Match Preview: Timbers @ Vancouver, 10/2

The Portland Timber’s final regular season match pits them against a fitting opponent on Saturday–the Vancouver Whitecaps. Both clubs make the jump to MLS next spring and are keen to finish their D-2 stints in form. A number of interesting subplots have developed leading up the rivalry game…

VANCOUVER
The Whitecaps (10-5-14, 44pts.) have been in a downward free fall of late, allowing the Carolina Railhawks to catch them atop the NASL conference and potentially snag the valuable 2nd overall playoff seed. Vancouver is 1-3-5 in their last nine matches (a stretch that has seen Portland go 6-0-3) and are currently on a two game losing streak. The lone victory during that spell was against lowly Baltimore.

The bad run can be attributed, in part, to a recent glut of new signings. The club has inked ten new players since late June (we won’t count Kyle Porter who was in their residency program and has been out on loan the past couple years), with eight of those signings coming in a one month span from early August to early September. Roster changes of that magnitude late in a season can only lead to one thing: the kind of form the ‘Caps currently find themselves in.

The one bright spot that the team can hang their hats on is their goals against number. Vancouver is the league leader in that department with only 20 goals allowed. Incidently, Portland is right on their heels with just 21 goals against this season. And while the Whitecap’s have played lock-down defense, their offense has been lacking. They’ve managed just 30 goals which puts them only one spot ahead of bottom-dwellers Baltimore.

PORTLAND
And while Vancouver is dropping points left and right, the Timbers (13-7-9, 48pts.) find themselves headed the other direction. The team has secured 21 points (nearly half of their season total) on their current nine game unbeaten streak and still have a chance to improve their playoff seeding to possibly finish third. Portland has also been a much better example of how to integrate new signings as Ibad Muhamadu, Kalif Alhassan and Kevin Goldthwaite have all gotten minutes, had an impact, and gelled nicely with the team.

PORE
Timbers Midfielder Ryan Pore has an opportunity to win the league points race, as well as the Golden Boot as the league’s leading goal scorer. Pore currently has 32 points and 15 goals which puts him two points and one goal clear of Austin’s Eddie Johnson. Austin has two matches this weekend, however, so Johnson will have a possible 180 minutes to try and overtake Ryan.

PLAYOFFS
It’s very likely that Portland and Vancouver could be first round playoff opponents. That makes this season-ending match quite interesting in terms of gamesmanship. Does either team want to show their best lineup? Does either team want to give their opponent a chance prepare for exactly how they will be playing?

Timbers coach Gavin Wilkinson eluded to that after training on Thursday. “If we know for a fact that we’re going to be playing Vancouver in the first round of playoffs, why should we give them an early look at what we’re going to be doing?”

That’s an understandable approach for Portland, but Vancouver may not feel the same. With all their new signings they may see nothing more than another opportunity to get players on the same page before heading into the playoffs. Either way, if Carolina secures the 2nd seed following their Friday night match with visiting Austin, don’t expect Saturday to provide a blueprint for the resulting first round match up. Expect both coaches to keep a little something hidden up their sleeves.

More match previews:
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Dropping Timber
Oregonian
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