VANCOUVER, B.C. — It’s been a tough season for the Portland Timbers, but the club more than played its part in the MLS playoff picture Sunday evening at BC Place, picking up a 1-0 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps behind a golazo from captain Jack Jewsbury.
The result, Portland’s first road win of the season, earned the Timbers the 2012 Cascadia Cup, an amount of solace in a disappointing campaign.
From the standpoint of the playoff picture, the draw puts the Caps’ postseason chances in jeopardy. A win would’ve clinched them a berth, but now they must wait to see if 6th-place FC Dallas can make up the ground in their remaining games.
WATCH: Jewsbury with 35-yard golazo
Jewsbury struck the killer goal in the 39th minute, hitting a screamer from 30 yards out into the top right corner past Brad Knighton, who had no chance on the play. It was a goal that capped a relatively strong half for the Timbers, who attempted seven shots to Vancouver’s two, and outpossessed the home side by keeping 52.6 percent of the ball.
Despite having more shots, Vancouver actually seemed to have the edge when it came to quality opportunities.
Five minutes in, Barry Robson found Camilo lingering around the penalty area with the cross, but Donovan Ricketts claimed the Brazilian’s weak headed effort across goal.
On 14 minutes, Steven Smith almost scored an own goal, as he miskicked a clearance toward his own net, but was fortunate to see Ricketts make a strong reaction save.
At the half hour mark, Matt Watson made a clever play on the right side, flicking the ball over Smith before advancing the ball to Kenny Miller. The Scotsman smartly flicked a ball into the path of Camilo, but the forward couldn’t finish the play, scuffing his shot wide to the left of the target.
In the 35th minute, Portland came close, as Bright Dike got on the end of a Sal Zizzo cross, but Knighton reacted well to make the save.
In what was a tame second half for Vancouver, Robson nearly found Camilo sneaking in behind the Timbers’ backline on the hour mark, but Ricketts read the play well to come out and intervene.
Fifteen minutes from time, Dike attempted a shot from the right side, but Knighton managed to push the ball out comfortably for a corner.
The Whitecaps, now 11-13-9, will finish up their regular-season schedule next Saturday away to Real Salt Lake. The Portland Timbers, now 8-16-9, will host the San Jose Earthquakes at JELD-WEN Field on the same day.
Portland Timbers (8-16-9, 33pts) at Vancouver Whitecaps FC (11-13-9, 42 pts)
Oct. 21, 2012 – BC Place
Goals by Half 1 2 F
Portland Timbers 1 0 1
Vancouver Whitecaps FC 0 0 0
Scoring Summary
POR: Jewsbury (Songo’o), 39
Misconduct Summary
POR: Mosquera (Caution), 10
VAN: Camilo (Caution), 53
VAN: Koffie (Caution), 80
Lineups & Stats
POR: GK Ricketts, D Kimura, D Mosquera (Brunner, 48), D Horst, D Smith, M Zizzo, M Jewsbury ©, M Chara, M Nagbe, F Songo’o (Wallace, 67), F Dike (Mwanga, 85)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Bendik, M Alexander, M Palmer, F Fucito
TOTAL SHOTS: 9 (Dike, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 3 (Dike 2); FOULS: 19 (Dike 5); OFFSIDES: 2; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 1
VAN: GK Knighton, D Lee, D O'Brien, D DeMerit ©, D Harvey, M Koffie, M Rochat (Richards, 61), M Robson, M Watson (Salgado, 77), F Miller, F Camilo (Mattocks, 67)
Substitutes Not Used: GK Cannon, D Bonjour, M Davidson, M Thorrington
TOTAL SHOTS: 6 (Robson, 3); SHOTS ON GOAL: 1 (Camilo); FOULS: 12 (Camilo, 3); OFFSIDES: 1; CORNER KICKS: 5; SAVES: 2
Referee: Juan Guzman
Assistant Referees: Darren Clark, Matthew Kreitzer
4th Official: Allen Chapman
Attendance: 21,000
Time of Game: 1:53
Weather: Rain
All statistics contained in this box score are unofficial
