The Timbers nearly took advantage of a goalkeeping mistake in the first minute as Vancouver goalkeeper Richard Goddard cleared a ball right to Timbers midfielder Andrew Gregor, who attempted to chip Goddard from 35 yards out but put the shot wide right. The home side had all of the attacks through the early part of the match, and five minutes later Gregor had another good chance as his attempted curling shot from near the corner of the box slipped just past the left post.

Two minutes later, the Timbers had a breakaway as Matt Taylor slipped in behind the Vancouver defense, but Diaz Kambere knocked Taylor off the ball as he entered the box to end the threat.

In the 19th minute Vancouver had their first scoring chance when Josh Hansen made a nice run into the Timbers box, but couldn’t keep the ball on his feet and Timbers goalkeeper Josh Wicks was able to smother the ball.

A minute later, a dangerous free kick into the Vancouver box by Gregor was misjudged by Goddard and was only able to tip the shot and was fortune to not have the rebound put into his net by Taylor.

The 26th minute, the match would take a nasty turn when Vancouver’s Steve Kindel elbowed Portland’s Luke Kreamalmeyer in the side of the head in front of the Portland bench and was immediately red carded by center referee Ian Anderson. There was plenty of pushing and shoving after the ejection, and Vancouver coach Bob Lilley and Timbers coach Gavin Wilkinson were also arguing in the bench area, with the fourth official eventually having to separate them as Kindel was escorted off the pitch by PGE Park security.

Just after the ejection, the Timbers had a great chance to take the lead when a Kremalmeyer cross was headed by Cameron Knowles into the run of Jaime Ambriz, whose blast from eight yards out was just inches wide of the left post.

In the 39th minute, an apparent lack of understanding of the backpass rule by the center referee cost the Timbers a chance at a free kick inside the Whitecaps penalty box. A Vancouver player played the ball back to Goddard with his foot, then the Vancouver keeper mis-hit the ball and kicked it straight up in the air, then went forward a few yards and punched the ball out with his hands. According to the rules of the game, on a backpass the goalkeeper cannot touch the ball with his hands, even if he misplays the ball on the first touch, and the play should have resulted in an indirect free kick near the Vancouver penalty spot. Several Timbers players explained the rule to center referee Ian Anderson who disagreed, and no call was made. The half would end scoreless at 0-0.

Early in the second half, the Timbers had another good chance when a Timbers corner kick was dummied by Gregor and struck by Leonard Griffin near the top of the box, but went well over the crossbar.

Despite having the man advantage, the Timbers did not attack with any sense of urgency, and were not taking advantage of the extra player. The Whitecaps started getting more possession and even started getting shots on goal, if from far out, after having no shots at all in the first half.

In the 64th minute, after the Timbers had not really attacked in the first 20 minutes of the half, the Whitecaps had their best scoring chance of the night when Alen Marcina (who the Timbers have seen at PGE Park playing for Puerto Rico and for Montreal earlier this year) made nice run into the box down the left side and forced a diving save by Wicks. A few minutes later a Whitecaps shot appeared to be handled in the box by Portland’s Neil Dombrowski, but the center referee ruled the handball accidentally and waved play on.

After starting to finally push forward and taking advantage of their one-player advantage, the Timbers thought they had a breakaway in the 79th minute, then thought they drew a red-card tackle on a last-man foul on Bryan Jordan by Jeff Clarke, but the possibly game-saving foul only drew yellow.

Seconds later, the Timbers thought they had finally broken their long scoreless streak when a ball was played back by Scot Thompson to Dombrowski, who chipped a pass into the box that appeared to be headed in for a goal by Jordan. But the center referee ruled that Jordan had knocked the ball in with his hand, and not just a handball, but a deliberate handball that drew a yellow card.

In the 87th minute, a penalty kick seemed a certainty when a cross into the Vancouver box resulted in Goddard wrapping his arms around Lawrence Olum and throwing him to the ground, but the play drew no call and the play continued. Seconds later a cross into the box left a good shot begging for Shaun Higgins as he put his shot well over the bar.

Just seconds after that, the Whitecaps had a great chance to steal a win when an incredible shot by Alfredo Valente from 35 yards out was dipping and looking to slip just under the bar when Wicks went back and made perhaps his best save of the year as he tipped the ball just over the crossbar.

In the final minute of regulation play, the Timbers had a great chance to steal the win when a ball chipped into the box by Olum was flicked on by Jordan to Gregor, who chested the ball down just a few yards from goal but the first touch was a little too far in front and was smothered by Goddard.

Both teams had a few good chances during the five minutes of stoppage time, but didn’t force any saves and the match would end in a frustrating 0-0 draw for the Timbers, despite the fact that the point keeps them all alone in first place.

Josh Wicks was credited with two saves on the night while Richard Goddard was credited with one save.