Portland came back from 2-1 down in the second half to earn a draw thanks to a 81st minute goal by Taka Suzuki at George M. Steinbrenner Stadium in Tampa Bay, Florida Saturday night.
Portland got off to a good start with many early opportunities, and after Bright Dike had a good chance saved, Dike got a goal off of an Ian Joy corner kick in the 16th minute.
Dike has caused problems for many teams in the league but Tampa Bay particularly as he netted his first league goal of the season against the Rowdies on June 27th to help Portland to a 1-0 victory at PGE Park.
In what is becoming somewhat of a disturbing trend, the Timbers back four were less than impressive at times throughout the course of the match. They gave up a very cheap goal to Aaron King in the 27th minute that equalized the game.
Both sides came out with energy in the second half and it looked like the Timbers were bound to score quickly in the second half, but it was recently acquired Ricardo Sanchez for the Rowdies who put a free kick past Goalkeeper Steve Cronin in the 57th minute.
Both teams battled back and forth throughout the second half, and with nine minutes left in regulation it was second half substitute Taka Suzuki who got the ball in the box. After his first shot was blocked, he fired in the rebound past a helpless Rowdie defender. Below you will find a postgame interview with Gavin Wilkinson and our postgame highlights.
The draw was not what the Timbers were hoping for as they are now 11 points behind conference-leading Austin.
Portland wraps up their four game road trip on Wednesday in Rochester, New York against the Rhinos. Catch all the action live on 95.5 The Game, John Strong will have your pregame and postgame festivities, while Andy McNamara will have the call of the game.
