The Portland Timbers fell just short against the Vancouver Whitecaps Saturday night, by a score of 3-2. This was the first home game for the Timbers since they played host to the San Jose Quakes on July 22, during the Leagues Cup. This was also the first game as Interim Head Coach for Miles Joseph, since the team had parted ways with Giovanni Savarese earlier this week.
The match at Providence Park saw Vancouver getting off to a hot start. Sam Adekugbe would receive a pass near the sidelines in the attacking third. Adekugbe would then send a ball back towards the top of the box, and Alessandro Schöpf would step in for a shot. Schöpf’s shot was a left footed strike, that would be aimed back towards the right side of the goal. However, Schöpf’s shot would also change course off the foot of Vancouver forward, Brian White. White’s deflection would slow the ball down on its way towards the far post. Ryan Gauld would react quickly, and win the footrace to the ball. His slide would kick the ball into the back of the net, and give the Whitecaps a 1-0 lead in the 13th minute.
Vancouver would strike again, right after Darion Asprilla barely missed a bicycle kick shot from the corner of the goal area line. The Whitecaps would head the other way quickly, with a stretch pass to Ali Ahmed. Ahmed would spring Gauld on run towards the top of the box. Gauld was quickly closed down on by the Portland defense, and was forced towards the goal line. Moments before the ball would touch the end-line, Gauld would wedge the ball back across the box. Brian White would win the battle for the header at the back post, and score to give the Whitecaps a 2-0 lead.
The Timbers would strike back in the second half. At 52:38, Darion Asprilla would receive a pass along the far sidelines from Juan Mosquera. Asprilla would then send a send the ball deep into the center of the box. Felipe Mora would time his run up perfectly, taking off from the penalty dot. Mora would leap up, and redirect the ball with a header towards the far post. His shot would stay high and sneak under the crossbar, just out of reach of Vancouver goaltender, Yohei Takaoka. Mora would earn his first goal of 2023, and the Timbers had cut the lead to 2-1.
Unfortunately for Portland, the road to a comeback would not get easier. At 57:58, Déiber Caicedo would receive a pass at the top of the box. Evander had hustled back to help assist defensively but was too aggressive at the wrong moment. Evander fouled Caicedo, and the referee would gesture for a penalty shot. Gauld would take the penalty shot, and his left-footed strike would just barely stay out of reach of Portland goalkeeper David Bingham. The Whitecaps would take a 3-1 lead with 30 minutes and stoppage time to go.
The Timbers would have a surge of chances late in the game. In the 85th minute, a perfect set of passes between Sebastián Blanco, Felipe Mora, and Santiago Moreno would set up Blanco inside the attacking third. Blanco, from a wide angle inside the box, would center a pass through two Vancouver defenders to find Evander in the middle. From between the penalty dot and Goal Area line, Evander would connect on a right-footed shot towards the far post. Takaoka had no chance at the shot, and the Timbers brought the game back within one.
However, the Timbers would run out of time. Despite the late momentum, Vancouver was able to hold on through seven minutes of stoppage time and defeat the Portland Timbers, 3-2.
The Timbers’ next match is Wednesday, Aug. 30, against Real Salt Lake with kickoff set for 7:30 p.m.
Northwest Sports Desk 