The San Jose Earthquakes didn't take the Portland Timbers seriously and benched several starters. But down 2-0 and staring at a road loss, Frank Yallop called upon his bench. Because of the little regard he showed for the Timbers, Yallop's included Chris Wondolowski and MLS's leading goal scorer brought the Quakes back to life with two late goals to earn a 2-2 draw.
San Jose Earthquakes Vs. Portland Timbers, 2012 MLS: Quakes Come Back For 2-2 Draw
Danny Mwanga put Portland on track for their first road win of the year with a goal in the just before halftime. He held off Victor Bernardez long enough to free up Rodney Wallace, who collected the ball and passed back to Mwanga for the opening goal.
On the other side of the break, Mwanga completed his brace. After Franck Songo'o's 40-yard run unlocked the Quakes defense, he fed Mwanga and the striker ripped a gorgeous shot from 25 yards to put the visitors 2-0 up.
That forced Yallop to bring on Wondolowski, who cut the Timbers' lead in half in the 73rd minute. Alan Gordon's flick on found Steven Lenhart, who slid to get the ball to Wondolowski. The league's leading scorer then finished expertly with his left and the Quakes were back in the match.
Within one, San Jose poured on the pressure and it paid off. Wondolowski was waiting at the back post when a bad attempted clearance by Hanyer Mosquera handed the ball to him on a silver platter. Wondolowski knocked the ball home and San Jose had themselves another comeback, this time for a draw that keeps their Supporters' Shield lead at three points.
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