LAFC draws with Portland after chaotic back-and-forth affair

PORTLAND -- In a wild road battle, LAFC managed to fight back against the Portland Timbers and force a 3-3 draw on Saturday night at Providence Park. It was the first draw of the year for Los Angeles as they moved to 4-1-4 and are seventh place in the Western Conference.

The squad fell behind 2-0 through near the end of the first half as scores from Portland's Felipe Mora in the 8th minute and Santiago Moreno in the 42nd had the Timbers out in front with all of the momentum early. However, Olivier Giroud's first MLS goal on a flashy free kick in the 45th gave LAFC life heading into the locker room at half.

In the midst of his second year with the club, the 38-year-old Frenchman certainly picked an opportune moment to find the net for the first time as a member of the black and gold. 

With the momentum back on the side of Los Angeles, David Martinez found the equalizer in the 64th, cashing in on a beautiful feed from Denis Bouanga just three minutes after subbing into the game. It was instant impact for the 19-year-old Venezuelan, fresh onto the pitch in exchange for another youngster in 21-year-old Nathan Ordaz.

Despite allowing the 2-0 scoring run, Portland stayed composed and delivered an immediate response with Mora's second goal of the game just two minutes later. He was able to fire a head kick past Los Angeles goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, who failed to make a save in the contest.

A tense final 24 minutes of play ensued as LAFC fought to find yet another equalizer and erase their second deficit of the contest. In the closing moments, Bouanga was awarded a penalty kick, drilling it past Portland keeper James Pantemis to make it 3-3 in the 90th minute.

Following the clutch goal, he made sure to pay tribute to Aaron Boupendza, who tragically passed away on Wednesday after falling from a building in China. Boupendza played for FC Cincinnati as well as the Romanian Club Rapid Bucuresti.

Bouanga finally got on the board when it mattered most after having a pair of goals early on in the first half called back for being offsides. The 30-year-old has now scored in back-to-back matches after failing to find the net throughout his first six games of the regular season.

In the 11 minutes of stoppage time, neither squad managed to break the tie and the final whistle blew with the 3-3 tie remaining. LAFC will be happy to head back home avoiding the loss considering their sloppy start to the game.

They will play host to St. Louis City next Sunday looking to earn their second victory in three tries. St. Louis currently sits in 12th in the Western Conference with their last victory coming back on March 15.

Kickoff is scheduled for 4:00 p.m. PT.