Portland Timbers at Vancouver Whitecaps: Match Recap

The Portland Timbers road woes continued at BC Place, as they let a 1-0 lead slip late and settled for a 1-1 draw against the Vancouver Whitecaps on Wednesday night. A strong first half culminated in a golazo from Kamal Miller, but it was canceled out by an extremely poor and timid second half which saw Vancouver equalize via Brian White.

The result also meant that Portland failed to retain the Cascadia Cup, as Vancouver officially one the regional trophy with the draw.

Lineups & Prematch

With his team in the midst of three games in one week and his side still dealing with injury concerns at the fullback spot, Phil Neville rolled out a rotated lineup and formation. Portland added Kamal Miller to the defense and shifted to a back three, and deployed Antony and Ian Smith as wingbacks. Diego Chara, Cristhian Paredes, and Kevin Kelsy rotated in, while David Da Costa rotated to the bench to start the match.

The Vancouver Whitecaps also rolled out a rotated lineup, however theirs was motivated by injury and availability concerns. Ryan Gauld remained out for the hosts, and new talisman Thomas Müller was also out with an adductor injury. Four of Vancouver's starting centerbacks were out as well, forcing a makeshift defense for the hosts.

Match Recap & Highlights

It didn't take long for Portland to bring the pressure, putting Vancouver on the back foot in the opening stages. The man bringing most of that danger was Matias Rojas, who was putting his dangerous right peg to work on set plays. He first had a thundering free kick from 35 yards out punched away, and then on a corner kick generated the match's first shot.

5' Shot POR – Velde
A crafty kick from Rojas was floated to the top of the box for Kristoffer Velde, who took it off the full volley and unleashed a wicked shot. The ball took a slight touch and flashed wide – but it was an encouraging sign from a Portland side that was bereft of offensive onus four nights prior in Houston.

Despite an increased moment pressure from Vancouver which got them close to dangerous opportunities, the Timbers did not let up, cementing themselves as protagonist for the first quarter of the match.

11' Post POR – Velde
The Norwegian was at it again, and Rojas was again the provider. After Portland won a free kick, Rojas made a clever play with the playing the ball quickly over the top for the onrushing Velde. The winger let loose a shot – that pinged agonizingly off the woodwork.

12' Shot POR – Smith
The Timbers did not lift their foot off the pedal, and a heads up play from Ian Smith saw him win the ball after pressuring Vancouver's patchwork backline. Smith's second touch was heavy and took away his angle, so his shot was deflected by Takaoka. The ball fell to Velde who scuffed his shot (maybe after a bit of contact from behind?) and the chance ultimately went begging.

Portland was peppering the Vancouver goal with shots at a rate we haven't seen in some time. It was a far cry from the "ahh noo we're allergic to shooting" side that Portland was last weekend. To punctuate their early match domination, the Timbers had launched eight shots through fifteen minutes, with five of them being on target.

Portland was able to find so many good opportunities through the two-pronged tactics of a strong counter-press and quick long balls over the top. Whenever Vancouver would gain possession, it seemed that a man in off-white and green was immediately on them. Kevin Kesly especially was active in harrying the backline and being a constant pressing threat.

Once Portland would win the ball, they looked to play it quickly and directly over the top for the likes of Velde or Antony to run onto. Through the opening half hour of the game, the Whitecaps' backline seemed to have no answer for how to keep the Portland speedsters in check. Velde especially came oh so close to opening his Timbers account – but he was barely inches away from rippling the back of the net.

30' Shot POR – Velde
The above two paragraphs played out superbly as Portland won back the ball, and Kamal Miller pinged a route-one flyer forward. Velde latched onto it, cut inside, and uncork a low one – only to see it fly just wide of the post.

Through the first half, the question wasn't "are the Timbers going to score?" but rather was "how haven't the Timbers scored yet?". Velde had had five shots through thirty minutes, and quite honestly could have scored any of them. Portland looked dangerous and aggressive, while the 'Caps looked mostly toothless.

But the problem was that Velde didn't score any of those chances, and that Portland wasn't turning that aggression into goals. As the clock crept towards halftime and the score remained zeroes, you had have felt it: that doubt and fear creeping in and growing. Had Portland wasted their chances? Had they not been ruthless enough, as Phil Neville had asked them to be two weeks ago?

When scintillating runs, set pieces, and quick passes don't yield a goal, where do you turn? To an absolute thunderbolt from a centerback out of the blue, of course.

39' GOAL TIMBERS! – K. Miller (0-1)
Out of bloody nowhere the least likeliest player to score opened the scoring from one of the least likeliest places on the pitch. After a cross for Antony was cleared away, Kamal Miller stepped up to claim the ball. He took a touch, and off the half-volley unleashed one of the most incredible strikes you'll ever see somebody take with a soccer ball. His thunderous strike sailed over the helpless Takaoka and nestled neatly into the bottom corner.

It was K. Miller's first goal as a Timber, the first goal scored by a centerback this season, and most importantly: the first goal scored of the match. It came from an unexpected place, but it was a wholly justified reward for a Timbers team that were the protagonists basically from the jump.

Portland tried to snag one more in stoppage time as Velde put on a show with the flicking the ball up to himself as he spun past multiple defenders. He pulled his shot from a tight angle wide however, rather encompassing his first half performance.

Halftime: Whitecaps 0, Timbers 1
After pretty much a perfect half for the Timbers, the only disappointment was that they didn't lead by more. Vancouver's goal was under siege all half, and Portland's offensive gameplan looked clear, composed, and effective.

The most snakebit and frustrated man on the field was probably Kristoffer Velde, though. The man was everywhere, and pretty much did everything except score. It was a strong first half from the new forward, and it was a rather cruel twist from the soccer gods that he didn't grab a goal in the first forty-five.

After being under the gun the entire first half, and suffering the ignominy of getting golazo'd by Kamal freaking Miller, the Whitecaps came out with a head of steam to start the second half. They grabbed the majority of possession and were able to launch multiple decent looking attacks down Portland's wings.

The Timbers meanwhile couldn't get hold of the ball. Vancouver's press was intense, and the space that was there for Timbers players to pick their heads up and pick their pass in the first half evaporated. The Whitecaps were decidedly the better of the two sides to start the second forty-five.

60' Save POR – A lot of dudes
A free kick served in by Berhalter caused an almighty scramble in front of Portland's goal, with multiple shots being blocked by multiple Timbers players, and the ball finally being cleared away. It was a play that punctuated how caught on the backfoot Portland was to start the second half, and how much more likely Vancouver looked of the two sides to score the game's second goal.

In response to his listing side, Phil Neville made two subs to get fresh legs on the field.

62' Substitutions POR – ON: Felipe Mora, David Da Costa// OFF: Kelsy, Rojas

Rojas had a strong opening to the match, especially with his set piece delivery and long passes to spring attacks. He probably had more in the tank, but with Portland playing their third match of the week in just three days time his removal from the match was likely done in the spirit of rotation.

Whether it was because of the game state, a tactical decision, or just plain complacency, the second half continued to be a mirror image of the first. The 'Caps were the aggressors now, with Portland absorbing wave after wave of attacks.

To Portland's credit, they absorbed those waves quite well. The Timbers' defending in their own box was imperious, with the towering duo of Finn Surman and Dario Zuparic snuffing out crosses, and Portland's defense worked their butts off the deny the hosts anything that looked like it would become a shooting opportunity.

But the 'Caps didn't care, and they just kept on coming. They got closer and closer, and Portland struggled to deal with their pace on the wings.

As the clock ticked towards the end of the match, it felt like there was still some sting left in the match. In the 87th minute, Portland thought they had snuffed the last bit of that out.

87' Save POR – Pantemis
James Pantemis didn't have much to do in the match, but he came up huge when he denied a curling effort from Sebastian Berhalter with his fingertips, just pushing the ball high. It was a class save in a huge moment from the Timbers 'keeper.

So it's a damn shame it went to waste seconds later.

88' Goal VAN – White (1-1)
The Timbers-killer struck again, this time off of a Vancouver set piece. A corner from Berhalter was whipped right into Pantemis' lap. Brian White was first to react, and he stepped in front of Eric Miller to poke the ball home on the doorstep and level the match.

Just as K. Miller's strike was a just reward for the Timbers' first half, a concession near the death was just desserts for their limp as a wet noodle second half. The offensive determination and aggression that was shown in the first forty-five disappeared completely, and there was no real attempts from the team or coaching staff to adjust. Portland lost the midfield, and therefore opened themselves up to more and more Vancouver attacks. It stands to mention too that not a player in green & white out there was up to challenge of the Whitecaps' determined press in the second half.

90'+1 Miss VAN – White
Portland darned near lost the game in the dying embers of the match, when White missed a sitter on the doorstep which would have surely been tallied as the winner. Through the grace of, I don't know, some cheeky deity who likes to see us go through it on this roller-coaster ride of a season, he somehow missed.

So too did Portland somehow miss a chance to steal a win in the final seconds, when a rare counter opportunity resulted in E. Miller sending in a cross on the deck that tragically fell to no one.

With those final spikes of the blood pressure over, the see-saw of a match came to a close.

FULL TIME: Whitecaps 1, Timbers 1

Sometimes it really is as easy as just saying "a tale of two halves". Portland in the first half were threatening, direct, electric, and potent. It felt like an inevitability that they would score, and while it came from an unexpected place it wasn't unwelcome.

But they couldn't convert all of that aggression into anything more than just a single goal, and it probably cost them two points.

Another thing that cost them was doing nothing to adjust in the second half, when all of their impetus was gone. They invited a team with the skill of Vancouver forward time and time again, and couldn't figure out a way to keep them honest. And so, they conceded another frustrating goal, dooming them to yet another disappointing result on the road.

It wasn't a loss, but it didn't feel much better than one. And to pile on the misery, the result meant that Vancouver won the Cascadia Cup, taking it off of Portland's hands after just one year.

Portland will have to turn the page quickly once again, as they return home on Saturday night for an absolutely massive match against FC Dallas. Kickoff from Providence Park is set for 7:30 p.m. PT.