PORTLAND, OR – It was another tough test in Portland, Oregon for Whitecaps FC 2, as they suffered a hard-fought 2-0 defeat at the hands of Timbers2 in Providence Park.
Despite the intense rivalry, it was a quiet and measured start to the match as both sides spent much of the opening 20 minutes in the middle third. In fact, both teams would have to wait until the 45th minute to get the first shot on target as a dangerous free-kick from Timbers2 just outside the box was pushed aside by Max Anchor for a corner. Anchor then parried the ensuing corner, but was unable to stop the follow-up shot by Sawyer Jura after it was deflected and redirected into the net.
The goal was the last action of the half, meaning that Whitecaps FC 2 had it all to play for in the second half.
The second half began with more action, as Timbers 2 had a couple of half-chances. Buster Sjöberg came in clutch in intercepting dangerous crosses into the box as T2 pushed for a second. Jaden Jones-Riley had a chance to test Anchor from just inside the box with less than half-an-hour to go, but aimed right into the arms of the ‘keeper. With 10 minutes left to play, the young ‘Caps had their best chance of the match up until that point, as an Eliot Goldthorp corner was met by Sjöberg in the box, but his rising header went just inches wide of the far post.
With only minutes left to go, Timbers2 scored their second of the match. Kyle Linhares drove through the heart of the WFC2 defence, dancing past two markers before thrashing his effort into the roof of the net. That would be the last action of the match, as the young ‘Caps fought valiantly throughout the match but were unable to get points on the board.
Whitecaps FC 2 are back in action against LAFC 2 in California on Sunday, May 12 at 1 p.m. PT. They then return home to Swangard Stadium on Sunday, May 26 when they face-off against Ventura County FC at 4 p.m. PT. For tickets, visit whitecapsfc.com/tickets.
MATCH DETAILS
Referee: Laura Rodriguez
Scoring Summary
45’+1 - POR - Sawyer Jura
90’+2 - POR - Kyle Linhares (Harvey Neville)
Statistics
Shots: POR 8 – VAN 3
Shots on Goal: POR 6 – VAN 0
Saves: POR 0 – VAN 4
Fouls: POR 10 – VAN 10
Offsides: POR 3 – VAN 3
Corners: POR 5 – VAN 3
Cautions
36’ – VAN – Miles Morgan
42’ – POR – Noah Santos
43’ – VAN – Buster Sjöberg
61’ – VAN – Malcolm Simmons
73’ – VAN – Eliot Goldthorp
75’ – VAN – Nicolas Fleuriau Chateau
76’ – VAN – Malek Mehri
Timbers 2
25.Trev Muse; 45.Blake Pope, 48.Kaveh Rad, 39.Tyler Clegg ( 40.Keesean Ferdinand 45’), 51.Sawyer Jura (84.Max Eisenberg 84’); 46.Victor Enriquez (68.Harvey Neville 69’), 42.Alexis Moreno; 80.Jaden Jones-Riley, 70.Josh Penn (87.Cristian Mendoza 61’), 77.Kyle Linhares; 37.Noah Santos ( 47.Mataeo Bunbury 69’)
Substitutes not used
36.Ryan Bilichuk, 38.Braxton Taghvai-Naji
Whitecaps FC 2
50.Max Anchor; 83.Finn Linder, 53.Buster Sjöberg, 51.Dembo Saidykhan; 41.Eliot Goldthorp, 59.Jeevan Badwal, 48.Malcolm Simmons (72.Benjamin Lee 82’), 54.Mihail Gherasimencov; 92.Jay Herdman ©, 55.Cyprian Kachwele (49.Malek Mehri 64’), 44.Myles Morgan (52.Nicolas Fleuriau Château 45’)
Substitutes
99.Matheus De Souza, 62.Luca Chen, 95.Joshué Ndakala
