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The Los Angeles Football Club hosted the Portland Timbers to a scoreless draw Sunday afternoon at Banc of California Stadium in Los Angeles, Calif.
LAFC continues its unbeaten streak, which now extends to six matches, and remains undefeated at home. In splitting the points, LAFC sits more comfortably in the second place spot in the Western Conference table, while Portland climbs to fourth place in the West.
The two sides met only one previous time, May 19th at Providence Park in Portland, Ore., when the Timbers defeated LAFC by 2-1.
On a hot Southern California Sunday, though, neither side was able to break through to finish their chances, despite both notching six shots on goal.
The first half was leaning slightly in favor of Portland, but LAFC goalkeeper Tyler Miller weathered the attack on multiple occasions.
Adama Diomande had the most dangerous opportunity for Los Angeles in the 31st minute. Dio stretched just long enough to get to the end of a precision ball from João Moutinho, but Portland’s goalkeeper Jeff Attinella reacted in time to keep it out of the net.
The second half continued to have its share of chances for both sides, but neither found the answer to its opponent’s strong defensive effort.
In the closing minutes of the match, Los Angeles midfielder Lee Nguyen received a straight red card for violent conduct for a challenge against Portland’s Sebastian Blanco, who also received a yellow card in the exchange for his response to the aggressive tackle. Nguyen will miss LAFC’s next MLS match, scheduled for July 22nd at Minnesota United.
LAFC and Portland will face off again Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. PT for a Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup semifinal at Banc of California Stadium.