Loons miss another opportunity, allow stoppage-time goal in 1-1 tie at Portland

Minnesota United prides itself on its defense — which is what makes the team’s habit of dropping late leads so galling for the Loons.

This time, it was a stoppage-time goal from Omir Fernández, turning a late one-goal lead into a disappointing 1-1 draw against the Portland Timbers on Saturday night at Providence Park.

Anthony Markanich had given Minnesota the lead with just a quarter-hour to go, and as the clock hit the 90-minute mark, the Loons had a chance for what would have been a statement victory at one of the most difficult places to play in MLS. Instead, it turned into two more dropped points for the Loons — and another missed opportunity to get a victory against another Western Conference playoff team.

The Loons’ set-piece dominance this season has often been less about the initial chance and more about the second chance, and Markanich’s goal was no exception.

It started with a corner kick by Julian Gressel, which the Timbers confidently headed away. The header, though, landed with Loons midfielder Owen Gene, who paused and then fed the ball back to Gressel on the right. It was almost like a second corner kick but had the advantage of coming against a less-organized defense from open play — and this time Markanich was there to power home a header into the bottom corner.

SUMMARY: Minnesota United 1, Portland 1

MLS standings

All of the narratives about Minnesota were on display in this game. Set-piece goal, check. Dropped points late in the game, check. An inability to beat good teams in the Western Conference, check.

When the dust settled, the Loons had given up two more late points and had once again failed to win against a team in the top seven places in the West standings. And Minnesota United couldn’t even claim set-piece dominance for the evening, as both teams scored one goal and gave up one from a set piece.

In the 35th minute, referee Ricardo Fierro awarded the Loons a penalty, as a header after a free kick hit the hand of midfielder David Ayala.

Of course, in soccer these days, no call is ever quite final, and after a couple of minutes of standing around, Fierro was called to check his call via video review. His review ended with an announcement that “there is no handball offense,” which failed to explain anything about the call beyond that Minnesota’s penalty-kick opportunity was wiped off the board.

The controversy seemed to lead to a period of conflict: Fierro handed out three yellow cards before the half was over despite taking a let-them-play approach for the first 35 minutes.

Minnesota came into the night with three players — Nicolás Romero, Joaquín Pereyra and Tani Oluwaseyi — who were one yellow card away from accumulating five and earning a one-game suspension. Only Oluwaseyi could manage to stay out of the referee’s notebook for the evening, meaning that the Loons’ depth will be tested next Saturday.

Most of the Loons get a very small breather, with no game until next Saturday at St. Louis City. Michael Boxall and Dayne St. Clair, the Loons’ two All-Stars, are headed to Austin for the midweek All-Star Game against the Liga MX All-Stars. It’s a chance for recognition for both, who were both voted in by the fans — but not a chance for a rest.