Instant Reaction: Portland Timbers vs Vancouver Whitecaps
Built a bonfire, put Vancouver on the top.
The Portland Timbers won their first Cascadia Cup match of the season on their third attempt, comfortably thwarting the Vancouver Whitecaps 2-0 at home to move up to sixth in the Western Conference. Portland are now unbeaten in their last six matches, taking 14 out of a possible 18 points in that stretch.
After a 2-1 win midweek down in San Jose, and with the Copa America still ongoing (Shoutout Max Crepeau for his start against Argentina), Phil Neville opted to roll out the exact same starting XI against the Whitecaps that he did against the Earthquakes:
Vancouver started the brighter of the two sides and threatened on multiple occasions through Sebastian Berhalter down the right side of the pitch. But as was the case for the winning goal against the Earthquakes, Portland would open the scoring in the 26th minute via their stars.
After earning a spot on his seventh Team of the Matchday in 2024 with a goal and assist performance, Evander once again set up Jonathan Rodriguez with an inch-perfect pass for his 10th assist of the season. Rodriguez controlled the ball well after a missed clearance from Javain Brown, and calmly slotted his finish past Yohei Takaoka in Vancouver’s net.
Rodriguez, who has now been with the team for three months after his debut against Philadelphia on March 23, marked his performance with his 8th goal of the season, said post-match that he’s finally starting to feel comfortable in Portland and with his teammates.
The Timbers really asserted themselves after the opener, and capitalized on their momentum through Felipe Mora in the 43rd minute, who doubled the lead with a venomous finish into the bottom left corner of the net for his ninth strike of the campaign. A loose touch from Fafa Picault allowed Santi Moreno to regain control of the ball, and Moreno found Mora in the box to do what he does best: score.
The halftime stats certainly backed up the Timbers’ dominance during the first 45 minutes:
Things went from bad to worse for the Whitecaps when midfielder Alessandro Schopf was shown his second yellow card of the match for a silly foul in the 52nd minute, allowing the Timbers 38+ minutes of 11v10 football against their Cascadia rivals.
Despite the man advantage the Timbers were never able to extend their lead past two goals in the second half, something that Phil Neville found frustrating in his post-match press conference. “These are games where you have to be really ruthless. That's the next step for this team, not to get careless in possession,” said Neville.
But a first home clean sheet of the season for the Timbers en-route to a comfortable, at times dominant, performance against a Western Conference rival that beat them in the reverse fixture is nothing to be mad at. Especially considering they were without their starting goalkeeper and centerback partnership in Max Crepeau, Kamal Miller, and Miguel Araujo.
David Ayala once again looked the real deal next to Diego Chara at the base of the midfield, intercepting passes, making tackles, and spraying passes around the pitch with that cultured left foot of his. Neville said the only reason he was subbed was because he was on a yellow card.
Juan Mosquera also looked solid at the back for a second consecutive match after several shaky performances to start the year, easing some of the concern I and other Timbers fans/media have had about his defensive abilities.
To be honest the team played well to a man tonight, which is refreshing to say after the start to the season they have had. I think at this point it’s pretty easy to say that they’ve turned a corner both in terms of their mentality and play on the pitch.
Scoring Summary:
Portland: Rodriguez (26’, assisted by Evander), Mora (43’ assisted by Moreno)
Vancouver: (N/A)
Next Up:
Portland are back at Providence Park in one week’s time, welcoming Minnesota United to Providence Park. Kickoff scheduled for 7:30 p.m. PT on Saturday, June 29.
I’m amazed by the ability of some folks to find the dark cloud behind the silver lining. But I must recognize they know much more about soccer than I do, and apparently more than the professionals who manage/coach the team as their full time jobs and get paid for it. Many of these experts were ready to run Bravo out of town on a rail after his first few games, determined we over paid for Evander who was over rated, and pointed out all the reasons why the Rodriguez signing was a mistake just a couple months back. It appears to me that the FO maybe, just maybe, knew what it was doing, but then again, as I admitted above, others know more about the beautiful game than I. Are there better coaches out there than Neville? Probably. Were they available to the Timbers?
I, for one, will don my rose colored glasses and enjoy the ride of the past six game (2.2 points/game, not bad) hope that it continues and trust the professionals to bring in and develop players like those currently sporting Timbers green.
Wild thought here; maybe Neville is not an awful coach after all. Team is paying really well. And, Timbers matches are certainly a lot more entertaining to watch than in years past. Hopefully, Timbers can continue to build up off this performance and make an impactful signing during upcoming transfer window.