—by Chris Rifer

Coming off a very bad, no-good, hard luck week, the Portland Timbers crossed the Canadian border knowing that anything short of three points put their playoff hopes seriously on the ropes. Awaiting them was a frustrated Vancouver Whitecaps team desperate to open the remodeled B.C. Place in style and save some face in Cascadia.

The opening moments went to form, as Vancouver looked to be the more aggressive side. Portland, though, created the first bona fide chance, after James Marcelin took a Mike Chabala set piece and nodded it just over the bar in the 10^th minute.

In the 22nd minute, the Caps created their first legitimate chance, as Shea Salinas gathered the ball and found some space at the top of the eighteen, but pulled his shot wide of the far post.

Moments later the Timbers would break a bottle of champagne over the goal at B.C. Place.  After Diego Chara cut out a lazy Alian Rochat pass, he aggressively pushed the ball up with Jorge Perlaza to his left and Sal Zizzo running to his right. Instead of making the conservative play, Chara sent a beautiful ball to the far corner of Vancouver’s box. There Kenny Cooper settled the ball and calmly hit a classy strike beyond the outstretched Joe Cannon and into the far corner.

In the moments after the goal, Vancouver would respond with perhaps their best chances of the evening. In the 31st minute Camilo found a little space at the top of the box and forced Troy Perkins to tip the ball over the bar.

Moments later, after a clever—although imperfectly executed—back heel from Eric Hassli, Davide Chiumiento pulled a shot just wide into the side netting, sending much of the Whitecaps faithful into a confused celebration that only ended when the travelling Army politely reminded them to sit back down.

The Timbers escaped into the half with the lead, however, and Vancouver showed little impetus to change things in the second stanza. Portland threatened to make it two in the 59th minute when Darlington Nagbe collected a long ball near the byline and laid it off for Cooper in the box.  Cooper appeared to have Cannon fooled, as the keeper dove the wrong way but was able to drag a leg just enough to preserve the scoreline.

Despite plenty of possession, Vancouver could not figure out a way to create anything seriously threatening. Corners were routinely cleared. Balls into the box were easily collected.

It wasn’t until the waning moments that the Timbers defense went into a shell and Vancouver showed any serious intent to score. Even then, however, the Caps could only produce a Long Tan header that sailed well over the bar.

The three points the Timbers pack home put them at 40 points, and momentarily into a tie with New York Red Bulls in points. More importantly, the win sets up a massive showdown between Portland and Houston at Jeld-Wen Field on October 14^th.

Match Observations

• Perhaps the most impressive aspect of Sunday’s win was the Timbers’ ability to make Vancouver’s possession harmless. Once again, the Timbers got dominated in possession and pass completion percentage, but kept Vancouver from doing anything serious. Yes, the Timbers were outshot 13-9, but of Vancouver’s 13 shots, only 2 were on frame. The result was just a good road win. Very rarely will you dominate a team on the road. Instead you have to make the most of the chances you get, and keep everything else in front of you. That is exactly what the Timbers did on Sunday, making the trip home much more enjoyable.
• I don’t envy John Spencer’s task of determining Eric Brunner’s running mate at central back. Because of injuries and international duty it has been a spot of inconsistency throughout the season with David Horst and Futty shuttling in and out. Yet, even in October, it is hard to determinatively say which has laid better claim to the starting spot, Simply put, both have impressed.
• After two weeks of pretty thrilling playoff action, we’re basically in the same place we were in mid-September. It’s essentially a five-team race for two spots.
  • Houston looks to be in the best position on 43 points, three clear from the pack. Dynamo, however, only have two games remaining—at Portland and home against Galaxy.
  • Red Bull New York sits on 40 points, in the final playoff spot on goal differential. They have three matches remaining—home with L.A., at Sporting K.C., and home with Philadelphia.
  • Portland is tied with New York in points, but trails significantly on goal differential. The Timbers also have three fixtures left—home with Dynamo, at D.C. United, and at Real Salt Lake.
  • D.C. United sit two points behind at 38, but have a game in hand and a favorable schedule. They travel to Vancouver on October 12, then come home to face Chicago and Portland on the 15th and 19th, respectively. Finally, D.C. finishes off with a visit from Sporting K.C.
  • Finally, Chicago Fire are the newcomers to the playoff race, sitting at 37 points and coming off an improbable run of form over the last two weeks. The sledding isn’t easy for Chicago with a visit from F.C. Dallas, a trip to D.C., and a final home match against Columbus.
  • Realistically, Portland has to beat Houston to have a prayer. Putting the Timbers on 43 points won’t be enough, however. The Timbers at this point probably also need to at least share points with D.C., likely putting them on 44 points. With some help, that may be enough. To be certain, though, the Timbers need to find six points from the next three games.
  • Finally, a huge thank you to everybody who helped organize the Vancouver away trip. Again, it came off without a hitch. Fantastic job.

Timbers Grades

Troy Perkins, 6 Not too much work to do, but on the rare occasion that the Whitecaps found the wherewithal to put something on frame, Perkins was inevitably in the perfect spot to snuff out the Caps hopes.

Mike Chabala, 5 A little bit quiet from Chewy on Sunday. Didn’t create a ton getting forward, and a few times Caps players got lost between the midfield and defense on the left side. Still, it wasn’t a jail break on the left side by any means, and a strong overall defensive performance casts Chabala in a good light.

Futty, 6.5 Futty was excellent on Sunday. Eric Hassli was limited to one shot and rarely found himself in a dangerous position. Futty and his partner in defense get huge quantities of credit for that.

Eric Brunner, 6 Huge match in defense. Perhaps wasn’t quite as dominant as Futty, but when things go well in defense, its leader gets a good share of the credit.

Lovel Palmer, 5.5 Is starting to look a little bit more comfortable moving forward and had a quality outing in defense.

Darlington Nagbe, 5.5 It’s clear that he is more comfortable and more effective up front. Got exposed a couple times in defense, but still had a nice game in the midfield. Was unlucky not to register an assist in the second half when Cannon blocked Cooper’s effort.

Diego Chara, 7 Many aspects of excellence from Chara on Sunday. Was clutch in defense with a couple key blocks—although to be fair he has to take some responsibility for the little bit of extra space Vancouver found at the top of the box. Primarily, though, was brilliant in vision and passing on his assist to Cooper.

James Marcelin, 5 You always know what you’re going to get with James. That said, Jewsbury’s value was underscored a little bit the times that Vancouver found extra space in the center of the field.

Sal Zizzo, 5 Not Sal’s most active game. Like most wingers, Zizzo is more effective when the match is open. By design that’s not how things went down in Vancouver.

Jorge Perlaza, 5.5 Nagbe is certainly more dynamic on the ball, but he just doesn’t have the pace Perlaza presents. I still like the Nagbe-Cooper combination, but it’s not entirely without its sacrifice.

Kenny Cooper, 7 Fantastic strike. Just fantastic. Coop is now sitting on seven goals for the season which, considering the length and depth of the drought he went through, isn’t too bad. This is the Kenny Cooper the Timbers paid for this year.

Onward, Rose City!