Red Bulls 3 - 3 Timbers
Final
  for this game

Timbers hope to turn things around against New York

Jun 17, 2011 - 8:19 PM Portland, OR (Sports Network) - The Portland Timbers will try to regain their homefield advantage on Sunday against Red Bull New York as the two sides square off at Jeld-Wen Field.

Portland made Jeld-Wen a fortress early in the season by winning its first five matches on the ground, but the club has lost its last two at home and its last three games overall after dropping a 1-0 contest to the Colorado Rapids last time out.

Drew Moor's stoppage-time winner capped a frustrating evening for the Timbers, who created a number of chances but still were held without a goal for the second straight game.

Striker Kenny Cooper had a number of opportunities, but he acknowledged after the match that he must do a better job of finishing.

"I think the team created some great chances," said Cooper. "I certainly had some really good looks that my team set me up really well on and I got to do a better job with the chances I'm getting."

More bad news from the match saw Portland defender Mamadou Danso pick up a shoulder injury that is likely to sideline him for the next 2-4 weeks.

Danso's absence will hurt Portland, but New York was hit harder than any team in the league by players leaving for the Gold Cup as the Red Bulls will be without Rafael Marquez, Dane Richards, Juan Agudelo and Tim Ream.

The team was able to cope without those four last time out with a 2-1 win over the New England Revolution that snapped a six-game winless streak, and goalkeeper Greg Sutton felt that the win was very important from a mental aspect.

"Mentally, we've been really struggling," Sutton said. "With the mishaps we had last weekend, it's been really difficult. We needed those three points."

Striker Luke Rodgers has started the last 10 games for New York, registering five goals and three assists in that time, but he left the win over New England with an injury to his heel, and head coach Hans Backe is hopeful that he will be ready for Sunday's match.






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