The Portland Timbers claimed their third win in a row on Sunday night, taking down the Vancouver Whitecaps 1-0 at Providence Park in what was nominally a road game. An early goal followed by 85 minutes of tension and missed Vancouver chances were evocative of the Timbers’ Wednesday win against the Seattle Sounders, despite 6 changes to Giovanni Savarese’s starting XI.
The Timbers got off to a fast start, opening the scoring in just the fifth minute. After Pablo Bonilla was taken down out on the flank well into the Whitecaps half, Eryk Williamson stepped up to the ball and hit a curling free-kick into the Vancouver box. As Williamson’s free-kick sped toward goal, Felipe Mora made a darting diagonal run toward the near post, rose up out of the crowd, and put a glancing header on the ball that redirected it just enough to root Whitecaps keeper Brian Meredith to his line as it skipped into the back of the net.
The host/visitors nearly answered in kind just two minutes later, after Bonilla brought down Ali Adnan in the Timbers’ end. Cristián Gutiérrez served a ball into the box off the ensuing free-kick and found Andy Rose with space for a snap header, but the Whitecaps defender put his chance off the post, and the Timbers held on to their lead.
The Whitecaps came close again in the 27th minute. This time it was fullback Jay Nerwinski who served in a cross to the head of Lucas Cavallini in front of goal. Cavallini made solid contact with the ball but sent his powerful header just wide of the post.
Throughout the middle of the first half, the Timbers struggled to assert themselves on the match. Facing a smothering and physical Vancouver press, Portland found little space in which to work for the remainder of the half.
After a brief respite for the Timbers defenders that saw the visitors/home side get forward and send a series of blocked shots toward the Vancouver goal, the Whitecaps once again took control of the match and pushed forward into the attack.
In the 39th minute, the ‘Caps had their best chance yet when Adnan hit a perfectly placed cross into the box with the outside of his boot. As Adnan’s cross dropped in behind the Timbers backline, Fredy Montero made a darting run in on goal where he got low and flicked the ball on from point-blank range. With little time to react, Steve Clark stuck his arms out and made the lightning-fast reaction save.
The aerial assault from the Whitecaps continued in the second half. In the 52nd minute, they came close once again. An early cross into the box from Eryk Godoy dropped at the back post for a diving header from Cavallini. At full stretch, Cavallini managed to find the ball, but once again he could not steer it on frame.
That would be the last strong chance for quite some time, however, as the two sides settled into a back-and-forth that rarely escaped the midfield. With the Timbers pressing higher up the pitch and the Whitecaps less able to keep play isolated in the attacking end, neither team was able to claim control.
In the 85th minute, the Timbers had a chance to extend their lead off a Diego Valeri corner kick. Valeri served a ball into the center of the box where Jeremy Ebobisse rose up to meet it and sent a looping header toward goal. With Jarek Niezgoda crashing toward his goal, Meredith jumped into action and was able to snag the ball before the Timbers forward was able to bundle it home.
The Timbers continued their late-game pressure with shots from Ebobisse and Yimmi Chará. Both forced Meredith to make saves, but the Whitecaps keeper was equal to the task and kept his team in the match.
Meredith continued his string of saves in the third minute of stoppage time when the Chará brothers hit out on the break. After Y. Chará played the ball out wide to Diego Chará it looked like the play might have stalled out, but a drop pass to Valeri at the top of the box found the Maestro in just enough space to squeeze off a shot. Valeri’s shot appeared to be placed perfectly in the upper-ninety of the Vancouver goal, but Meredith was able to throw himself at it and get just enough of a touch to push it out for a corner kick instead.