The Portland Timbers responded with a goal six minutes after falling behind in the first half and played to a 1-1 draw with the Seattle Sounders in the 123rd edition of American soccer’s most rancorous rivalry Saturday night at Providence Park. Santiago Moreno tallied his fourth goal of the season in the 36th minute, earning the Timbers at least a point for the ninth time in their last 10 against their Cascadia neighbors. In 41 MLS meetings, the teams are dead even with 15 wins each and 11 draws. Portland (6-3-5, 23 points) remained in fourth place in the Western Conference, three points ahead of sixth-place Seattle (5-4-5). More than a third of the way through the season, the Timbers are well positioned to qualify directly to the eight-team playoff bracket for the first time since reaching the league’s championship game in 2021. Timbers coach Phil Neville was displeased, though, with the team’s overall effort, especially in the second half when the Sounders were pressing hard for a winning goal. Portland looked disorganized at times in the final minutes while Seattle repeatedly put balls into dangerous areas that the Timbers back line had to fend off. “We didn’t keep possession of the ball at all in the second half,” Neville said. “We were sloppy and we were careless. I thought that made us a bit nervous and we went into survival mode, which is not what we’re about.” Neville continued to strike the same chord in further comments, noting that he was “frustrated” and that “a draw was probably the best result we could have had.” “I told them that my expectation of them is better than what I saw tonight,” he added. “We’re a young team and (Seattle) is an experienced team, and we were naïve and careless.” Just prior to kickoff, the Timbers Army hoisted a banner that read, “We are here to bring you misery,” with imagery nodding to the film adaptation of Stephen King’s “Misery.” Juan Mosquera tried to put the visitors in desperate straits early, clubbing a shot inches wide of the far post in the eighth minute. Instead, it was the Sounders who struck the first blow, taking the lead 30 minutes into the match. Albert Rusnak sent a well-placed shot from 20 yards out through the legs of Portland’s Finn Surman and beyond the fingertips of diving keeper Maxime Crepeau. The goal ended a shutout streak of 212 minutes for the Timbers. Moreno’s answer finished off a slick end-to-end buildup by the Timbers. David Da Costa and Juan Mosquera executed a give-and-go down the right wing that gave Da Costa enough room near the goal line extended to cut a pass back to the front of the net, where Moreno smashed it on his first touch past Sounders keeper Stefan Frei from near the penalty spot. The Sounders had the better of the chances from there. Cristian Roldan rocketed a shot just over the crossbar from 25 yards in the 65th minute, then eight minutes later Surman had to slide to block a clear shot from close range by Paul Rothrock, who had slipped past Mosquera. Surman made another sliding block in the penalty area in second-half stoppage time as the Timbers scrambled to hang on to for a point. Seattle put six of its 14 shot attempts on goal, forcing five saves by Crepeau. Neville praised center back Surman and fellow defender Jimer Fory for their work in holding the Sounders off the scoreboard down the stretch. “We know we can defend in those moments,” said Surman, a 21-year-old from New Zealand in his first year with the Timbers. “It’s about staying focused on what our job is during those times. It would have been good though if we could have turned some of those into counterattacks and kept possession a little better.” The Timbers’ Felipe Mora got his head to two dangerous crosses in the second half, but couldn’t control either enough to threaten Frei. Portland’s only shot on target was Mosquera’s goal. After a stretch of four games in 12 days, the schedule doesn’t let up for the Timbers. The team travels to San Jose to face the Earthquakes in the round of 16 of the U.S. Open Cup on Tuesday night, then they’ll head across the country to take on Orlando City on May 24. A three-game homestand starts May 28 against Colorado. “It’s been a tough week, but if you’re 20, 21, 22 years of age tiredness doesn’t come into it,” said Neville. “They’re all where the tank is a little bit half-full, but I still thought it was a really nice atmosphere and the crowd was sensational tonight.”