By: Eric He

Just minutes away from escaping Portland in a scoreless draw, the shorthanded San Jose Earthquakes were felled by a stoppage time goal by Jack Jewsbury in a 1-0 defeat to the Timbers.

Off a free kick by Diego Valeri from the left of the box, Jewsbury knocked redirected the deflected ball into the net, a fortuitous bounce that cost the Earthquakes a point.

It seemed like luck would favor San Jose in this game. In the 87th minute, Timbers forward Gaston Fernandez headed a cross by defenseman Alvas Powell past David Bingham, but was whistled down for a narrow offside.

The Earthquakes themselves were a victim of the referee’s decisions. Tommy Thompson was knocked down in the area in the 83rd minute after a fantastic run, but the penalty didn’t come.

Instead, San Jose, which fought and clawed enough to deserve a draw, will head home with nothing.

The Earthquakes were playing shorthanded without Chris Wondolowski and Cordell Cato (Gold Cup), Sanna Nyassi (suspension) and Matias Perez Garcia (undisclosed injury), so a draw would have been more than ideal.

A couple of controversial calls went against both teams in the first half.

In the 24th minute, a header by Quakes forward Mark Sherrod off a corner kick was deflected away off the goal line by Powell, but it appeared to be a handball that wasn’t called.

In the 40th minute, Timbers midfielder Valeri burst in and shot one past Bingham, but it was called back due to an offsides that the referee on the sideline missed.

The Timbers sustained pressure for the majority of the first half, generating chances and controlling pressure. But Bingham stood tall in net and the shorthanded Quakes were able to withstand the onslaught.

Notes

The Earthquakes were outshot 23-7, including 7-2 in shots on target. …They have never beaten the Timbers in the MLS era. … The game’s start time was delayed six hours from 2:00 PM to 8:00 PM PST because of an unbearable heat wave in Portland. … The Earthquakes remain on the outside looking in on the playoff picture with 25 points. … Their next game will be on Friday at home against Houston.