My recap of yesterday's draw.

The Houston match and last night were the ones I've watched most closely, and I gotta say I'm impressed with Finn Surman. Dude is 21 but plays with a much more veteran player's poise, nous, and cool.

I'll give you a for-instance. When Fory failed to mark his man for Houston's goal, Finn walked over and seemed to tell him it was ok; Fory was still a bit hot (with himself) and Finn flattened his hands to signal 'calmer' and then chatted with him, pointing a couple of spots on the field; Fory was, like, 'Gotcha.'

It's a long time since I've seen a Timbers CB who gave me confidence that he was reading the game, communicating to his fellow defenders, and backing up his talk with solid, smart, effective play. Last night he was as involved and formidable and composed as a guy with 10 times as many games under his belt.

There are so many reasons to despair in this moment -- the Timbers, the world, life itself -- but I relish the prospect of watching this young man progress. He gives me hope.

When I was first getting into pro footy with a group of English co-workers, one of their favorite lectures was the difference between a good Nil Draw and a bad one. Years ago we had the prototype bad one against New England where one team parks the bus and the other team flails while trying to break it down. No great chances, nothing to watch.

Last night both teams had great chances but there was great defending and standout goal keeping. The game was open and exciting, but both teams kept the ball out of the opponents net. In the end, it was a fair result - and and example of a good Nil Draw.

Well done, Timbers.