It is a beautiful sunny day and the Portland Timbers are in town to help the Whitecaps open up their new home while closing out their Cascadia Rivalry series. The Oregon based outfit will be looking for a second win against the Caps and 3 more points as they continue to push for the playoffs. It will be a fantastic opportunity for Vancouver to play the spoiler as wins are oh so crucial at this point for the Timbers while they remain in the hunt for the post season in their first season in North America's top flight.
With Vancouver having been eliminated from the playoff picture weeks ago the remainder of the season will be spent with players auditioning for jobs on next years squad and trying to maintain their current posts. Portland on the other hand have a chance to compete in the playoffs if they can continue their strong play. They currently sit 3 points back of New York and have a game at hand on the Red Bulls.[PRBREAK][/PRBREAK]The hapless Vancouver back line will need to get its act together today if they have any intention of competing in this match. Earlier this week Director of Soccer Operations and interim Head Coach Tom Soehn tried to light a fire under his squad by calling his prized centre backs to task saying they needed to do a better job of organizing the back line and it is easy to see why when you take into account the fact that despite some brilliant assists from Rochat the club is in fact 2nd from last in the league with regards to goal differential. Somehow TFC are worse still.
While Portland do have the ability to score from open play they are most dangerous on Set Pieces, especially corners. They have a lot of height and like to create a lot of congestion in the box.
When Portland have the ball on the attack they possess both the speed and craftiness to catch the Whitecaps on their back foot. This was obvious in these clubs last meeting down in Oregon.
The D-men can only really be relied on to keep the ball out of their own net the forwards have not really been keeping their end of the bargain either as of late. Since Mustapha Jarju's arrival Eric Hassli has gone ice cold. Soehn continues to baffle fans with his lineup by keeping Swiss playmaker Davide Chiumiento on the wings rather then tucked in behind the strikers. Vancouver will need to put at least 2 goals on the board if they are going to win and it will be easier said then done.
Portland will be hungry for a big win and will be bringing a whole bunch of their friends to cheer them on. Since Portland came in to the league at the same time as us and have been successful in their first season while we have floundered... It would be nice to hand it to them in our own park wouldn't it?
Here are a couple Timbers of note.Kenny Cooper-The former Manchester United reservist has been an integral piece in Portland offensive puzzle. He is a fantastic target man that uses his entire 6'3 frame to win most arial battles but still maintains the scoring prowess to score the pretty goal once and a while. Once considered to be "The Next Big Thing" for the USMNT he has not really maintained his status with the national team as of late. Cooper tends to score goals in "First Games" He scored in his MLS debut, then in his first MLS Start, and then upon his return from Europe scored in Portland's MLS debut.
Darlington Nagbe- Drafted this year second overall in the MLS SuperDraft and has made an immediate impact on the league. Nagbe scored what is arguably the best goal of this MLS season, and many Whitecaps fans are left to wonder what could have been had he been picked over Omar Salgado. While the younger Salgado has an incredible upside and is clearly a project for the future, Nagbe has contributed from the get go and has been integral to the Timbers playoff push. The word on the street as the draft approached; was that Nagbe did not want to play in Canada as he felt it would hurt his chances of gaining U.S. Citizenship.
Kalif Alhassan- Has been a thorn in the side for Vancouver Whitecaps fans over the last 2 years and most fans are going to be happy to see that the 20 year old Ghanaian will be forced to miss today's action after receiving a red card in the clubs heartbreaking loss to the New York Red Bulls. Alhassan was guarding the goal line on a corner and after a scramble in the box a shot ricocheted of his arm and out of bounds. Luke Rodgers buried the pk and effectively put the game out of the Timbers reach.
Mamadou Futty Danso- Gambian National Teammate of Whitecaps Designated Player Mustapha Jarju. Missed last years playoff series against the Whitecaps and could have been the difference maker in the post season series. At 6'3 his hulking frame is incredibly difficult to muscle past.
Vancouver Whitecaps vs. Portland Timbers
BC Place, Vancouver British Columbia
1:30 PM Kickoff
Watch on TSN 2
Listen on The Team 1410