PORTLAND, Ore. — Dwayne De Rosario scored on a penalty kick in stoppage time to pull the Red Bulls to a 3-3 draw against the Portland Timbers in a wild match Sunday night that saw the ejection of New York Red captain Thierry Henry.
The expansion Timbers (5-6-3) got goals from Jack Jewsbury and Kevin Goldthwaite, and benefited from an own goal by the Red Bulls (5-2-8).
Henry scored his Major League Soccer-leading eighth goal of the season before he was ejected in extra time. Austin Da Luz also scored for the Red Bulls.
Henry looked as though he had patted Portland midfielder Adam Moffat on the back of the head a few times after helping him from up from a tumble. But Moffat said appearances looks were deceiving and Henry popped him hard, twice.
“He was pretty wound up. He cuffed me pretty hard in the back of the head,” said Moffat, who was handed a yellow card for shoving back in retaliation.
Henry, who was not available for comment afterward, will have to sit out the Red Bulls’ match at Seattle on Thursday.
Just moments after Henry’s ejection, De Rosario scored the tying goal.
Red Bulls coach Hans Backe said he didn’t see the incident involving his star forward, except that at one moment Henry was helping Moffat up, and the next he was walking off the field.
“I would like to see it on the match DVD,” Backe said. “I didn’t see it.”
Portland was without coach John Spencer, who was suspended for a match after he was ejected late in Portland’s 1-0 loss to the Colorado Rapids last weekend. Spencer was later fined for criticizing the officials.
The Red Bulls were coming off a 2-1 victory over the New England Revolution on June 10, a win that snapped a streak of four straight draws.
De Rosario, who was returning from Gold Cup play, immediately made an impact, feeding Da Luz from the left wing for a goal in the fifth minute. Da Luz’s kick went between two defenders and past Portland goalkeeper Troy Perkins.
Portland evened it with Jewsbury’s hard strike from the top of the box in the 48th minute. Two minutes later, the Timbers took the lead on a goal from defender Goldthwaite, who played for the Red Bulls from 2008 until early last season, when he joined Portland’s lower division club. He was making his first appearance in a match since March 26.
The Timbers took a 3-1 lead on an own goal by former Timbers defender Stephen Keel in the 68th minute. Henry narrowed it to 3-2 in the 73rd minute, touching off a brief scuffle between the two teams.
New York midfielder Joel Lindpere and Portland defender Rodney Wallace each got yellow cards. A few minutes later, New York goalkeeper Greg Sutton earned a yellow for tripping Portland’s Jorge Perlaza on a breakaway. Jewsbury’s penalty kick bounced off the right post.
Henry’s goal evened him with Landon Donovan of the Los Angeles Galaxy for most in MLS. He was ejected in extra time for the off-the-ball confrontation with Moffat.
A short time later, De Rosario beat Perkins in the penalty kick after Wallace was called for a handball in the box.
“It’s the wild west,” Backe proclaimed.
In addition to Spencer, the Timbers also missed defender Futty Danso, who injured his left shoulder during the loss to the Rapids and will miss three or four weeks. David Horst took Danso’s place as starter against the Red Bulls.
Late in the first half Horst collided with Sutton, who was trying to defend Jewsbury’s free kick. Horst was prone for several moments but later rejoined play — only to sit the second half because of a left hip flexor.
Spencer’s absence was mandatory because of his ejection in the loss to the Rapids. Afterward he suggested the game referee could not keep up with the action because he was tired. Major League Soccer fined the Scottish coach $2,500 on Friday.
At one point in Sunday’s match the Timbers Army supporters’ group chanted “Free John Spencer!”
Trevor James coached the Timbers in his place, and was in turn awarded with a chaotic match.
“It wasn’t the boring 0-0 draw, was it?” he said with a smile.