The Portland Timbers have suddenly found their road form, and their defense has sharpened up as well, as they had their third straight shutout win, all on the road, this time a 1-0 victory over the Vancouver Whitecaps. The lone Timbers goal was a shot by Felipe Mora that was knocked in the net by Vancouver’s Ranko Veselinovic which would have been a goal anyway, but is scored as an own goal. Steve Clark got his third straight shutout in goal. The last time the Timbers (in any league) had three straight road shutout wins was 2007 when the USL Timbers defeated the California Victory on the road twice before winning in Atlanta against the Silverbacks.
The first good chance for either team was in the 5th minute when Portland’s Felipe Mora had an open look at a largely empty goal after a missed shot deflected to him, but his attempt was over the crossbar. The Timbers would have another good look in the 26th minute when a header by Dairon Asprilla was easy saved by Vancouver goalkeeper Maxime Crépeau.
Each team had a few chances to finish out the half that were easily stopped by the goalkeepers, and the half ended at 0-0.
In the 55th minute, Portland’s Claudio Bravo nearly had a spectacular goal when his blast from 25 yards out drifted just a yard or so wide left. One minute later, Asprilla had the same result on a similar shot.
Then in the 66th minute, the Timbers would finally break through, as Sebastián Blanco‘s soft chipped pass found Felipe Mora near the far post, and Mora’s low shot beat Crépeau, and was about to cross the line when it was knocked in by Vancouver defender Ranko Veselinovic, but either way the Timbers had a 1-0 lead.
In the 77th minute, the home side would have a great chance to level the score when Déiber Caicedo‘s blast from the edge of the box beat Timbers goalkeeper Steve Clark, but Bravo made a last-second goal-line clearance.
Four minutes into stoppage time, the Whitecaps seemed even more likely to level the score when the ball deflected to an open Ryan Gauld only a few yards out from goal, but his shot was blocked by a desperate lunge by defender Larrys Mabiala, then the follow-up cross was snared by Clark. The game ended shortly afterwards with the Timbers holding on for the 1-0 win. The Timbers have not allowed a goal since the 29th minute in Austin, spanning 331 minutes.
Steve Clark had two saves for the Timbers while Maxime Crépeau recorded two for the Whitecaps.
RECAP | Timbers win third in a row with 1-0 shutout of Whitecaps | Timbers website
MATCH HIGHLIGHTS | Timbers knock off Whitecaps 1-0 in Cascadia battle | Timbers website
