Teal Bunbury keeps scoring but Nashville SC draws again, 1-1 at Portland
After taking yet another 1-0 first-half lead, Nashville SC drew 1-1 with Portland Timbers at Providence Park on Wednesday night for its third consecutive tie.
Not exactly the hat trick the team would have wanted.
On July 23 in Cincinnati, Nashville led after six minutes. A week later against Vancouver, it was 1-0 after 17 minutes. On Wednesday, it took 20 minutes for Nashville (8-7-9, 33 points) to take the lead over the Timbers (7-6-11, 32 points), and the name on the scoresheet was the same each time.
Teal Bunbury scored the opening goal for the third straight match, this time finding himself in space after a mishit volley by Sean Davis. He slotted it past goalkeeper Aljaz Ivacic for his third goal since returning from injury.
Just seven minutes later though, Nashville squandered the lead again. Yimmi Chara’s cross was looped into space on the right side of the penalty area. Santiago Moreno met the ball in stride as it fell to his right foot, lashing the equalizer into the back of the net.
After an energetic start to the second half by Nashville, Portland wrestled back control soon after. The teams traded chances in the waning minutes but shared the points after all.
Here’s what we noticed from the draw in the Pacific Northwest.
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Bunbury continues to impress
Bunbury showed yet again why he deserves to remain in coach Gary Smith's starting lineup, and it was more than just his opener.
On two other occasions, Bunbury provided a real threat to Portland's backline and nearly added to his goal tally. He registered three shots and two on target.
"Teal's addition to the group feels very much like a new player, new forward in the group," Smith said. "He's come back (from injury) with some purpose, some focus and appetite and I'm really, really pleased for him."
If not for a strong stop by Ivacic from point-blank range in the first half and a bit more air under a lofted pass by CJ Sapong in the second, Bunbury could have notched a brace or even a hat trick.
Mukhtar kept quiet
Portland is far from the first team to gameplan against Mukhtar with a spy, but anytime he got on the ball in the first half, Larrys Mabiala was not far behind him. It made for a frustrating first period for the MVP candidate, who only registered one shot before the break.
Smith said the Timbers' switch to a three-back formation was unexpected and effective, as they succeeded in doing something many other teams have struggled to: slow down Mukhtar.
"Hany's movement in the area warrants him attention," Smith said. "We've seen it on multiple occasions, when he gets on the ball lots of teams are doing their very utmost to either suffocate what he can do or bring him down and break the play up.
"They did a good job for the most part in keeping him quiet."
A questionable non-decision
One hour into the match, Mukhtar found space about 30 yards from goal and dribbled his way into the penalty area. He appeared to be clipped by Moreno and crumbled to the turf, looking for a penalty that referee Silviu Petrescu did not call. Instead, he was shown a yellow card for simulation.
"I saw it on the screen," Smith said. "I saw it in real-time, of course, and I can't honestly wrap my head around the fact that Hany is not impeded and that there's not contact there.
"And for the foul to go the other way because it seemed that he simulated contact or dived — or however you want to put it — and received a yellow card is bamboozling to say the least."
Playoff race tightening up
With both teams vying for a playoff spot and just a point between them in the Western Conference standings, the draw didn't change much. Although a road draw could be useful for Nashville going forward, the manner in which they got the points is unsatisfying.
It's the third straight match NashvilleNSC has tied 1-1, and all three began with a Nashville lead. Frustrating as it may be, the result does temporarily move Nashville into sixth place in the Western Conference with 10 matches to go in the regular season.
Alberto Camargo is a sports intern with the Knoxville News Sentinel. Contact him at acamargo@gannett.com or follow him on Twitter @albaretoe.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville SC settles for third consecutive tie with another goal by Teal Bunbury
