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Match Information - Portland Timbers vs Vancouver Whitecaps FC

Match Information - Portland Timbers vs Whitecaps FC

PORTLAND TIMBERS vs VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC
JELD-WEN Field - Portland, Ore.
May 26, 2012 (WEEK 12, MLS Game #118)
7:00 p.m. PT (TSN)

Scoring Summary:
67' - POR - Kris Boyd
84' - VAN - Darren Mattocks (Eric Hassli, Martin Bonjour)

Cautions:
23' - VAN - John Thorrington
40' - POR - Steven Smith
70' - VAN - Martin Bonjour


Portland Timbers
1.Troy Perkins; 13.Jack Jewsbury, 5.Eric Brunner (12.David Horst 45'), 33.Hanyer Mosquera, 14.Steven Smith; 6.Darlington Nagbe, 21.Diego Chara, 17.Eric Alexander, 11.Kalif Alhassan; 9.Kris Boyd, 15.Jorge Perlaza


Substitutes: 23.Joseph Bendik, 2.Mike Fucito, 7.Sal Zizzo, 8.Franck Songo'o, 22.Rodney Wallace, 30.Lovel Palmer


Vancouver Whitecaps FC
1.Joe Cannon; 12.Young-Pyo Lee, 15.Martin Bonjour, 6.Jay DeMerit, 4.Alain Rochat; 28.Gershon Koffie (29.Eric Hassli 72'), 27.Jun Marques Davidson, 11.John Thorrington; 20.Davide Chiumiento, 7.Sébastien Le Toux, 37.Camilo Sanvezzo


Substitutes: 18.Brad Knighton, 3.Jordan Harvey, 16.Matt Watson, 17.Omar Salgado, 19.Carlyle Mitchell, 22.Darren Mattocks


The next installment of the Cascadia Cup for 2012 is ahead on Saturday evening when the Portland Timbers entertain Vancouver Whitecaps FC at JELD-WEN Field. The Timbers snapped their three-game winless run last time out, coming back for a 2-1 home win against the Chicago Fire. Whitecaps FC kicked off the Cascadia competition for this season last weekend, Seattle Sounders FC scoring a late goal to reach a 2-2 draw at BC Place.


REFEREE: Jorge Gonzalez. SAR (bench): Craig Lowry; JAR (opposite): Darren Clark; 4th: Ramon Hernandez


Gonzalez's MLS Career: 80 games; FC/gm: 24.8; Y/gm: 3.3; R: 24; pens: 23


DOWNLOAD FULL GAME GUIDE (PDF)

INJURY REPORT:

  • PORTLAND TIMBERS -- PROBABLE: DF Futty Danso (L hamstring strain); MF Jack Jewsbury (pelvic sprain)
  • VANCOUVER WHITECAPS -- OUT: GK Brian Sylvestre (R knee surgery); FW Atiba Harris (R knee pain)


INTERNATIONAL ABSENCES:None


SUSPENDED:None


WARNINGS:

  • SUSPENDED NEXT YELLOW CARD: Portland - Kris Boyd; Vancouver - Eric Hassli, Gershon Koffie
  • SUSPENDED AFTER TWO YELLOW CARDS: Portland - Lovel Palmer; Vancouver - Jun Marques Davidson


HEAD-TO-HEAD

ALL-TIME (2 meetings): Timbers 2 wins, 3 goals ... Whitecaps FC 0 wins, 1 goal ... Ties 0


AT PORTLAND (1 meeting): Timbers 1 win, 1 goal ... Whitecaps FC 0 wins, 0 goals ... Ties 0


LAST YEAR (MLS):

8/20: POR 2, VAN 1 (Chara 2; Perlaza 33 – Camilo 88) 10/2: VAN 0, POR 1 (Cooper 25)


  • The Timbers won both meetings of the MLS expansion class of 2011 last year, a 2-1 victory at JELD-WEN Field and a 1-0 triumph at BC Place.
  • Coaches record: John Spencer v VAN: P2 W2 L0 D0 ... Martin Rennie vs. POR: first game


PORTLAND TIMBERS

The Portland Timbers put an end to their three-game winless run, recording a 2-1 defeat of the Chicago Fire on Sunday afternoon at JELD-WEN Field. The Timbers are in ninth place in the Western Conference with 12 points from 11 games.


HIGHLIGHTS: Portland vs. Valencia CF





LAST MATCH

  • A Timbers player scored for the first time in more than a month in the 20th minute. A corner kick was knocked beyond the far post, where defender Hanyer Mosquera headed the high-arching service into the area. Kris Boyd’s bicycle kick attempt fell to Eric Brunner’s feet, and he banged in from close range.
  • The Fire pulled even in the 39th minute. Marco Pappa intercepted an ineffective clearance from Portland defender Steven Smith and found Jalil Anibaba free in the penalty area right of the goal. The defender controlled, spun and fired a right-footed shot to the far corner past a diving Troy Perkins.
  • But the Timbers hit for the game-winner seven minutes into the second half. Sal Zizzo’s corner kick to the near post was headed on by Boyd and deflected into the back of the net by Chicago's Logan Pause.
  • Timbers head coach John Spencer made two change to the team that played to a scoreless draw with the Houston Dynamo at BBVA Compass Stadium. Mike Chabala and Eric Brunner came into the team in place of Jack Jewsbury and the suspended Mamadou Danso.
  • PORTLAND TIMBERS (4-4-2): Troy Perkins - Mike Chabala, Hanyer Mosquera, Eric Brunner, Steven Smith - Franck Songo'o (Sal Zizzo 46), Lovel Palmer, Diego Chara, Rodney Wallace - Darlington Nagbe (Jorge Perlaza 67), Kris Boyd.


TEAM NEWS
Portland-Valencia post-game reaction





  • Brunner’s goal vs. Chicago was the first scored by a Timbers player since April 14, a span of five games. In between, Portland had scored once – an own goal by Sporting KC (for a 1-0 win).
  • "It happens. It's part of the game. You just got to deal with it, and you know it's going to be coming.,” Brunner said. “We've got quality players on this team, and we've done a great job of keeping the goals out the last couple of games. Tonight was nice that we could put them in.”
  • The Timbers also scored more than one goal in a game for the first time in nearly two months – since the 3-2 loss to Real Salt Lake on March 31.
  • "I wouldn't say it was a relief. It's nice when we score goals. We love scoring goals here. It's just at times, we don't score as many as we want to,” said Timbers head coach John Spencer. “It'd be nice to score four goals a game. But with the run that we've been in, I think we've looked really solid in the last month at the back, midfield players have been protecting the back four and not giving away too much. I've been happy with that. The final thing that always comes is scoring goals."
  • A year ago, the Timbers had 12 goals officially come from set pieces, with two more own goals that started from dead ball situations. The Timbers have scored three goals this season from set pieces after the corner kick goal vs. Chicago, with the own goal also starting from a corner kick.
  • “We’ve been asking the guys for a couple weeks now to put better service in the box, and I think we got that today and got a couple goals,” Spencer said.
  • Troy Perkins allowed a goal for the first time in 375 minutes, a Timbers club record and the fourth-longest individual streak in MLS this season. Perkins had last conceded April 14 vs. the LA Galaxy.
  • "I think that we had to leave men back because they were leaving men high, and obviously we were knocking the ball into the channels at the end of the game for [forwards Kris] Boyd and Jorge [Perlaza] to hold the ball up," Spencer said. "I think defensively, we've been sound since the Montreal game. We've looked good at the back."
  • On Wednesday, Spain’s Valencia CF started their North American tour with a 1-0 win against the Timbers. Aritz Aduriz scored the game’s lone goal in the 41st minute.
  • Here’s the Timbers team: Troy Perkins (Joe Bendik 46); Mike Chabala (Steve Purdy 46), Eric Brunner (Andrew Jean-Baptiste 46), David Horst (Chris Taylor 86), Steven Smith (Ryan Kawulok 46), Franck Songo’o (Eric Alexander 46), Darlington Nagbe (Mike Fucito 46), Lovel Palmer (Freddie Braun 46), Sal Zizzo (Rodney Wallace 58), Jorge Perlaza (Bright Dike 58), Kalif Alhassan (Bretn Richards 68)


VANCOUVER WHITECAPS

Vancouver Whitecaps FC renewed their Cascadia Cup rivalry with another thriller, Seattle Sounders FC scoring a late goal to gain a 2-2 draw on Saturday afternoon at BC Place. Whitecaps FC are in fourth place in the Western Conference with 18 points from 11 games.


Portland vs. Vancouver preview





LAST MATCH

  • Whitecaps left back Alain Rochat opened the scoring in the 12th minute following a marauding run down the left, cutting into the area and beating Sounders FC goalkeeper Bryan Meredith with an angled shot.
  • But Sounders FC pulled level in the 47th minute when Eddie Johnson headed home a cross from Mauro Rosales from the right flank.
  • Vancouver nosed back in the 82nd minute when Camilo scored from a free kick that found a way through a crowded penalty area and surprised goalkeeper Meredith, slipping inside his left-hand post.
  • Yet there was one more twist in the tale, Fredy Montero collecting a long hoof upfield that was flicked on by Johnson, turning just outside the penalty area before curling a shot inside the right post for the equalizer.
  • Whitecaps FC head coach Martin Rennie made four changes to the team that went down to a 4-1 defeat by the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium. Jay DeMeritand Martin Bonjour came back into the back four for Carlyle Mitchell and Jordan Harvey, and Darren Mattocks started up top in place of Eric Hassli.
  • VANCOUVER WHITECAPS FC (4-3-3): Joe Cannon - Lee Young-Pyo, Jay DeMerit, Martin Bonjour, Alain Rochat - Gershon Koffie, Jun Marques Davidson, Davide Chiumiento (Camilo 80) - Sebastien Le Toux, Darren Mattocks (Eric Hassli 64), Omar Salgado (John Thorrington 74).


TEAM NEWS
ACC 2nd Leg: Toronto FC vs. Vancouver





  • Whitecaps FC have allowed 13 goals on the season. They’ve allowed 12 goals over four games – allowing
    multiple goals in each – and are 0-3-1 in those contests.
  • “For us, it was one of the best performances of the season. ... We played well enough to win the game today, but at the same time we made a bunch of technical breakdowns which cost us the win,” Whitecaps FC head coach Martin Rennie said. “This afternoon was a day to see how far we’ve come so far, especially against one the league’s top teams.”
  • Darren Mattocks, the No. 2 overall selection in this year’s MLS SuperDraft, made his first professional start in the Seattle draw.
  • “Darren is a pretty clinical finisher normally, but he has to continue working on his game. He will get goal scoring chances because of the pace of his play and his ability to hold the ball,” Rennie said. “Everything aside from the two missed chances was excellent. Perhaps he’s a bit rusty, but it’s probably the biggest game he’s played in his life and I thought he handled it fantastically well.”
  • Mattocks was paired with Omar Salgado – the No.1 overall pick in last year’s SuperDraft – on the forward line. Salgado recorded his first assist of the season on the opening Vancouver goal.
  • Eric Hassli came off the substitutes’ bench for the third time in the last five games, while Camilo also came off the bench after missing the New England match.
  • “I thought (Mattocks) was fantastic today with his movement. Obviously he has to improve on his finishing. He caused a lot of problems along with Omar on the other side,” Rennie said. “You have to give guys a chance to see if they’re up to the level and those guys absolutely showed they are. They will be exciting top tier players for the Whitecaps over time and it’s exciting for us to have them and it’s also great for us to have Camillo and Hassli to come on.”
  • For the second time in four games, Whitecaps FC scored a free kick that seemingly went untouched through the goalmouth and settled in the back of the net. Camilo did it vs. Seattle; Young-Pyo Lee scored that way vs. Columbus on April 28.
  • “Camilo always has a good free kick,” Gershon Koffie said. “So whenever he kicks the ball on target, you have to be there, and you can touch it.”
  • On Wednesday, Toronto FC won the Amway Canadian Championship, defeating Vancouver Whitecaps FC 1-0 in the second leg at BMO Field and winning the title 2-1 on aggregate. Reggie Lambe scored the game’s lone goal in the 83rd minute in a testy match that saw Julian de Guzman (TFC) and Sebastien Le Toux (VWFC) each sent off.
  • Here’s the Whitecaps FC team: Joe Cannon; Young-Pyo Lee, Martin Bonjour, Jay DeMerit, Alain Rochat (Jordan Harvey 65); Gershon Koffie, Jun Marques Davidson, John Thorrington (Davide Chiumiento 73); Sébastien Le Toux (sent off 58), Eric Hassli, Camilo Sanvezzo (Darren Mattocks 66)
  • “We didn’t necessarily move the ball as quickly as we would have wanted to tonight,” Rennie said. “When you don’t move it fast, it’s hard to create openings and opportunities. In a game like tonight, Alain Rochat has a header from six yards. If that goes in, it makes a difference to the game. Those are the incidents in a game like this, in a cup final, you have to make the most of, and unfortunately we didn’t, and ultimately that cost us the game.”