Cahill on target as Red Bulls defeat Timbers

Tim Cahill (l) is congratulated by teammate Joel Lindpere after scoring his first goal for NY Red Bulls

HARRISON, NJ    ●   Tim Cahill scored his first MLS goal to help the New York Red Bulls rally to a 3-2 win over the Portland Timbers. The visiting side had rushed to a two-goal lead, but New York clawed back and eventually won thanks to Heath Pearce’s late header.

Sal Zizzo assisted both of Portland’s goals. In the eighth minute he did a few step-overs in the box and slipped the ball through several defenders for Bright Dike to open the scoring.

For the second, Zizzo stripped Roy Miller deep in the Timbers half and instigated a swift counterattack by feeding Frank Songo’o along the left flank. Songo’o skipped infield and passed to Zizzo, who pushed a quick pass into the path of Darlington Nagbe. Bill Guadette rushed off his line but couldn’t cut down the angle in time to prevent Nagbe from scoring.

Hans Backe reacted immediately, yanking Miller from the game and inserting Kenny Cooper. Cooper took six minutes to score his team-leading 14th goal of the season. Jan Gunnar Solli stood the ball up in the box and Cooper headed home against his former club.

Tim Cahill scored his first MLS goal to bring the Red Bulls level before the half. Dax McCarty’s long-range shot pinged off a defender’s arm in the box. As referee Jason Anno was whistling for a penalty, Cahill one-timed a volley into the back of the net. Anno decided to count the goal instead.

With 10 minutes remaining, New York finally took the lead. Cooper kept a corner alive, pushing it back to Solli, who dumped it into the box. Pearce rose and snapped a powerful header on target, securing all three points.

DC UNITED 1, PHILADELPHIA UNION 1

Brian Carroll scored early in the first half and the Philadelphia Union held off D.C. United in a 1-1 draw on Sunday in a match that featured two disallowed goals and three ejections.

Carroll put the Union (7-12-3) ahead in the eighth minute when he bundled the ball over the line after the United’s Emiliano Dudar headed away a previous Philadelphia shot.

D.C. (11-8-4) tied it in the 71st on an own goal set up by Dwayne De Rosario’s free kick. De Rosario also appeared to send D.C. into the lead in an 87th minute on a penalty kick but the attempt was ordered retaken because of encroachment by another United player.

D.C. midfielder Branko Boskovic was sent off for wrestling a Union player to the ground during protests that followed, and three minutes later De Rosario missed the retry high.

DYNAMO 2, CREW 2

Adam Moffatt scored in the 82nd minute to give Houston a draw with Columbus.

Brad Davis also scored for Houston (11-6-8), which moved into a tie with Chicago for third place in the Eastern Conference. The Dynamo also extended their home unbeaten streak to 20 games, dating back to a 2-0 loss against Columbus on June 18, 2011.

Cole Grossman and Eddie Gaven scored for the Crew (8-8-6).