Timbers vs. FC Dallas — High-Pitched Live Blog Action

It’s a gorgeous day for the beautiful game, as the Timbers welcome FC Dallas to the House of Pane for a matinee affair between two teams coming off their first wins. The ridiculously nice weather means more fans in the beer garden, but the numbers (or decibel levels) haven’t changed on the north end. Those guys are here rain or shine.

If you’re not, you know, outside enjoying this spring preview like a normal human being, catch the game on ROOT Sports (cable Ch. 34) and hang with me here and I’ll keep you up to date as to what’s happening on the pitch. Also, lame jokes about soccer and Texas in general.

Pregame: Decidedly less media here, which is no surprise. And a shame, frankly, because the non-Jeld-Wen windows are open and we’re breathing it all in.

Your lineups:
Portland (1-2-1, 4 points)—Gleeson in goal, Perlaza and Cooper up front, Alhassan, Marcelin, Jewsbury and Hall at mid, and Wallace, Futty, Brunner and Purder in back.

Dallas (1-2-1, 4 points)—Kevin Hartman in goal, Milton Rodriguez and David Ferreira up front, Fabian Castillo, Andrew Jacobson, Daniel Hernandez and Martin Chavez at mid, and Brek Shea, Ugo Ihemelu, George John and Zach Loyd on D.

Captain Jack Jewsbury is playing in his 200th career MLS match. Pretty elite company in that club, including league dreamboat Landon Donovan and Dallas’ Kevin Hartman.

Timbers are sporting their green jerseys and white shorts, while Dallas is in red shorts and red-and-white striped blouses. Yeah, I said “blouses.” Gleeson is in his baby blues again. They’ve been good luck for the youngin’ thus far.

4th minute—Timbers get their first scoring chance on a cross from Hall in the second minute, and things are already getting chippy with a foul on Cooper.

10th minute—A long ball to Perlaza that brought the crowd up a bit. Cooper registers the game’s first shot shortly after. Timbers are the aggressor thus far in this one.

13th minute—Jewsbury GOAL! Capt. Jack takes a pass from Alhassan and blasts one toward the left post. It careens off Hartman, bounces off the post then back off Hartman and into the net for a 1-0 Timbers lead. Alhassan gets the assist. Jewsbury’s second goal of the season.

15th minute—Wallace picks up a yellow card on a fairly smart foul, all things considered. The first paperwork of the match.

16th minute—Gleeson nabs his first save. A Rodriguez shot off his chest, and he gathers it in.

22nd minute—Kenny Cooper and George John both have a pair of first names each. This must be a source of tension for them, because they’re getting very physical out there.

30th minute—Jewsbury corner nearly nets the Timbers another goal when Perlaza comes flying in for a header, but it went wide of the far post.

35th minute—Cooper GOAL! Jewsbury finds his man this time on a corner, as Cooper heads it into the left side of the net from just inside the six-yard box to give Portland a 2-0 lead. Six goals in just over two hours of action here at the House of Pane.

40th minute—Marvin Chavez drags down Alhassan to earn himself a yellow card. No doubt about that one.

45th minute—One minute of injury time.

Aaaaand, we’re at the half.The Timbers lead 2-0 and are definitely in control of this one. They’re also looking more like a unit, with spacing, communication and general cohesion leaps and bounds ahead of the early games. And, of course, the fans here are absolutely eating it up.

46th minute—Back at it, now that the (artificial FieldTurf) pitch has been watered. I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical explanation why fake grass needs to be watered.

48th minute—Timbers get one in the net on a Purdy cross that finds Perlaza, but it’s disallowed. Perlaza was apparently offside, but there’s no doubt which team is the aggressor at the start of the second half.

50th minute—Wallace blasts one on-goal from the right side from a virtually non-existent angle. Would’ve probably found the net had Hartman not leapt up to stop it. I note this because it’s the sort of shot a confident player takes, and putting Wallace in that category is certainly a good sign for Portland.

55th minute—Wallace GOAL! Speak of the devil! … Wallace blasts one past Hartman after Alhassan dances into the box and leaves it for the defender to rip. Wallace’s second goal of the season and Portland leads 3-0.

60th minute—The Timbers nearly get another one as Purdy delivers a picture-perfect cross to a sliding Cooper. Inches away from this game getting completely out of hand.

64th minute—Darlington Nagbe enters for Jeremy Hall. Huge ovation for the Timbers first-ever SuperDraft pick. For Dallas, defender Jackson Goncalves is in. Didn’t catch who he came in for, but I can tell you he looked ridiculous in red-and-white stripes.

70th minute—Nagbe makes a decent run after his first touch, but ends up getting tackled and landed on by a Dallas defender. Timber Joey, meanwhile, is walking along the south end with a round of wood, and folks are reaching over the wall just to touch it.

72nd minute—Sal Zizzo in for Alhassan.

76th minute—Jewsbury blasts one from the top of the 18-yard box, but it sails over the crossbar. Dallas D is struggling mightily.

77th minute—Eddie Johnson in for Perlaza.

79th minute—Cooper picks up a yellow, then …

80th minute—Eddie Johnson picks up another. Talk about insult to injury. This is a full-fledged beat-down. Timbers Army starts into “You Are My Sunshine” on a dark day for the Dallas defense.

83rd minute—Dallas GOAL. They avoid the shutout with a Ferreira goal off a nice cross from Shea. 3-1 Timbers.

86th minute—Another Dallas GOAL. This time from Shea. 3-2. Wow. Didn’t see this rally coming. Apparently, neither did the guys in green.

88th minute—TA singing “Falling In Love.” But I can’t help thinking John Spencer won’t be pleased with how this team closed this one out.

90th minute—Nagbe goes down near the west sideline. Gets up gingerly. Then again, he is a soccer player, so he’s probably fine. Three minutes of stoppage time.

Stoppage Time—One great save by Gleeson and another Dallas shot goes off the post. Dallas sends their keeper down to the other end twice (love when that happens). A rather nervous closing few moments.

Timbers win 3-2. Portland moves into fourth in the West after a dominant performance somewhat tainted by a nervous finish. Dallas scores twice in the final 10 minutes (and nearly gets the equalizer twice in extra time), but Portland hangs on for their second win. And yes, they’re undefeated at home.

I’ll have a full recap tomorrow, of course, along with locker room interviews with Gleeson, Jewsbury and Alhassan. Also, a shaky video of John Spencer’s post-game presser and EXTRA TIME links.