VANCOUVER, B.C. - The Portland Timbers fell to Vancouver Whitecaps FC 2-1 before 22,120 fans at BC Place on Saturday afternoon, marking only the second loss in Vancouver for the Timbers in seven games played since joining MLS in 2011.
- VOTE: Man of the Match
- MATCHCENTER: Stats
- MATCHCENTER: Boxscore and Opta Chalkboard
The Timbers (3-4-3, 12pts) took the lead in the match when defender Nat Borchers scored his first goal of the season, finishing a well-placed pass from midfielder Darlington Nagbe in the 34th minute of play. Borchers’ goal occurred after Nagbe collected the ball just outside the box and drove at the Vancouver defense, combining with forward Fanendo Adi to create space for himself, before finding Borchers at the far post for a sliding effort to provide Portland with a 1-0 advantage.
Entering the second half, Portland created additional opportunities to find the back of the net, including Adi’s first-time effort from the edge of the box that forced Vancouver goalkeeper David Ousted to make a strong save in the 47th minute. In the 50th minute of play, the Timbers broke free on a threatening counter-attack. Leading the break for Portland, forward Lucas Melano charged deep into Vancouver’s half before floating a pass to midfielder Diego Valeri, whose shot yielded another corner for the Timbers.
Ten minutes later, Vancouver (4-5-2, 14pts) managed to level the score when a deflected pass landed to forward Masato Kudo, who snuck his effort just inside the near post from inside the 18-yard box. In the 66th minute, Whitecaps FC scored their second goal of the game when Kudo found midfielder Christian Bolaños, whose cross floated through the box and just past goalkeeper Jake Gleeson, who recorded a Timbers MLS single-game record for saves with 11 stops in the match.
Continuing to push forward in search of a second goal, Portland came close to equalizing in the 72nd minute when Valeri pulled the ball back to Adi, who managed to lose his marker in the box, setting up a first-time strike that narrowly missed the target.
Less than 10 minutes later, Nagbe ventured on another threatening run, maneuvering past two Whitecaps FC defenders, before finding forward Jack McInerney on the left side of the box. McInerney took a touch before attempting to find the top corner, hitting his shot just high of the target. In the 85th minute, a quick counter-attack created another promising opportunity for the Timbers when Nagbe played a pass in behind to Valeri, who had the ball cleared away by the Whitecaps FC defense in a one-on-one scenario with Ousted.
Next up, the Timbers will face FC Dallas at Toyota Stadium on Wednesday, May 11; kickoff is set for 6 p.m. (Pacific). The match against FC Dallas will be broadcast live on ROOT Sports with local radio broadcasts on 750 AM/102.9 FM The Game (English) and La GranD 1150 AM/93.5 FM (Spanish).
Portland Timbers (3-4-3 12pts) at Vancouver Whitecaps FC (4-5-2, 14pts)
May 7, 2016 – BC Place (Vancouver)
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0 2 2
Portland Timbers 1 0 1
Scoring Summary
POR: Borchers (Nagbe, Adi), 34
VAN: Kudo, 60
VAN: Bolaños (Kudo), 66
Misconduct Summary
VAN: Morales (Caution), 10
VAN: Waston (Caution), 15
VAN: Perez (Caution), 69
POR: Nagbe (Caution), 70
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Gleeson, D Valentin, D Borchers, D Ridgewell ©, D Klute (Barmby, 86), M Chara, M Nagbe, M Valeri, F Mattocks (McInerney, 77), F Adi, F Melano
Substitutes Not Used: GK Hamilton, D Taylor, M Jewsbury, M Zemanski, M Grabavoy
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Adi, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 5 (Adi, 2); FOULS: 12 (Chara, 7); OFFSIDES: 6; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 11
VAN: GK Ousted, D Aird, D Parker, D Waston, D Harvey, M Morales, M Laba, M Bolaños, M Mezquida (Perez, 61), M Techera (Hurtado, 89), F Kudo (Rivero, 77)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Tornaghi, D Kah, M Jacobson, M Teibert
TOTAL SHOTS: 26 (Bolanos, 5); SHOTS ON GOAL: 13 (Three players tied, 2); FOULS: 13 (Two players tied, 3); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 11; SAVES: 4
Referee: Kevin Stott
Assistant Referees: Chris Strickland, Andrew Bigelow
4th Official: Alejandro Mariscal
Attendance: 22,120
Weather: Sunny, 70 degrees
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
