PORTLAND, Ore. – Perhaps lost in the Portland Timbers’ feel-good 2013 season, which ended with a Western Conference regular season championship, was that nothing was certain until almost the very end.
The Timbers lost their final two matches of August to fall perilously close to the red line. But starting with a 4-0 demolition of Toronto FC in early September, Portland closed out the season on an eight-game unbeaten streak – that included five wins – to grab their first ever MLS postseason berth.
These days, the Timbers are facing a bit more of a daunting challenge – currently sitting in sixth place in the West – but head coach Caleb Porter said drawing on last year’s experience should give his group confidence heading into Saturday’s showdown with the Vancouver Whitecaps (2 pm PT; NBCSN, live stream at NBCSports.com), the team just one point ahead of them in the fifth and final playoff spot.
“We got it done at the end of the year, and we should draw on that experience and use that to our advantage,” Porter said after a sun-drenched training session at Providence Park, the site of Saturday’s nationally televised matinee. “…We buckled down and stepped up and got results, so that experience should help us. Whereas you saw how the end of the year went for [Vancouver].”
Porter was referring to the Whitecaps’ late-season collapse, which saw them go 3-5-3 in their final 11 games to miss out on the playoffs. This year, Vancouver are in the midst of another late-summer swoon that has resulted in just two wins over their last 12 games.
“That should be another thing that gives us a little bit of confidence as we enter these high-pressure games,” Porter said.
Portland’s other point of optimism this week, despite currently being on the outside of the playoffs looking in, is their last time out against Vancouver, that ended in a 3-0 Timbers win at BC Place on Aug. 30. Portland have posted two draws since then while Vancouver have lost once and won once, leaving each team with a six-game race to the end.
“I think it is a key that we, psychologically, played them recently and had a really good performance,” Porter said. “I think that’s a big edge. I think that gives our guys a lot of confidence going into this game. … It doesn’t mean the exact same thing is going to happen, and it doesn’t mean it’s going to be any easier because of that. But I think the confidence that our guys will have, playing them a couple weeks ago and having success on the road, will give us a little bit of an edge psychologically.”
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Vancouver beat Portland 4-3 the first time around on June 1, but the Timbers held the Whitecaps attack to just nine shots in the 3-0 win.
Vancouver have since switched from their 4-2-3-1 formation to a 4-4-2, and Porter said that will present some changes to their preparation.
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
