became heated – and hotly contested.
New York charged back, once again through Henry. The striker started a series of one-touch passes that ended with da Luz putting him through on goal. Henry made no mistake, finishing with his left foot to make it 3-2 in the 73rd minute.
WATCH: Henry brings NY within a goal
Portland looked like restoring their two-goal lead in the 76th minute when Sutton was whistled for pulling down Perlaza in the area – a controversial call. But Jewsbury’s penalty attempt rapped off the left-hand post, setting the stage for the late drama.
In an off-the-ball incident deep in second-half stoppage, Henry saw straight for violent conduct against Timbers’ substitute Adam Moffat, who himself saw yellow for unsporting behavior on the play.
It seemed like RBNY were dead and buried, but four-and-a-half minutes into stoppage, De Rosario got ahold of a poor clearance from Goldthwaite and sent a hopeful, low cross into the area. Wallace inexplicably shot out his right arm, handling the ball in the box and giving the Canadian international the chance to play the hero.
De Rosario made no mistake, knotting the game at three just before the final whistle sounded.
New York (5-2-8, 23 points) have a short turnaround, traveling to Seattle for a Thursday night match-up. Portland (5-6-2, 17 points) meanwhile, hit the road for an away date at FC Dallas on Saturday.
Scoring Summary:
NY -- Austin da Luz 1 (Dwayne De Rosario 4, Thierry Henry 4) 5
POR -- Jack Jewsbury 4 (unassisted) 48
POR -- Kevin Goldthwaite 1 (Eric Brunner 1, Jack Jewsbury 6) 49
POR -- own goal (Stephen Keel) 68
NY -- Thierry Henry 8 (Austin da Luz 1) 73
NY -- Dwayne De Rosario 2 (penalty kick) 95+
New York Red Bulls -- Greg Sutton, Jan Gunnar Solli, Carlos Mendes, Stephen Keel, Roy Miller, Mehdi Ballouchy, Teemu Tainio, Joel Lindpere, Austin da Luz (John Rooney 81), Dwayne De Rosario, Thierry Henry.
Substitutes Not Used: Marcos Paullo, Corey Hertzog, Matt Kassel, Teddy Schneider, Bouna Coundoul, Mychel Jones.
Portland Timbers -- Troy Perkins, Jeremy Hall (Adam Moffat 86), Eric Brunner, David Horst (Kevin Goldthwaite 46), Rodney Wallace, Darlington Nagbe (Sal Zizzo 72), Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara, Kalif Alhassan, Kenny Cooper, Jorge Perlaza.
Substitutes Not Used: Eddie Johnson, Ryan Pore, Brian Umony, Adin Brown.
Misconduct Summary:
POR -- Rodney Wallace (caution; Delaying a Restart) 74
NY -- Joel Lindpere (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 74
NY -- Greg Sutton (caution; Reckless Tackle) 76
NY -- John Rooney (caution; Reckless Tackle) 89
NY -- Carlos Mendes (caution; Handball) 90
NY -- Thierry Henry (ejection; Violent Conduct) 93+
POR -- Adam Moffat (caution; Unsporting Behavior) 93+
Referee: Ricardo Salazar
Referee's Assistants: -Peter Manikowski; Claudio Badea
4th Official: Armando Villarreal
Time of Game: 1:54
Weather: Cloudy-and-67-degrees
Attendance: 18,627
