All the Timbers needed was a draw.

They didn’t have to slay Goliath. They just needed to bruise him. And while Portland had been unquestionably terrible at winning soccer matches for the two months leading up to Saturday’s regular season finale against San Diego, draws — well, the Timbers did draws really well.

Notch an MLS-leading 12th one of those, and Portland would’ve been on its way to the seven-seed in the Western Conference, securing a spot in the actual playoffs for the first time since 2021.

Forget the second-half spiral that saw the Timbers win one match since July 25 while tumbling from fourth place in the standings.

Forget an offense that had scored one goal or less in 10 of its last 14 matches.

Forget that the last time the Timbers had a must-win under Neville, Portland f

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